New Zealand aircraft maker eyes Thailand as ASEAN service hub

New Zealand aircraft maker NZAero will scale up its maintenance and repair operations in Thailand as it looks to turn the country into a Southeast Asian service hub. "Thailand stands alone as being a major buyer of NZAero products," CE Stephen Burrows told Nikkei Asia. "Having a service center here in Thailand is a good base for supporting aircraft in Southeast Asia." NZAero will provide technical training to support all five of its models to Thai Aviation Industries (TAI), the primary maintenance and repair provider for the Royal Thai Air Force, according to an agreement signed on Wednesday. The deal would amount to US$21.9m for NZAero through sales of components and future aircraft. Thailand has purchased 10% of NZAero's output since the Hamilton-based company sold its first batch of 24 aircraft to the Royal Thai Air Force in 1974. It also supplies the air forces of Australia and New Zealand. NZAero executives were part of a business delegation accompanying New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon to Thailand, the first trip to the country by a Kiwi leader in 11 years. Relations between the countries cooled after the Thai military ousted an elected government in 2014. Western democracies including Australia, the U.S. and European nations looking to boost economic and strategic relations with Southeast Asia have warmed to Thailand since coup leaders departed after the May 2023 general election. Luxon and Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, both of whom took office late last year, agreed to elevate relations to a strategic partnership by 2026. Bilateral defense talks, on ice for a decade, resumed in August to increase interoperability and cooperation against transnational organized crime, particularly human and drug trafficking. <br/>