THAI bids adieu to jumbo jets with sale of entire ageing fleet

THAI has announced the sale of its entire fleet of Boeing 747-400 aircraft, marking the end of an era when its 18 aircraft once operated long-haul routes. The disposal of the aircraft, once known as “Queen of the Skies", was attributed to their ageing and in line with the airline's route strategy adjustments. THAI delivered its last Boeing 747-400 aircraft, registered as HS-TGG “Pathumawadi", to RPS System Co Ltd. THAI CEO Chai Iamsiri said that the airline currently had 18 other aircraft waiting for decommissioning and up for sale, consisting of Airbus A380 and Boeing 777 series, mostly wide-body aircraft capable of long-haul flights. Thai Airways is currently in accelerated negotiations with potential buyers to finalise the sales, and expects to complete the process soon. This will result in the completion of THAI’s aircraft asset disposal plan. In 2013, the airline had a total of 100 aircraft. However, as the aviation industry felt the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and airlines began their recovery efforts, some older aircraft were retired. These aircraft had long service lives, high fuel consumption rates, deteriorating in-flight amenities, increasing maintenance costs each year, and required significant investments for refurbishment that were not deemed cost-effective for returning them to service.<br/>