Thai A380 To Serve Hong Kong

[WilliaminBKK]

For those curious about TG's A380 it will serve HKG first the Frankfurt when the second is delivered- should be interesting to see the fare level since Emirates is using their A380 on the BKK - HKG route.

Thai Airways International (TG) will deploy its first Airbus A380 on regional routes, most likely Bangkok Suvarnabhumi (BKK)-Hong Kong (HKG).Speaking to ATW during a visit to Toulouse to view the carrier’s first A380 on the final assembly line, TG executives said the carrier will operate between BKK and Frankfurt (FRA) only “after we receive the second aircraft delivery around November 2012. Upon receiving additional aircraft, Thai will operate to London [Heathrow (LHR)] and then Paris [Charles de Gaulle].”

According to insiders, daily BKK-FRA service will commence in January 2013 and BKK-LHR service will begin in spring 2013.

TG has six A380s on firm order and plans to take delivery of the first three aircraft next year and three in 2013 (ATW Daily News, Feb. 9, 2010).

The carrier will configure the A380s in a three-class layout with 507 seats: 435 in economy, 60 in business and 12 in first class.

TG’s first A380 entered the final assembly line in Toulouse at the end of November. Front, central, and aft fuselages, wings, horizontal and vertical tail plane have been assembled. This past weekend the aircraft was moved from the electrical installation bay to the hydraulic systems and powerplant installation station, where it will be fitted with Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines.

http://atwonline.com/airports-routes/news/thai-operate-first-a380-regional-routes-1220

[beano2274]

Is HKG such a busy route? I would be looking at my busiest route and using the A380 on that first.

[WilliaminBKK]

Is HKG such a busy route? I would be looking at my busiest route and using the A380 on that first.

Totally agree, I was surprised it would be used on such a short haul flight with major competition-my only thought is for pilot training hours. I would look at YIELD and grab those J/F passengers before flying it on a milk run.

[geriatrickid]

My flight HKG to HKT was full on an AB 330. I know that the 380 can't land at HKT, but it is a very busy route. Hong Kong has lots of wealthy people and looking at my fellow PAX it was obvious. The business cabin was filled with families. How many westerners would spend that kind of money for a business class seat for a 5 year old? The HKG route has some of the older equipment in the TG fleet and it has to keep up with the Chinese competitors who have newer and more comfortable equipment. The AB 380 could be a veritable workhorse for Thai and allow it to meet market demand without increasing the number of flights.

[bino]

Hong Kong makes sense from a Thai perspective- it is one of their most preferred / "visa friendly" destinations.

From the article source I see that they won't begin "long haul" operations until they have received the first sister aircraft. What is the strategy for this? Redundancy? This big bird is made to fly huge distances, with a lot of people. Since they are the logical first step, Thai Airways should be making a valid effort to service the farangs who want to come to Thailand and dispose of income.

I just can't imagine this aircraft being viable on short term / regional flights unless it is packed to the a** every time, unless pounding it through several takeoff and landings every day until they get the next delivery in Nov 2012 is indeed a pilot training exercise as another poster mentioned.

Alternatively, am I reading the headline correctly in that Thai will serve HK then three other cities? Will they do this on a weekly rotation, using HK as the transit point for the long-haul part of the flight or something like that? A much better idea IMHO.

[lumply]

Thai Airways would have done their homework on load factors just like Emirates (EK) did on their short haul Karachi/Bombay routes out of Dubai (large sub continental workforce etc). It makes perfect sense to use large wide bodied aircraft on short medium routes where capacity, both pax and cargo, show attractive operational returns.

Pilots will already have done their type conversions on to the A380, most probably in Europe or wherever there is availability of suitably qualified type instructors and simulators, so their training is a totaly separate issue to route allocation for specific aircraft. Thai Airways sees BKK HKG BKK as high capacity, profitable sectors for the A380 and having flown them many times as a passenger, admittedly in lower capacity aircraft, I can see why. I wish I was still young enough to get my hands on a 380, alas I had to make do with rather smaller aeroplanes! I wish Thai all the best.

[KED]

I believe that the initial use of the A380 on the Bangkok-Hong Kong route is just a temporary familiarization for the airlines. In the same way, ANA first flew their 787 Dreamliner from Tokyo-Hiroshima for a few weeks before changing to Tokyo-Frankfurt.

One TG has their staff acclimated, it will begin long-haul service.

[Sam Drucker]

I believe that the initial use of the A380 on the Bangkok-Hong Kong route is just a temporary familiarization for the airlines. In the same way, ANA first flew their 787 Dreamliner from Tokyo-Hiroshima for a few weeks before changing to Tokyo-Frankfurt.

One TG has their staff acclimated, it will begin long-haul service.

True. Airlines typically launch a new aircraft type on short routes initially to get as many crews (cockpit, cabin, ground, gate, etc.) trained and familiarized with the new aircraft type. So it makes sense for THAI to be doing the run on the Hong Kong route initially.

As for the "redundancy" issue of having two aircraft before launching FRA service: The western Europe routes are long enough that it is difficult to just use one aircraft for a route offering daily service. For example, BKK-FRA-BKK involves about 22 hours of actual flight time; 1 hour ground time each in BKK and FRA is not time to unload, groom, load, and service the aircraft on a daily basis. Thus, the need for two aircraft. With two aircraft flying just between BKK and FRA once daily (of course) you'd have an excessive amount of ground time that the airplane is not generating revenue. What would make sense with two A380 aircraft used to serve FRA once daily would be for the aircraft to fly something like FRA-BKK-(S.E. Asia Regional such as SIN, HKG, etc.). That would get more utilization out of the aircraft rather than excessive ground time in FRA or BKK.

[ralfbkk]

It is very unlikely that the 380 will be on the HKG Sector for long. That metal is just to valueable to be used on a regional shorthaul as it will put to many cycles on the frame. To many cycles means an increase in maintenance costs. Thai will use the HKG/NRT Sector to introduce the 380 to their crews and premium customers. With these short flights they can manage to train as many staff as possible in a rather short period of time. Most likely for about 1 month. TG's 380 will serve FRA, LHR and SYD (during the High Season).