Paul Lewis/SINGAPORE
A SIX-YEAR stand-off between Thailand and the USA has ended with agreement on a new bilateral air-services treaty which lifts capacity restrictions and increases fifth-freedom flights.
The new agreement, which has still to be ratified by the Thai Government, will allow US carriers to operate up to 31 passenger and 24 cargo flights weekly to any point in Thailand. The frequencies can be revised after three years and there is no restriction on aircraft size or seat capacity.
US airlines flying to Thailand will be given unlimited fifth-freedom rights to any destination other than London. There is a limit, however, of 14 weekly flights to Bangkok using one intermediate stop, such as Tokyo.
Thai Airways International, in return, has permission to fly a comparable number of passenger flights to up to eight different US continental cities. It now operates only to Los Angeles. A further, ten US cities will be opened to Thai code sharing flights, with other carriers.
Thai Airways will be allowed up to 24 cargo flights a week to any US destination, with open intermediate and beyond-rights to other points, apart from London. Passenger services will have unlimited beyond rights to Canada and Mexico, together with any three points in Central or South America.
In addition to its new US mainland rights, Thai has also been given the go-ahead to launch passenger services to the US Pacific island possessions of Hawaii, Guam, Northern Mariana and American Samoa.
The new treaty replaces an earlier agreement, which was unilaterally renounced by Thailand in 1989. Negotiations have been stalled for six years over the issue of US fifth freedoms, which Thailand had claimed, were unfair. As a result, US airline frequencies were frozen and capacity capped.
Ratification of the treaty clears the way for existing US carriers operating to Bangkok - United Airlines, Northwest and FedEx - to expand their services. The agreement will also allow Thai Airways to activate its code-sharing alliance with United, which has been in limbo since it was signed in 1994.
Thai Airways has sold six Boeing 747-200s to Langdon Asset Management for $123 million. The six General Electric CF6-50E2 powered air-craft will be converted, into freighters for use by Atlas Air. Thai will withdraw the aircraft from service by April 1997. In the meantime, Thai Airways is renegotiating delivery of its first Boeing 777-200 for late March.
Source: Flight International
