Nok Air has deferred the acquisition of eight new Boeing 737 Max 8 jets and will phase out seven existing aircraft as part of a fleet rationalisation.
The latest move is part of an ongoing business rehabilitation as the cash-strapped budget airline looks to turn around its balance sheet after combined losses of 4.93 billion baht from 2014 to June 2017.
The fleet rationalisation is aimed at shedding existing aircraft capacity and curbing additional capacity to match traffic demand.
The exercise appears to be high on the agenda of newly appointed chief executive Piya Yodmani, who succeeded long-serving Patee Sarasin.
Nok Air has already secured an agreement from US plane maker Boeing to postpone taking delivery of the eight B737 Max 8 jets without the deferment being considered a breach of contract.
The original deal in 2014 called for Nok Air to take the aircraft in three lots and over three time spans, according to insiders. Nok Air will now be allowed to defer the acquisition by one year for each of three lots.
The result is that Nok Air will take delivery of the first two B737 Max 8 jets in 2019 instead of 2018.
Two other aircraft will join Nok Air's fleet in 2020, rather than 2019, with the remaining four delivered in 2021, not 2020.
Mr Piya said the airline is seeking an early retirement of five Boeing 737-800 jets and two ATR 72-500 turboprops, all leased, from its fleet by year-end or early next year.
The retirements would help the airline save on aircraft leasing costs. Nok Air wants to raise the utilisation of its aircraft to an average of 11 hours a day from the current eight hours.
Nok Air on Wednesday took delivery of its 22nd B737-800, the last aircraft to join the fleet until the next, a B737 Max 8, arrives in 2019.
The airline wants to replace the ATR 72-500s, described as "odd birds" in the Nok Air fleet with Bombardier Q400 turboprops.
Mr Piya said Nok Air faces the challenge of returning these aircraft to lessors without being subject to contractual penalties.
The B737 Max 8 deferment will put Nok Air behind rival no-frills carrier Thai Lion Air in operating one of the world's newest commercial aircraft.
Thai Lion Air will incorporate the Boeing 737 Max by early 2018, becoming the operator of one of the youngest and most modern fleets in Thailand.