NewGen Airways says it should be able to regain its losses from a plunge in inbound Chinese travellers as early as next month.
The China-focused charter airline has begun to see bookings from its five major Chinese agents rebound steadily as Chinese travellers are slowly returning to Thailand.
"We are getting back on track,'' NewGen chief executive Jarurnpong Sornprasit told the Bangkok Post yesterday, attributing the positive outlook to the temporary cut in visa-on-arrival fees to 1,000 baht a head and revived travel sentiment among Chinese tourists.
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) said Chinese tourist flows, which have plummeted over the past 3-4 months due partly to the clampdown on inbound Chinese tour scams, have start to recover.
Mr Jarunpong said the Thai-registered airline would be able to operate up to 100 flights per week in February, up from 28 at present.
The airline earlier this month took delivery of its ninth Boeing 737-800, a single-aisle jetliner which provides extra capacity, helping boost it from its previous frequency of 80 flights per week.
The recovery in Chinese travel demand has reinforced the airline's future business plans and outlook, which were dampened in September.
Mr Jarurnpong said the airline is committed to receiving three more Boeing 737-800s from an aircraft lessor next year, one in March and two in July.
While New Gen's financial performance in the last quarter of 2016 is still pending, the airline is expected to break even or report a slight loss for the whole year, thanks to the 309 million baht it generated in net earnings during the first nine months.
But NewGen has a rosy outlook, estimating revenue of more than 8 billion baht for 2017, significantly higher than this year's projection of 4.5 billion.
It forecasts a net profit of 800 million baht next year, which will be achieved by carrying more than 1.5 million passengers, up from around 800,000 projected this year.
The airline is seeking to expand its Chinese coverage by raising the numbers of city it serves to 24, up from 18 at present.
Among the additional cities targeted are Baotou, Hohot, Huangshan City, Hangzhou and Qingdao.
Meanwhile, NewGen is working on several fronts to reduce its sole reliance on the Chinese market.
NewGen is also looking at offering flights to Taipei and Kaohsiung in Taiwan to reduce its dependence on the Chinese mainland.
India is also on its radar with a couple of secondary routes with Thailand under consideration.
NewGen is in talks to have some of its aircraft and crew operate for Saudi Arabia's flag carrier under a so-called wet lease arrangement.
Mr Jarurnpong said the airline would also like to modify its network to include other Thai destinations such as Chiang Mai, Phuket and Surat Thani as additional ports of connection with the Chinese cities it covers.
Most of NewGen flights from China are operated through Bangkok's Don Mueang airport and Krabi airport, where its flight frequencies are split equally.
He also said NewGen's planned launch of an initial public offering (IPO) remains on track. The company now looks at 2018 or 2019 as a possible launch of the IPO that would raise 8 billion baht to finance its ambitious growth plans.
It aims to set up its own facility for training pilots, flight crew and technicians.