The cancellations are due to lower than expected bookings, Mr Suttipong said, reports Post Today.
Mr Suttipong named the 10 airlines as:
- Air China
- China Eastern
- Shanghai Airlines
- Spring Airlines
- China Southern
- Shenzhen Airlines
- Juneyao Airlines
- Okay Airways
- Hainan Airlines
- Beijing Capital
Mr Suttipong noted that 10,939 flights were initially scheduled for December, but only 5,858 have been confirmed, marking a decrease of 46%.
Further, of the 10,984 flights initially scheduled for January, the latest confirmation stands at 7,420 flights, resulting in a 32% drop, he said.
Piyasawat Amranand, CEO of Thai Airways International’s Business Rehabilitation Plan, attributed the cancellations to China’s economic slowdown and policy to boost domestic tourism. He also said initiatives like granting free visas to Chinese nationals have not resulted in an influx of tourists.
Korakot Chatasingha, Chief Commercial Officer at Thai Airways, said that the visa-free measure did not have the expected impact.
“Previously, for its routes to China, Thai Airways had prepared for capacity of about 60% of the pre-COVID level [in 2019], but the number of Chinese passengers has to only about 40% [of 2019]
“This is despite the fact that Thai Airways has opened many flights to main cities in China. As a result, Thai Airways is still unable to increase the frequency of flights as planned,” Mr Korakot explained.
“Therefore, the plan was adjusted to take the aircraft prepared to serve the Chinese market to fly in other potential markets instead,” he added
“The main reason seems to be a problem with the economy in China. As for bookings from the Chinese market for next year, from discussions with all business operators, today we still haven’t seen any strong advance bookings.
“We will have to wait and see again after December has passed, until Chinese New Year next year,” he said.