Three Thai airlines devising fundraising

Nok Air, Thai AirAsia X and Thai Airways International (THAI) have come up with fundraising plans to exit rehabilitation now that business performance has greatly improved thanks to the tourism recovery following the Covid-19 pandemic. Nok Air CEO Wutthiphum Jurangkool told Nation Group media arm Thansettakij that he has every confidence the airline will exit the rehabilitation plan within two years or in 2026. He said the rehabilitation was progressing smoothly, citing negotiations on aircraft rental contracts, increasing aircraft utilisation rate and generating revenue from new services like an airport lounge and air cargo. “These efforts resulted in Nok Air seeing a profit for the first time in nine years,” he said. He added that the airline has been granted a loan of no more than two billion baht for boosting its liquidity on aircraft maintenance. Wutthiphum said the airline aims to open new international flight routes in the fourth quarter this year, and increase aircraft utilisation rate from 12 hours a day to 13 hours a day by the end of this year.<br/>