Thai Airways International Plc (THAI) has called on the government to review the international "open skies" policy, which it claims favours certain countries.
THAI president Sumeth Damrongchaitham said yesterday that THAI will submit details of the "open skies" policy's impact to relevant authorities including the Transport Ministry.
While Thailand "opens its sky" to foreign airlines, several countries fail to reciprocate, which is unfair to Thai airlines, claimed Mr Sumeth.
The open-skies agreement allows foreign carriers unrestricted access to signatories' airspace and airports.
Mr Sumeth said the policy, coupled with the rise of low-cost airlines, has forced THAI to withdraw from slots at major airports, including in Japan.
He said THAI would hold forums to explain the issue to the public.
A source at THAI said the carrier had positioned itself as a premium airline with higher ticket prices than low-cost carriers. When low-cost airlines open short Asian routes of three to five hours' flying time, to destinations such as Japan and South Korea, THAI has been unable to compete, said the source.
As well as the ongoing price war with low-cost airlines, Thailand's aviation industry is under pressure from the open-skies policy, said Mr Sumeth.
He said that certain countries have refused to grant access to Thai airlines that Thailand had granted to them.
Addressing THAI's recovery strategy, Mr Sumeth said the carrier has come up with steps to cut expenditure and increase revenue, in a bid to curb accumulated debt of 100 billion baht.
Mr Sumeth said intense competition had affected all airlines' operating results, and was coupled with recurring issues at THAI that were being tackled.
In his 11 months in the job, "there had never been a day without a problem", he said.
The national airline has been hit by external crises such as the strong baht, the US-China trade war, a sluggish global economy and closure of Pakistani airspace.
As a result, tourist numbers and customer purchasing power have fallen. Delayed engine manufacturer repairs have compounded woes.
Management recently sought ideas to increase revenue and reduce costs quickly.
Among proposed solutions were launching direct flights to Sendai in Japan, using digital media to attract online customers, and encouraging them to download the THAI app to make reservations and search for flights and promotions.
