Thai Airways International (THAI) is cutting its fleet by 42 aircraft to 97 planes and changing a dozen routes this year in a major shakeup intended to reverse its failing fortunes.
THAI president Charamporn Jotikasthira said the airline's board on Monday approved the sale of 14 airplanes - six Airbus A330-300s, six Airbus A340-600s, and two Boeing 747-400s.
This June he will propose to the board the sale of eight more Boeing 747-400s. When the board's previous resolution to sell 20 other planes is included, this year the national airline will sell a total of 42 aircraft.
"The operating result for this year does not depend on operations but on asset sales. It depends on whether these asset sales turn out as expected. The sale should go well now because of the decline in the price of oil," Mr Charamporn said.
The sell-off will cut the national airlione's total fleet to 97 aircraft - leaving THAI with 77 planes and its Thai Smile subsidiary with 20.
The average age of its fleet would then be 7.8 years, which is considered as new, Mr Charamporn said. The shorter usage time would cut the aviation management costs of THAI by six percent, he said.
He also said that THAI had either cancelled or adjusted the frequencies of 10 routes, including Bangkok-Johannesburg, which ceased on Jan 15, and Bangkok-Moscow which ended on Jan 29. The Bangkok-Madrid route will be terminated on Sept 6, he said.
The terminated routes had been loss-ridden for a long time and had no prospects for recovery, Mr Charamporn said.
He said operations on Asian routes had bright prospects, but those on European routes were shrinking.
THAI planned to operate Airbus A380 planes on direct flights from Bangkok to London, Paris and Frankfurt, Mr Charamporn said.
The national airline recorded a loss of 12 billion baht in 2013 and 9.21 billion baht in the first nine months of 2014.