Thai Airways has paid roughly Bt1.07 billion ($31 million) in pre-delivery payments for its first two Airbus A350-900 jets, the carrier disclosed as it released its second-quarter results.
The aircraft – two of 12 A350-900s Thai has on order – are scheduled for delivery in the third quarter.
At current list prices, two A350-900s would be worth around $600 million. Pre-delivery payments can account for up to a third of an aircraft's total price.
Thai has also disclosed that much of its financing over the first half of the year consisted of short-term loans from international banks. The Bangkok-based airline says it obtained these loans "via the ministry of finance", implying that governmental guarantees have been provided for the loans.
Amid restructuring, Thai has narrowed its second-quarter loss from Bt4.7 billion last year to Bt1.8 billion this year.
During the second quarter, the Star Alliance carrier drew down almost $200 million through a revolving credit facility it has with an undisclosed domestic bank.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
