THAI saves non-stop LA flight
Written by Writer on Wednesday, October 29th, 2008
AVIATION
THAI saves non-stop LA flight
BOONSONG KOSITCHOTETHANA
Thai Airways International has resolved to keep its non-stop Bangkok-Los Angeles flights, which were to have been terminated last Sunday, as sharply lower oil prices are improving the route’s viability. At least for the time being, the national carrier intends to continue the loss-making service until Jan 31 next year when it will be replaced by flights that stop over in Osaka.
Before then, the airline will assess the business environment, taking into account prevalent traffic demand and oil price movements, to see if the non-stop Bangkok-LA route should remain on its timetable, according to THAI executives.
THAI continues to operate Airbus A340-500 jetliners and to offer five flights a week on the route. The replacement flights with a stopover in Osaka will use Boeing B777-200ER jets, also at five flights per week.
The collapse of crude oil prices, from a peak of US$147 a barrel in mid-July to below $70 now, has reduced the huge cost pressure that would have grounded the ultra-long-haul air services altogether.
Jet fuel prices have fallen to about $80 a barrel, half of what they were three months ago.
Industry sources said THAI’s decision to maintain the non-stop Bangkok-LA flights also reflected difficulties in disposing of its four-engine Airbus A340-500s in a market flooded with aircraft, old and new, that have been put up for sale due to the sharp downturn in the airline business.
One key problem that had threatened THAI’s non-stop US flights was the limited seating capacity of the A340-500, which has 215 seats and only 60 in business class, which airlines can really make money from but cannot always fill.
Worsening the problem for the airline was the need to carry up to 210,000 litres of fuel on the 13,000-kilometre, 17-hour, flight, creating extra weight and reducing fuel efficiency.When oil prices were peaking, fuel on the Bangkok-LA flight represented 55% of the airline’s total operating cost, well above the 34% average.
It is not immediately known whether THAI is considering reviving its daily non-stop services between Bangkok and New York, which were terminated on July 1 for cost reasons.
In another about-face, the flag carrier decided not to axe its non-stop flight between Bangkok and Auckland in its new timetable that starts this week, though it reduced the frequencies to three flights a week from four.
The plan to terminate the ultra-long-haul flight created an uproar in New Zealand’s tourism industry when it was made known in August.
New Zealand is concerned that the suspension would not only curtail tourism flows between the cities, but affect traffic to New Zealand from other key points on THAI’s network, particularly from Europe.
Bangkok Post
Wednesday October 29, 2008
