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Published on October 30, 2007

CEO Tassapon Bijleveld said the budget airline aimed to have a pre-tax profit of Bt1 billion in 2009 and Bt700 million after tax.

Thai AirAsia will earn more than Bt350 million from that figure, with the rest going to Malaysian parent company AirAsia, which has a 59-per-cent share in the Thai airline.

Tassapon said the airline's operation costs were projected to be Bt9 billion in 2009. It will pay Bt5 billion for fuel to PTT, Bt3 billion for maintenance and Bt1 billion for labour.

Thai AirAsia will take delivery of 15 to 20 new Airbus A320s in the next two years. The airline has placed an order for 40 of the aircraft.

The airline plans to add more domestic and international routes as its fleet grows. It is spreading its network through Southeast Asia and southern China.

The carrier will use the new aircraft to replace its old generation of Boeing 737-300s. AirAsia's Kuala Lumpur hub has been operating Airbus A320s since the middle of this year. Thai AirAsia will begin using A320s at the end of this year.

Parent company AirAsia has placed an order for 50 additional A320s, bringing its total order to 150 aircraft with an option for 50 more.

An average of one or two Airbuses will be rolled out each month in Kuala Lumpur. All the aircraft are due to be delivered by 2013. 

 The Nation