Thai Airways ‘has no plans' to resume direct US flights
Addressing the Reuters NEXT Asia summit in Singapore, Mr Chai said the national carrier's current fleet could not operate such long-distance flights efficiently.
He also noted that the US market was a 'big risk' in the current context of tariff negotiations.
THAI stopped flying to the United States in 2015, the same year as the US Federal Aviation Administration downgraded the country's air safety rating to Category 2, preventing Thai airlines from launching or expanding services to the United States.
Mr Chai also told the Singapore conference that Thai Airways existing option to buy more planes from Boeing as part of Thailand's tariff negotiations with the United States.
The flag carrier in February last year said it had ordered 45 Boeing 787-9 wide-body jets with options for a further 35.
Thailand has submitted a new trade proposal to the United States in a bid to avoid a steep 36% tariff on its own products starting on Aug 1.
Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavajira said on Sunday the country could purchase more Boeing aircraft as part of an agreement with Washington.
Mr Chai confirmed the finance minister was referring to Thai Airways' option to buy 35 more 787s.
In June, THAI exited its debt restructuring programme and said it expects to resume trading its shares on the stock market by early August.
The carrier began a bankruptcy-protected restructuring of debt worth 400 billion baht in 2021, reducing its workforce by half and trimming its fleet.
Mr Chai said the airline is operating with around 75% of the seat capacity it had before the pandemic, but its revenue has surpassed pre-Covid levels.
'Our efficiency is better than in the past,' he said.
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