An ambitious blueprint to make Thai Airways “second to none” in world aviation has been unveiled at an exclusive business briefing in Sydney.
Senior airline officials flew to Australia specifically for the event, which was attended by travel industry partners, tourism executives and selected trade media.
The airline is anchoring its global strategy on a streamlined and revitalised fleet, elevated onboard experiences, a focus on young fliers and developing deeper ties with Australia as a high-value pillar of its Bangkok-centric “Silk Hub.”
“Australia is not just simply a market. For us, Australia is a beautiful and strong bridge that connects Thailand and the world,” said Kittiphong Sansomboon, Chief Commercial Officer.
“We are not building that bridge alone. It has been built over 55 years with you, our partners, our stakeholders and our customers.”
Mr Sansomboon said the airline currently services 63 destinations worldwide with 832 flights per week, including 35 to Australia across three cities (Sydney, Perth and Melbourne).
“This coming winter we’re going to increase capacity in Europe. Paris will be double daily and also increases to Munich and Zurich. We’re also going to commence our service to Danang in Vietnam in December,” he added.
The current Thai Airways fleet stands at 95, with 58 widebody aircraft and 29 narrowbody, with the airline planning to increase this to 150 by 2033.
Mr Sansomboon added that Australia played a very important part in the airline’s plans to promote Bangkok as a link to the rest of the world.
“Our objective for our silk hub is simple. We want to make sure Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport is the hub you choose when you travel. That is our key message.”
Other areas of investment for the airline include collaborations with top chefs to improve the quality of the meals served and a push to secure brand loyalty among younger fliers as they become the customers of tomorrow.
Also key to the airline’s future success is the comprehensive upgrade to its cabin interiors.
Mr Sansomboon revealed that those present were among the first to see the new cabin designs, including a innovative business class seat created in collaboration with market-leading designer Thompson.
“We are the launch customer for this product and the first airline to use this type of seat,” said Mr Sansomboon.
“Our strength has always been our soft product – our people and our food – but our weakness has been hardware and we know that.
“But next year Thai Airways will bring a good soft service together with the new hardware and I think we will be second to none to any airline in the world.”
This sentiment was echoed by Chai Eamsiri, Thai Airways Chief Executive Officer, who said the airline’s product would be consistent across the fleet.
“Every time you fly, you will find exactly the same product. This is the first time Thai Airways has invested in hardware and it means we will be second to none starting from May next year.
“This is our promise to the market and to our partners that we didn’t just sit back and relax. We have improved a lot and we are investing a lot in this product.”
Mr Eamsiri added that the past few years had been challenging for the airline but that it was coming back stronger than ever, hinting at a possible expansion of Australian routes.
“We used to fly to Brisbane,” he said. “We are not coming back yet but we are looking to expand our network to the southern hemisphere and of course we need your support.”
“People connect cultures and bring the whole world together. We’ve been connecting Australia and Thailand to the world for the past 55 years and we can’t come this far without you. Thank you for your support and thank you for your trust,” commented Mr Sansomboon.
