NokScoot is scaling down its fleet expansion plan as it adopts a more cautious approach to future growth.
The medium-to-long-haul low-cost carrier (LCC) plans to add two Boeing 777-200 jets by next October, instead of the seven aircraft it contemplated earlier this year for a single acquisition.
NokScoot chief executive Piya Yodmani told the Bangkok Post that the airline's fleet enlargement is still on track but that just two aircraft will be acquired at a time to lessen capital tie-up and pressure to use additional capacity.
In August this year, the Thai-registered joint venture of Thailand's Nok Air and Singapore's Scoot solicited interest from 30 parties, including airlines and lessors, to supply seven Boeing 777-200s to the fleet, currently comprising three aircraft of the same type, over the next two years.
Those additional wide-body jets were meant to support an expedited plan, primarily geared towards tapping the Thailand-China traffic that constitutes almost all of NokScoot's turnover.
But the Thai government's crackdown on "zero dollar" inbound tour scams has significantly slowed arrivals from China over the past four months, prompting tourism-related operators focused on the Chinese market to reassess their business strategy.
Six of seven routes handled by NokScoot are directed towards mainland Chinese cities, namely Dalian, Chongqing, Nanjing, Qingdao, Tianjin and Shenyang.
The airline's only other service from its base at Bangkok's Don Mueang airport is to Taipei.
Mr Piya said "some" impact from the zero-dollar crackdown has been felt by NokScoot since September but recent days have seen a recovery in bookings with load factor this month registering more than 70%.
The traffic recovery is expected to quicken as the tour scam issue resolves itself and the Thai government's decision to halve the visa-on-arrival fee for Chinese tourists goes into effect, he said.
"I believe Chinese traffic to Thailand will be fully recovered by the Lunar New Year [at the end of January]," he said.
Meanwhile, NokScoot is looking more intensely at spreading its wings to India and the Middle East, part of a plan to diversify from its dependence on the Chinese market.
NokScoot expects to finish 2016 with 800,000 passengers carried, about 200,000 shy of its target, according to Mr Piya, who said the airline aims to reach the 1-million-passenger level next year.
NokScoot saw its financial performance improve in the first nine months of the year, largely due to expanded Chinese flights.
The carrier narrowed its January-September loss to 377 million baht from 917 million in the year-earlier period.
Revenue in the first nine months soared to 2.93 billion baht, up from 529 million in the same period last year.
NokScoot's performance in the first nine months of last year was affected by the fallout of the International Civil Aviation Organization red-flagging Thailand for significant safety concerns.
That penalty stalled NokScoot's plan to start flights to Japan and South Korea, which otherwise would have contributed significantly to growth.