1st Airbus
A350 Thai Airways | by Jujug Spotting
BOONSONG
KOSITCHOTETHANA ON OCT 13, 2016
SOURCE: MCCLATCHY
SOURCE: MCCLATCHY
Oct. 13--The roll out of Thai Airways
International's brand-new Airbus A350 XWB jets has been put on hold.
The flag carrier had planned to debut the
state-of-the-art aircraft on its Bangkok-Melbourne route as part of THAI's
enhanced service.
But Australian civil aviation authorities have
kept THAI in the dark as to whether or when it will approve the airline's application
to operate the world's latest commercial airliner to and from Australia.
The authorities were cited as saying they were
"unfamiliar" with this type of aircraft, especially on issues related
to airworthiness, insiders with knowledge of the matter told the Bangkok Post.
The aircraft received certification from the
European Aviation Safety Agency in September 2014, with certification from the
US Federal Aviation Administration coming two months later.
No airlines have operated this type of
European-made aircraft over Australian airspace, and THAI would be the first
international carrier to do so if permission were granted.
THAI had planned to start flights of its first
A350 XWB on the Melbourne route on Sept 16, two weeks after the first of 12
such aircraft was delivered from Airbus's final assembly plant in Toulouse.
The first A350 XWB entered commercial service
with Qatar Airways on Jan 15, 2015.
To date, there are over 42 A350 aircraft which
have been delivered to eight operators, including Singapore Airlines, Cathay
Pacific and Vietnam Airlines.
As of September 2016, Airbus had received 810
orders for A350 XWBs from 43 customers worldwide.
"We are at a loss and absolutely have no
idea why it is taking so long for them [Australian officials] to consider our
application," said a THAI executive who asked not to be named.
He added that the 60-day period to consider
the application had already passed.
Uncertainty over the matter and the arrival of
THAI's second A350 at Suvarnabhumi airport this week have prompted the flag
carrier to reactivate its Plan B for the aircraft.
THAI will now deploy its first pair of
long-range twin-engine wide-body jet airliners on its European trunk routes,
instead of flying to Australia.
The airline has already sought permission to
operate the new aircraft from the European civil aviation authorities, whose
endorsement is expected shortly.
THAI expects to start operating the A350s on
non-stop flights from Bangkok to major European cities such as London, Paris
and Frankfurt by Oct 28.
The A350's long-range capability will make the
switchover easy, while its technological advancement and passenger appeal will
support THAI's marketing efforts in Europe.
Before the European launch, the airline will
have the first two A350s operate "run-in" flights to popular domestic
and regional routes such as those from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, Phuket and
Singapore, according to insiders.
With Australian approval still pending, THAI
will continue to operate Boeing 777-300ERs on its twice-daily Melbourne
services.
Copyright 2016 - Bangkok Post, Thailand
Original post: aviationpros
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