Thai Airways makes a grand comeback, announcing its 2025 financial results with profits soaring beyond 30 billion baht, the highest in its history, alongside the surprise announcement of its first dividend payout in 14 years at 0.21 baht per share. The airline is set to receive 28 new aircraft in 2026 to strengthen its network and enhance revenue globally, followed by an additional 45 aircraft in 2028. Regarding the MRO investment, Thai Airways confirms readiness to invest immediately once land construction details with UTA are finalized, with discussions about the land scheduled for tomorrow.
Mr. Chai Iamsiri, Chief Executive Officer of Thai Airways Public Company Limited, revealed the 2025 operating results, stating that Thai Airways achieved total revenue of over 190.277 billion baht and a net profit exceeding 30.94 billion baht, marking a record high since its establishment. This enabled the company to pay shareholders a dividend of 0.21 baht per share, the first dividend in 14 years. Furthermore, the airline aims for revenue exceeding 200 billion baht in 2026, a 5% growth, and plans to transport over 20 million passengers annually.
Regarding the aircraft acquisition plan to enhance fleet capacity in 2026, Thai Airways will receive a total of 28 aircraft, consisting of 4 wide-body Boeing 787-9s, 10 Boeing 787-8s, and 14 narrow-body Airbus A321neos. These will expand coverage and increase flight frequencies on existing routes. The fleet size will grow from 80 to 102 aircraft, with 99 operational by 2026. The marketing strategy focuses on network expansion and increasing frequencies to popular destinations. In Q2, flights to Chongqing, Xiamen, and Beijing will increase, and in Q3, new services will begin to Amsterdam, Guangzhou, and Kuala Lumpur. Flight frequencies to China will rise from 47 to 80 per week, and to India from 70 to 90 per week.
Mr. Chai also provided updates on the development of the aircraft Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) center in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) at U-Tapao Airport, with an investment value of about 10 billion baht. The Thai Airways board has given principle approval, but U-Tapao International Aviation Company Limited (UTA) proposed relocating the originally studied 210-rai landside area adjacent to U-Tapao Airport to a roughly 240-rai airside area near the runway centerline. UTA explained this move aims to convert the original site into a commercial area.
Thai Airways management firmly stated that the MRO site at U-Tapao cannot be relocated because the new site is in the airside zone, which would cause technical operation issues. Tomorrow (27 Feb 2026), Thai Airways will meet with UTA again as directed by the board to reach a conclusion. Thai Airways will reaffirm its position against relocating the MRO site before reporting the discussion outcome to its board. Subsequently, the company will sign a land lease agreement with the Eastern Economic Corridor Office (EECO), expected by March 2026. Following this, the Terms of Reference (TOR) process will take about 7-8 months, construction will start in 2027, and the facility is planned to open in 2030.
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