Bangkok Airways is inching towards a long-anticipated decision for a new narrowbody aircraft.
The carrier plans to issue a request for proposals for a jet to replace its Airbus A320 family fleet – 11 A319s and two A320s – by the end of the year, says chief executive Puttipong Prasarttong-Osoth.
He singles out two possible contenders: the Airbus A220 and the Embraer E2 series.
Prasarttong-Osoth was speaking to FlightGlobal in Bandar Seri Begawan, where the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines is holding its 68th Assembly of Presidents.
The crux of the Bangkok Airways business model is Samui airport, which the airline runs. The carrier has about 90% of capacity into the island, and has 20 codeshare partners, which provide feed for Samui flights. A key partner is Thai Airways, which ceased flying to Samui in 2018.
The airport, which serves the famous resort island of Koh Samui, has a single 2,100m runway that cannot be expanded. This reduces the aircraft types that can economically serve the destination.
Once Bangkok Airways places an order, Prasarttong-Osoth is conscious that deliveries could take time.
“Once we receive the offer, we might make the decision, but when will we get the aircraft?” he asks.
“I think that’s another story. Even if we make the decision by early next year, we might only get the aircraft two years later.”
In the interim, the airline might resort to leasing “vintage A319s” .
Before the pandemic the carrier operated 40 aircraft, a mix of A320 family jets and ATRs. Even then the carrier’s replacement plans for the A319 were a hot industry topic.
The coronavirus pandemic upended the carrier’s plans. To save costs, Bangkok Airways returned aircraft to lessors and even sold some aircraft. Today, the airline flies just 10 ATRs, 11 A319s, and two A320s.
Employee numbers have fallen from 3,000 before the pandemic to around 2,000 now.
With the strong rebound in tourism, however, the carrier is struggling to build capacity.
“[During the pandemic] the Airbus aircraft were high value, but nobody wanted them, but now everyone is looking for aircraft,” says Prasarttong-Osoth.
“Demand is growing dramatically, particularly for Thailand and Southeast Asia.”
The carrier’s third quarter results highlight the return of air travel to Thailand. In the three months to 30 September, Bangkok Airways earned an operating profit of Bt1.4 billion ($40 million), up 18% from a year earlier.
Revenues rose 15% to Bt6.5 billion, although net halved to Bt673 million.
The quarter saw Bangkok Airways carry 1.1 million passengers, up from 977,000 a year earlier.
