Thai Airways sells five Airbus A340s stored away for 13 years

Thai Airways (THAI) has found a buyer for five dusty Airbus A340s which have gone unused for 13 years. Thailand’s flag carrier has sold one A340-500 and four A340-600 planes for a total of 350 million baht.

The transaction is sure to help THAI on its road to financial recovery since the Bankruptcy Court approved a debt restructuring plan for the airline in 2020.

The buyer, whose identity remains disclosed, has already signed the paperwork finalising the deal, according to Chief Technical Officer of Thai Airways Cherdphan Chotikhun. The transaction will go through once it is approved by Thailand’s Minister of Transport, said Cherdphan.

Since Thai Airways entered its debt rehabilitation programme two years ago, the airline has sold 16 decomissioned planes. Before the most recent sale one A340-500 and four A340-600s, THAI sold one Boeing 737-400, and ten Boeing 737-400 planes, amounting to 2 billion baht.

Cherdphan admitted that the airline struggled to shift the decomissioned A340s and there are still four more aircraft of the same spec for sale. THAI is currently engaging in discussions with prospective buyers for the remaining four A340s, said Cherdphan.

“In the past, we were bound by regulations of state firms, which gave us almost no chance to sell the decommissioned planes. As a result, THAI had to shoulder the cost burden of the decommissioned planes for years.”

In 2019, Thai Airways declared 245 billion baht in debt. The airline’s progress report published in July this year revealed that revenue is finally taking off and the airline is navigating its way out of its mountain of debt.

The flag carrier hasn’t just made money by selling aircraft but also by auctioning off a variety of items on their car-boot style Facebook shop ‘TG Warehouse Sale.’ The airline made a good profit by auctioning away colourful aeroplane seats via Facebook Live.

THAI also made some profit by opening a pop-up restaurants serving in-flight meals during the Covid-19 era and by selling a variety of inflight items such as napkins, cups, and cutlery.

But it’s been cutting costs, not making sales, which has helped THAI get back on track. The airline has reduced its costs by an enormous 73%, from 29.4 billion to 7.9 billion baht per year, according to its July financial report. The airline has saved on maintenance costs, and operating costs and also halved its 30,000 strong workforce to 15,000.

SOURCE: Nation