Thai Airways said on Wednesday it planned to expand its fleet by buying 14 new aircraft over 10 years to meet higher demand.
The company's board approved the plan to buy six large long-range planes with more than 500 seats, seven middle-sized long-range aircraft and one especially long-range, medium-sized plane, it said in a statement.
The purchase is part of the national carrier's 10-year business plan from the financial year beginning October 2005, the statement said.
The airline has said it wants to increase capacity to destinations such as London, Frankfurt and Munich by replacing smaller planes with bigger ones or adding flights.
It also plans to launch non-stop flights to the United States, Australia and Russia next year.
A company source had said on Tuesday the airline would buy six 555-seat Airbus A380s, the world's biggest airliner, two Airbus A340s and six Boeing 777-200s.
Thai Airways, which has 83 aircraft, has already ordered three Airbus A340-500s and five A340-600s and is scheduled to start receiving them from next year. The new plan for 14 more aircraft is in addition to these purchases.
International flights contribute about 90 percent of Thai Airways revenues, which executives expect to grow by 8 percent to 150 billion baht (USD$3.6 billion) in the financial year ending in September.
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By: steve rowell - 29th July 2004 at 06:55
Thai Airways said on Wednesday it planned to expand its fleet by buying 14 new aircraft over 10 years to meet higher demand.
The company's board approved the plan to buy six large long-range planes with more than 500 seats, seven middle-sized long-range aircraft and one especially long-range, medium-sized plane, it said in a statement.
The purchase is part of the national carrier's 10-year business plan from the financial year beginning October 2005, the statement said.
The airline has said it wants to increase capacity to destinations such as London, Frankfurt and Munich by replacing smaller planes with bigger ones or adding flights.
It also plans to launch non-stop flights to the United States, Australia and Russia next year.
A company source had said on Tuesday the airline would buy six 555-seat Airbus A380s, the world's biggest airliner, two Airbus A340s and six Boeing 777-200s.
Thai Airways, which has 83 aircraft, has already ordered three Airbus A340-500s and five A340-600s and is scheduled to start receiving them from next year. The new plan for 14 more aircraft is in addition to these purchases.
International flights contribute about 90 percent of Thai Airways revenues, which executives expect to grow by 8 percent to 150 billion baht (USD$3.6 billion) in the financial year ending in September.