Cabinet orders Thai Airways to lease, not buy, Airbus planes

BANGKOK : Thailand's interim cabinet on Tuesday ordered Thai Airways International to lease eight mid-sized Airbus A330 planes, rather than buy the aircraft as proposed by the flag carrier, officials said.

Airbus had offered the A330-300 aircraft at a heavily discounted price as a key part of a deal to compensate Thai Airways for the two-year delivery delay of six A380 superjumbos.

The purchase of eight mid-sized A330 aircraft to replace old planes would have cost Thai Airways about 30 billion baht (US$867 million), but a cabinet statement released Tuesday said the aircraft should instead be leased.

A transport ministry official said it was a better solution, as Thai Airways was under financial pressure because of high oil prices.

"The cabinet agreed that operating a lease contract for the A330 for up to 10 years is more appropriate for Thai Airways, by not causing the airline a huge debt for buying the aircraft," the transport ministry official told AFP.

"Given the current high oil prices, Thai Airways should lease the aircraft just for the period of five to 10 years while looking for other fuel-efficient models to replace the retiring fleet later."

Thai Airways has targeted to order 40 aircraft over the next 10 years to replace old planes. The company currently operates 86 aircraft.

Airline president Apinan Sumanaseni said the delivery of the leased A330s was scheduled to start in October next year, and would take five years to complete.

"We need those aircraft to partially replace 48 existing ones set to retire within 10 years," said Apinan.

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Rare vulture freed in Thailand after bird flu fears thwart trip to Mongolia

DOI LANG, Thailand (AP) - It seemed like a good idea: fly a rare vulture from Thailand back to its native Mongolia. Thai Airways agreed to transport the bird and nature lovers rallied to the cause.

But fears of bird flu thwarted the flight, and the vulture was freed in northern Thailand on Thursday, thousands of miles from home. China and South Korea refused to let the bird be flown through their capitals, despite tests showing it did not have bird flu.

The cinereous vulture - nicknamed Anakin after the Star Wars character who becomes Darth Vader - was found in southeastern Thailand in December, emaciated and apparently lost. Also known as the black or monk vulture, the species is in decline in Asia because of habitat loss, shortage of food and poisoning.

Veterinarians in Bangkok nursed the bird back to health, feeding it pork legs and rotten meat. But Thursday's release didn't go exactly as planned.

Officials were hoping the year-old Anakin would fly off in search of food along with four Himalayan griffon vultures also rescued in Thailand.

Instead, the brown-and-white griffons took off first, leaving Anakin standing alone, stretching its wings. Chaiyan Kasorndorkbua, who oversaw the bird's recovery, then picked it and threw it into the air, forcing it to fly toward a ridge.

"It would have been better if we could have flown it to Mongolia. But under the circumstances, this is the best we can do," said Chaiyan.

"I was so happy to see it released in the wild," Chaiyan said. "They belong in nature not in a cage. I'm confident it's ready to fend for itself."

Chaiyan said he hoped the sight of the other vultures would help the young male bird search for food and navigate its way toward China or Mongolia. Anakin, with an imposing black-and-white beak, weighs about 18 pounds, and its wing span grew past 9 feet in captivity.

"We still need to keep on praying," he said. "Hopefully, they will find the food and will fly onto China or Mongolia or any other country where they will spend the summer."

He said Anakin was tagged with a radio transmitter to track its progress and migration routes.

Other bird experts expressed doubts that the bird would survive in an environment where there is a shortage of carcasses to feed on and where illegal poaching is widespread.

"It could get lost again," Gawin Chutima, chairman of the Bird Conservation Society of Thailand said last month. "It's a young bird and has no experience."

Thai Airways announced in March that it would transport the vulture to Mongolia. But months of lobbying failed to ease the bird flu concerns of China and South Korea, even though two tests deemed the vulture free of the virus.

South Korea says a government notice bans the entry of live birds from countries where bird flu as broken out. Thailand has seen four outbreaks of the H5N1 virus this year, including one last month that killed 50 ducks and chickens.

