Chaisawat Kittipornpaiboon, permanent secretary for transport and a director of THAI's board, said the national carrier had agreed to accept an offer proposed by Airbus Industries. Each aircraft will cost $90 million.

He said the discount was a result of the delay in delivering the new Airbus A380 to THAI. The airline needs to increase its fleet, in order to serve higher demand.

Chaisawat said over the next decade, THAI would have to replace 40 aircraft reaching 20 years of service.

"The Airbus offer is compatible with THAI's needs. The airline will use the A330-300s to replace its A300-600s," he added.

THAI needs Cabinet approval before signing an agreement with Airbus.

The first A330-300 is expected to be delivered by the end of next year.

Meanwhile, THAI is changing its Bangkok-Los Angeles and Bangkok-New York routes, in order to reduce operating costs.

THAI president Apinan Sumanaseni said there would be no more direct flights and that both routes would include a stop, possibly in Seoul or Shanghai.

"This way, we can reduce costs and pick up more passengers from those two cities," he said.

Apinan did not reveal whether the routes had been encountering losses. The long-haul flights need big fuel-consuming aircraft.

THAI is also reviewing its flight plans to cope with the government's decision to reopen Don Muang as both an international and a domestic airport.

Suchat Sritama

 The Nation