Airbus sees great potential in its military and Space businesses in Thailand and has reiterated its commitment to the company’s presence in the country.
Speaking to reporters in Bangkok ahead of the Defence & Security exhibition, Airbus Chief Representative of Thailand, Pierre Andre, emphasised that Thailand is a key market for Airbus where it has grown to become a supplier of choice for its commercial aircraft, defence, Space and helicopter products.
Andre underscored the company’s commercial success across the respective segments in the country. There are 62 Airbus aircraft supporting major airlines in Thailand, across nearly all models in production – A320 Family, A330 Family, A350 and A380.
Beyond the highly visible commercial aircraft sector, in the helicopter and military aircraft segments, Airbus has 70 rotorcraft and 20 military fixed-wing aircraft deployed for missions including search and rescue, emergency medical services, humanitarian operations, transportation, utility and tourism.
“Thailand deploys almost the full range of Airbus’ helicopters, including the multi-mission H145M transport aircraft for the Royal Thai Navy, the latest generation multi-role H225M and the latest H135 military training fleet for the Royal Thai Air Force. Meanwhile, the C295 tactical airlifter plays a critical role in the Royal Thai Army conducting missions spanning cargo transport, medical evacuation and para-trooping deployment.”
Beyond aircraft assets, Andre highlighted that the company has a successful track record supporting Thai’s Space endeavours.
“Following the launch of Thailand’s THEOS-1 Earth observation satellite in 2008, Airbus is proud to be selected again to build the next-generation geo-information system THEOS-2, to be launched in late 2022 or early 2023.”
In June 2022, Airbus and the Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency signed a letter of intent on cooperation related to future Space missions in Thailand. This cooperation is aimed at preparing the implementation of future Thai satellites and derived services, in order to advance Thai Space capabilities to address the country’s needs and strongly contribute to the nation’s economic development.
“There is a lot of potential for Thailand’s Space development in Thailand, and Airbus is very excited to play a part in this endeavour.”
Andre also reiterated the importance of Airbus’ long-standing partnerships in Thailand. Besides a country office, the company set up an Airbus Flight Operations Services Centre in Bangkok, as well as a helicopter customer centre providing civil and military MRO and technical assistance for customers in neighbouring Laos and Cambodia. Airbus remains the only helicopter manufacturer with a maintenance facility in Thailand today.
The company has a partnership agreement with Thai Aviation Industries (TAI) for the support of all the country’s governmental helicopter fleets. TAI is Airbus’ prime contractor and completion centre for the sales and distribution of its helicopters to Thailand’s military and governmental customers.
In manufacturing, Airbus has a contract with Triumph Aviation Services Asia for the repair, overhaul and modification of airframe structures for A320, A330 and A340 aircraft operated by carriers in the Asia-Pacific region. Composite component supplier Qarbon Aviation also produces parts for the A320, A330 and A350.
“Thailand is a key partner to Airbus, and we remain fully committed to strengthening our partnerships in the country in support of the growing aerospace sector,” Andre said.
