Thai Airways considers cancelling A380 order

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Industry observers are saying that Thai Airways may cancel its order for six A380s, as it does not see the superjumbos as viable for its operations. At a total cost of US$1.8 billion, the carrier also sees the new jets as too expensive to fund.

Wallop Bhukkanasut, who is the chairman of the Thai Airways executive board, revealed the airline’s revised position on procuring the aircraft, which it had agreed to purchase in 2007.

“It is not economically viable to have and deploy this aircraft in our network,” Bhukkanasut said to a reporter at the International Air Transport Association (IATA) annual meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Airlines currently operating A380s are finding it difficult to achieve expected yields due to the global economic downturn, high operating costs and the small number of airports which can accommodate the aircraft, he noted.

The chairman added: “It is a special mission airplane and can currently operate through eight airports around the world, meaning you can’t put the aircraft on routes as you may wish.”

With the configuration of the A380 planned by Thai Airways, 88.8 per cent of the 501 seats would have to be filled in order to break even, he went on to say.

Thanks to www.bangkokpost.com for the above quotes, for more information on this article please visit their website.

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