Thai Air Seeks Delay Of Airbus A330 Deliveries

January 7, 2009

Thai Airways said on Wednesday it planned to ask Airbus to delay the delivery of six A330 aircraft due later this year because of the sluggish airline business.

The national carrier, hit by the global financial crisis and Thai airport closures late last year by political demonstrators, had no pressing need for the new planes and the postponement should help ease its financial burden, Chairman Surachai Tansitpong said.

"We will ask Airbus to delay the delivery of the six planes. It's not necessary for us to have new planes at the moment," Surachai said.

The plan came a day after Thai Airways said it had agreed with Airbus to postpone the first payment for the six A330 aircraft to April from January, with subsequent payments also delayed for three months.

The national carrier has ordered eight A330 aircraft, with six of them to be delivered this year, the first in April. It has also ordered six A380 superjumbos to be delivered from December 2010.

Plans to revise a decommissioning plan will be discussed at a board meeting next week.

Thai Airways said last month the global crisis and the airport shutdowns would pull 2008 revenue growth below 10 percent and the impact would continue to be felt in 2009.