Thai Airways International (TG, Bangkok Suvarnabhumi) has inducted four A320-200s from subsidiary Thai Smile (Bangkok Suvarnabhumi) ahead of a merger of the two airlines. Before any future deliveries and transfers, the four aircraft will be the only narrowbodies in Thai's fleet. ch-aviation research has identified them as HS-TXQ (msn 6297), HS-TXS (msn 6417), HS-TXC (msn 5258), and HS-TXR (msn 6374).
The A320-200s began servicing the Bangkok Suvarnabhumi - Delhi International route from July 1. Thai Airways will swap out its B777-200ER on TG323/324 for the A320-200. However, other scheduled flights on this sector will continue to be operated by widebodies for the time being. On July 2, Thai Airways used the A320-200 on the Bangkok Suvarnabhumi - Mumbai International route replacing the B787-8 currently operating TG351/352. Unlike the widebodies, Thai's incoming A320-200s will only offer economy class.
"The addition of Airbus A320 will enhance the airline fleet efficiency and improve aircraft utilization as well as strengthen Thai route network to support the rising travel demands," reads a statement issued by Thai Airways. The airline intends to take all 19 of Thai Smile's A320-200s, which are a combination of owned and leased aircraft. Thai Airways is busy searching for additional capacity as travel demand into Thailand rebounds.
Thai Airways presently has a 53% plus market share (measured by seat capacity) on the Bangkok Suvarnabhumi - Delhi sector. The switch to A320-200s on one frequency will decrease available capacity slightly and potentially funnel premium cabin passengers onto competitors like Air India (AI, Delhi International) and Vistara (Delhi International), both of whom also fly the route, along with SpiceJet (SG, Delhi International) and IndiGo Airlines (6E, Delhi International). Thai Airways faces a similar competitive challenge on the Bangkok Suvarnabhumi - Mumbai route.
