The US company's party comprises Scott E Carson, vice president for sales, David N Walton, senior sales director for Asia Pacific, and Linda Lee, an international sales communications official.

The group arrived from Vietnam, where they discussed new aircraft for Vietnam Airlines and budget airline Pacific Airlines.  Carson said Thailand was expected to become a regional gateway when the new Suvarnabhumi Airport begins operations in June.

He said the emergence of low cost airlines had created additional opportunities for aircraft-makers.

"I am talking socially with senior officers of both Nok Air and PB Air,"

he said. "But I hope to come back

to Bangkok for business soon."

Air passenger traffic in  the Asia-Pacific region is growing significantly and THAI will need more aircraft to open new routes to Europe, North America and Australia, he added.

THAI is adding new aircraft to its fleet, including six new Boeing 777-200ERs to be delivered in the fourth quarter of this year and early in 2007. The new aircraft will join THAI's fleet of 91 planes, the majority of which are Boeing 737s, 747s, 777s and MD-11s.

According to Boeing's research, the Asia-Pacific market will need about 7,200 new aircraft, worth US$770 billion (Bt30.2 trillion), over the next 20 years. Over the same period, the Asia Pacific will remain the largest market outside North America for new commercial airliners.

With its continued high rate of growth, air travel and air cargo combined will nearly triple in the region over the next two decades to require about 8,600 airplanes. Nearly 7,200 new aircraft will be needed for future growth and replacement.

Single-aisle planes - such as the next generation of Boeing 737s - will be the largest category with total of 3,690 new deliveries. About 2,430 new intermediate twin-aisle aircraft, such as the Boeing 787 and 777, will also be needed. The company believes about 540 "regional" jets will be delivered, along with about 510 jumbos of 747-and-larger size.

"Passengers are the foundation of air travel and, in a competitive market, the airlines will continue meeting passengers' demands for more direct, non-stop flights to destinations around the world with longer-range, more efficient and comfortable airplanes," Carson said.

Future requirements will be met by aircraft with 200- to 400-seat capacity and relatively few very large aircraft will be needed. 

Suchat Sritama

The Nation