The Royal Thai Air Force (Bangkok Don Mueang) has acquired an A340-500 from Thai Airways International (TG, Bangkok Suvarnabhumi) as part of a THB1.745 billion (USD49.18 million) package.
In a disclosure to the Bangkok bourse, the carrier said that aside from HS-TLC (cn 698), the deal included an extra Trent 553-61 motor (esn 71270), aircraft spares and paint. In addition, Thai will provide the Air Force with the necessary mechanic, pilot and cabin crew training needed to operate the aircraft.
The payment will be made in nine tranches beginning June 2016 and running through to September 2017.
Thai has been trying to offload its parked, redundant Airbus (AIB, Toulouse Blagnac) and Boeing (BOE, Washington National) fleets as part of its current turnaround programme. But, despite its best efforts, few buyers have been willing to pay the prices requested for its four mothballed A340-500s.
In October 2013, UK consultancy firm, AvCon Worldwide, attempted to acquire one of the aircraft on behalf of Saudi Arabia's Prince Faisal al-Saud. The bid submitted - USD23.5million - was, however, rejected as being too low.