Bird flu has killed at least 172 people worldwide since it began its spread through Asian poultry in 2003, according to the World Health Organization. Most human deaths come from contact with infected birds, but experts fear it could mutate into a form that spreads easily among people.

The cinereous vulture - normally not found in Thailand - is defined as near-threatened by the World Conservation Union. Though its numbers are declining in Asia, conservation efforts have boosted the population in Greece, Spain and other parts of Europe. Its global population is estimated at between 14,400 and 20,000.

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Thai Airways profit hit by strong baht

BANGKOK : Thai Airways International said on Wednesday that despite increased traffic, first quarter net profit fell 31 percent from a year earlier as a rising baht undercut offshore earnings.

Thailand's flag carrier said net profit dropped to 4.2 billion baht (121 million dollars) in the three months to March, while pre-tax profit tumbled 31 percent to 6.0 billion baht.

Revenue, meanwhile, rose 7.6 percent year-on-year to 43.4 billion baht, while passenger traffic grew 13.1 percent.

"The lower profit was mainly caused by a stronger baht compared to the same period of last year and came despite the fact that oil prices eased," said a senior company official.

The baht was at about 39 to the dollar in March last year, against 35 this year.

Thai Airways posted a lower gain on its foreign operations, mostly arising from converting outstanding loans into baht, of almost 1.5 billion baht, compared to 3.8 billion baht in 2006, he added.

Total expenditure was 7.0 percent lower than the same period last year due mainly to lower fuel prices, which amount to about a third of the carrier's total expenses, he said.

Higher revenue largely reflected increased flight frequencies to serve growing demand for air travel on both regional and intercontinental routes.

The airline launched new flights to Johannesburg in South Africa as well as Hyderabad, Bodhgaya and Varanasi in India, Thai Airways said in a statement to the stock exchange.

Some 90 percent of the airline's revenue comes from international flights, with Bangkok to London, Frankfurt and Tokyo among the most profitable routes.

Costs rose 7.1 percent to 43.4 billion baht in the quarter due partly to an increase of personnel and other operating expenses at the new Suvarnabhumi Airport.

The carrier shifted its all commercial flights to Suvarnabhumi when it was opened in late September but later moved some domestic flights back to Bangkok's old Don Muang Airport due to lingering problems at the new hub.

Net profit for the last six months, marking the first half of the airline's fiscal year, was down 17 percent to 8.2 billion baht.

Analysts, however, were still upbeat on Thai Airways, saying its full-year target could be achieved due to lower oil prices and improving tourism.

Tourist arrivals to Thailand rose 4.4 percent in the first three months to 3.8 million, according to Siam City Securities.

"Given the higher arrivals, Thai Airways' load factor has surged while oil prices would not a major threat to the airline's operating costs this year," Siam City airline analyst Siriwan Naphawaranon told AFP.

Siriwan said Thai Airways remained on track to achieve total revenue of 180 billion baht this year with a net profit of 12.7 billion baht.

The flag carrier is controlled by the Thai government with a 54.21 percent stake. - AFP/de

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Thai Nok Air, SGA Airlines To Offer Cobranded Domestic Services

BANGKOK -(Dow Jones)- Thai budget carrier Nok Air Co. said Tuesday it will partner SGA Airlines, a local operator of small aircraft, to jointly offer domestic flights in Thailand.


Starting from March 25, the two airlines will offer cobranded flights from Bangkok to Pai, a tourist destination in northern Thailand, Hua Hin, a beach resort in the southern part of the country, as well as to the northern provinces of Phrae and Chiang Rai.

Nok Air is 40% owned by flag carrier Thai Airways International PCL. SGA operates Cessna 208B Grand Caravan aircraft with a capacity of 12. It offers daily flights from Chiang Mai to Pai, Phrae and Chiang Rai, and three daily flights between Bangkok and Hua Hin.

-By Bangkok bureau, Dow Jones Newswires; 66 2266 0744; djnews.bangkok@ dowjones.com

Marissa Chew
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