Thai Airways to sell 42 jets, cut workforce to reduce costs

Thai Airways International will sell 42 planes and cut nearly a third of its workforce as part of a plan to slim down the fleet and cut costs, the head of its restructuring committee said on Monday. The airline, which was in difficulty well before the pandemic struck, is going through a bankruptcy-protected restructuring. Piyasvasti Amranand, who is leading the effort, said that the planes being sold are old and not energy efficient. He said 16 jets on lease will be returned. After the sale, the airline will have 58 planes across four types. Piyasvasti said the airline planned to add more flights especially from Europe over the next few months as travel recovers. On Monday, the Thai government reopened the country for quarantine-free travel for vaccinated tourists.<br/>