Progress for Thai
THAI AIRWAYS International has taken a significant step towards concluding its long-running business rehabilitation, filing for the completion of the court-supervised process with Thailand’s Central Bankruptcy Court on April 28. A hearing was scheduled for June 4 to consider the airline’s request. The move follows a series of key milestones, including the full integration of Thai Smile Airways into the parent company. Thai Smile officially ceased operations on January 1, 2024, and its Airbus A320 fleet has since been incorporated into Thai Airways’ mainline operations. The airline reports that formerly loss-making Thai Smile routes have now become profitable, thanks to improved network strategy, fleet optimisation and cost efficiencies. The progress was detailed in Thai Airways’ first quarter 2025 financial report, which showed continued recovery. The group posted a net profit of $266m and generated total revenue (excluding one-off items) of $1.39bn, up 12.3% year-on-year. The improvement was driven by rising travel demand, an expanded fleet and increased frequencies. Passenger numbers rose by 11.6% to 4.33 million, with capacity (ASK) up 21.1% and traffic (RPK) up 20.8%, resulting in an average load factor of 83.3%.