Airlines are set to restart services with more limited seat capacity and possibly higher ticket prices to comply with social distancing rules ordered by the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT).
"Normally, load factor of each flight should be 60% to reach the break-even point, but under the new seat allocation requiring airlines to leave the middle seat empty, available seat capacity will drop to 60%," said Nuntaporn Komonsittivate, head of commercial at Thai Lion Air (TLA). "It means airlines will have to sell all available seats if we'd like to make profit."
Ms Nuntaporn said that while airlines are ready to comply with coronavirus-related social distancing rules as a condition to restart services, the restrictions add another challenge to their troubled operations.
There is as strong likelihood that airfares will rise because carriers can't play the volume game anymore.
TLA has announced the resumption of domestic flights from May 1. It will monitor the situation during the last week of April before deciding on potential routes to open first.
Raj Tanta-Nanta, deputy chief executive of Nok Air, said empty seats in each row will lead to a greater cost burden for airlines and more expensive tickets for passengers.
"The aviation industry will not be the same," Mr Raj said. "Airline operators can't use price wars to battle one another when we have to operate with limited seats."
Before the coronavirus, airfares for low-cost carriers in European countries were three times higher on average than those in Thailand.
"Low-cost airlines everywhere bear the same level of operating costs, but here we always sell much cheaper tickets," Mr Raj said.
Nok Air is still operating most of its domestic flights. Starting May 1, it may reopen routes that are on suspension now.
"Before starting each route, we have to make sure it can carry on with sufficient demand and abide by each province's travel orders," Mr Raj said.
The new regulations from the CAAT are for domestic operations. Airlines operating international flights must wait for further details of procedures at each destination, said Yodchai Sudhidhanakul, chief executive of NokScoot.
Most global airlines are unable to resume international routes because of travel bans in many countries, Mr Yodchai said. If coronavirus containment proves successful, traffic will restart on domestic routes first.
A source at THAI Smile, a subsidiary of flag carrier Thai Airways International, said the airline expects to fly again to some domestic destinations on June 1.
THAI Smile is ready to comply with CAAT guidelines on social distancing, including not serving in-flight food and drinks and requiring passengers to wear face masks on all flights, the source said.
