Thai Lion Air beefs up fleet, adds routes

Thai Lion Air is ramping up its fleet and returning to its routes as tourism demand grows, targeting 6-7m passengers and a profit for the first time post-pandemic. Nuntaporn Komonsittivate, head of commercial at Thai Lion Air, said its domestic and international routes have recovered by 60% as it now operates 20 jets, rising from 11 the past few years. She said the average load factor for domestic and international routes this year should be 85% and 75%, respectively. The airline also added new destinations this year: Penang, Malaysia and Ahmedabad, India. In the second half, Mrs Nuntaporn said Thai Lion Air plans to receive five aircraft of the same type, including Boeing 737-800 and Boeing 737-900ER, which should pave the way for new destinations such as India's Amritsar and Hong Kong.<br/>