In April 2005, Thai Airways received its first Airbus A340, a 340-500 with the registration HS-TLA. Ten A340s, four A340-500s, and six A340-600s were operated by the airline. They were used on the company’s long-haul route network, which at the time included London Heathrow (LHR), Los Angeles (LAX), and Zurich (ZRH). However, operating the four-engined aircraft proved to be expensive due to high fuel expenses, and Thai Airways removed the type from operation after just ten years. On March 28, 2015, the airline’s final A340 flight from Frankfurt (FRA) landed at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi International Airport (BKK). What has occurred since then to the carrier’s A340s?
The planes have been sold?
There have been several rumors that Thai Airways has sold its A340s over the years. One of the airline’s A340-500s, registered as HS-TLC, was purchased by the Royal Thai Air Force in May 2016.
Despite the high operating costs of a four-engined aircraft, the Thai daily The Nation stated in 2019 that an American logistics company was close to buying eight A340s from Thai Airways for more than 4 billion baht ($115 million). Sumeth Damrongchaitham, the airline’s president at the time, indicated that the plan had been filed to the Transport Ministry of Thailand for approval, saying,
“I would say that getting new planes is important because it will increase our ability to compete. I think the proposal will be approved by the incoming administration. According to this video from the Simple Flying crew, the airline sold five of its A340s last year for a total of 350 million baht ($10.1 million):
The outcome of the transactions, however, is unknown because, based on the most recent information from ch-aviation.com, nine of the airline’s 10 A340s (with the exception of HS-TLC, which was sold to the Royal Thai Air Force) are still in storage.The six A340-600s are all maintained at U-Tapao International Airport (UTP), adjacent to the city of Pattaya, while the three remaining A340-500s are currently kept at Bangkok Don Mueang International Airport (DMK).
Thai Airways’ transformation
In an effort to turn around its financial woes in the late 2010s, Thai Airways considered a number of options, including bringing back its A340s in 2019, but ultimately opted against it.
Thai Airways faced a significant restructuring, eliminating several of its long-haul flights, as the epidemic made its financial problems worse. The airline also started auctioning off seats from one of its Boeing 747s and recently sold a number of its older Boeing 777s to obtain much-needed money.
Although Thai Airways has subsequently resumed making a profit, it is improbable that the Airbus A340 will ever again fly in its regal purple and gold livery. Modern fuel-efficient twinjet aircraft, such as the Airbus A350-900, Boeing 777-300ER, and Dreamliner (both the 787-8 and 787-9 variants), are used by the airline to fly great distances. As its recovery from the epidemic proceeds, the carrier also revealed plans to acquire up to 30 additional widebody aircraft last month.
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SOURCE: http://simpleflying.com
