News
Branson to “fly his airline to Thailand soon”
September 18th 2015
Virgin Group is looking to invest in the airline business in Thailand, the Bangkok Post has reported, citing founder Sir Richard Branson on a visit to the Thai capital on Monday. He did not provide any details about the investment plan, only that he “would fly his airline to Thailand soon”. Read More » A local Virgin offshoot could potentially spell even harder times for Thai Airways International (THAI), one of the worst performing Asia-Pacific carriers in the past two years. The airline is already under immense pressure from Gulf carriers, who are adding more capacity and frequencies into Bangkok, and Lufthansa long-haul LCC Eurowings which will begin flying from Cologne to Bangkok and Phuket from December. Branson introduced Virgin Australia, formerly Virgin Blue, 15 years ago to challenge Qantas Airways with a single aircraft. Now the airline holds a 35% market share in Australia.
At Don Mueang-based City Airways, the budget carrier has signed a tripartite agreement with Comac and ICBC Leasing to acquire ten C919s and ten ARJ21 regional jets. ICBC Leasing has said it would help City Airways with the necessary leasing and financing options for the purchase, in support of bringing Chinese-made aircraft into Thailand and other Southeast Asian markets. The agreement was announced at the Aviation Expo in Beijing on Wednesday. Three ARJ21s and three C919s would come from ICBC Leasing's earlier commitment for 45 C919s and 30 ARJ21s, Comac told Flightglobal, while the remaining 14 aircraft would be new orders. City Airways said Comac’s aircraft would meet the airline’s needs to service domestic as well as regional destinations. City plans to add destinations in Mainland China within the next three years, including Nanjing, Tianjin, Changsha and Nanchang. It was grounded temporarily by Thailand’s Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) last September, after the authorities found several safety violations in the airline’s maintenance program.
Boeing last week announced an exclusive pilot training agreement with THAI. Under the deal, Boeing Flight Services will provide flight training for THAI’s 787-8 fleet at Boeing’s Singapore campus. “THAI’s customers demand and deserve the highest quality service, which is why we chose Boeing Flight Services to train our pilots as we grow our 787 fleet,” said Capt. Parinya Ounrean, director for flight deck crew training at THAI. The flag carrier took delivery of its sixth 787-8 in August with two 787-9s to be delivered in 2017.
