Thai Airways and Turkish Air plan to partner on Asia-Europe flights

Thai Airways International Pcl and Turkish Airlines signed a memorandum of understanding Tuesday with the aim of forming a joint-venture partnership and working together on keenly-contested Asia-Europe routes. 

Airline partnerships typically involve coordinating schedules and sharing revenue. Qantas Airways Ltd. and Emirates, for example, collaborate on Europe-Australia services. Tie-ups require approval from competition authorities.

An agreement would help the carriers expand their networks. Thai Airways said it plans to launch daily flights between Bangkok and Istanbul, with a start date for the service to be announced Wednesday. Turkish Airlines already flies twice daily to the Thai capital.

Thailand’s national carrier is still under court-monitored debt restructuring after filing for bankruptcy protection in 2020, when Covid added further strain to an airline that had already suffered multiple losses over a decade. It now operates about 65 aircraft compared with over 100 before the pandemic. 

Chief Executive Officer Chai Eamsiri told told Bloomberg News in June that the company plans to order more jets, including 30 widebodies. 

Thai Airways and Turkish Airlines are members of the Star Alliance, which has 26 members including Singapore Airlines Ltd., United Airlines Holdings Inc., Deutsche Lufthansa AG, and ANA Holdings Inc.. Founded in 1997, the Star Alliance is the biggest of the three major global airline groupings, which aim to help carriers better compete commercially as part of a larger bloc.