Moscow stands out as the only one of four long-haul destinations axed by Thai Airways International (THAI) last year to see a revival.
The flag carrier aims to resume regular flights from Bangkok to the Russian capital in October as the route appears to offer profit potential again despite Russia's economic woes.
THAI has opted not to revive its non-stop services from Bangkok to Madrid, Johannesburg and Los Angeles -- routes that incurred heavy losses and plunged the airline into a financial crisis over the past three years.
Speaking to the Bangkok Post on the sidelines of the International Air Transport Association's general meeting in Dublin last week, THAI president Charamporn Jotikasthira confirmed the strategic approach as part of an ongoing turnaround scheme.
He also made it clear that THAI will never revive flights to Los Angeles should the restrictions imposed by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Thai-registered airlines be lifted.
"We are not looking at going back to Los Angeles because it is too far, gas-guzzling and crowded with competitors, and we never make money [from the route]," Mr Charamporn said.
"We need to look at other cities in North America such as Seattle and Vancouver, which offer more potential if we decide to return to the continent."
He reckoned it may take some time before the FAA removes impediments resulting from safety deficiencies found during audits of the Thai civil aviation system.
Last Dec 1, the FAA downgraded Thailand to Category II, meaning Thai-registered airlines are not allowed to open new routes, increase the frequency of existing flights to the US or change aircraft types already deployed on current services.
The FAA's downgrade followed an International Civil Aviation Organization decision in June last year to put a red flag on Thailand for "significant safety concerns".
THAI, which was the only Thai airline operating to the US, terminated its service to Los Angeles last October as part of its latest restructuring.
Mr Charamporn indicated that THAI plans to use Boeing 787-9 jetliners due for delivery next year for the possible resumption of flights to North America.
The B787-9 is basically a stretched version of the B787 Dreamliner family jets and is said to be 20% more fuel-efficient than the similar-sized commercial jets it is designed to replace.
THAI has no specific plan for new routes but aims to offer more flights on routes such as Milan and Jakarta, Mr Charamporn said.