The move is part of a new global plan and in response to the transfer, expected to start in about two months, of many domestic flights from Suvarnabhumi Airport back to Don Muang airport. The airline needs to study the efficient use of its aircraft.

According to president Apinan Sumanaseni, the national airline has formed a working group specifically to determine an aircraft-rotation plan after deciding to move most of its domestic flights back to the old airport.

As a result of the move, the airline needs to revise the use of some aircraft, particularly those serving both domestic and international flights, which will be used only locally now.

Apinan said the airline was considering scrapping the long-haul Bangkok-Los Angeles and Bangkok-New York direct flights, which it started few years ago. An initial study suggests a stopover in Seoul for the Bangkok-Los Angeles route, while Bangkok-New York could transit Beijing or Shanghai.

"Since the airline has been operating these long-haul routes at only US$700 [Bt25,130] for a round ticket, they haven't yielded a high return. That is a very low price, so if we are to survive we must revise things," he said.

He added that the airline could draw more travellers from Asia, particularly from stopovers inChina and Korea, and had been expected to fail on the long-haul routes to the US because of limited demand. It started Bangkok-New York some months later than competitor Singapore Airlines.

Apinan said re-routing flights to link with China and Korea would not be easy because major airlines already there would respond aggressively, although this still offered greater opportunities than in Thailand.

Nok Air and One Two Go will also move to Don Muang, while other private carriers, including AirAsia, are considering the move.

Suchat Sritama

The Nation