THAL's Royal Flagship

摘要

Thai Airways International (THAI) is one of Airbus' longest-standing customers. Back in 1977, the South-East Asia airline ordered its first batch of A300s. Later it added the A310, A330 and A340. And, in summer 2012, the first of 11 A320s joined the airline's new lower-cost regional subsidiary THAI Smile. Then, on September 27, THAI received the first of six A380s (msn 087, HS-TUA), with two more delivered by the end of 2012. The A380s' arrival is the most significant symbol of a renewal process under way at the airline which endured disruption caused by political unrest in 2010 and the October 2011 Bangkok flooding, which closed THAI's main hub at the city's Suvarnabhumi Airport for several months.