Thai Lion Air resurrects A330neo operational plans

Thai Lion Air (SL, Bangkok Don Mueang) has again taken delivery of an A330-900, indicating its plan to resume the type’s operations after an 18-month-long pause without any widebody aircraft in its fleet.

HS-LAQ (msn 1956) was ferried from Toulouse Blagnac to Bangkok Don Mueang on September 20, 2021, Flightradar24 ADS-B data shows. It has yet to be deployed into revenue service. ch-aviation sources in Thailand indicate the aircraft may initially be used for cargo-only operations as Thailand remains largely closed to international travellers. Thai Lion Air did not respond to a request for comment.

The Lion Air Group subsidiary ventured into the widebody market in 2017, when it took deliveries of its first three A330-300s, the ch-aviation fleets history module shows. In 2019, it added two A330-900s. The -300s were retired and returned to parent airline Lion Air in late 2019 and early 2020, while the two -900s were transferred to Indonesia in May 2020, after the COVID-19 pandemic grounded most of the international travel in the region.

Following serious fleet cutbacks during the crisis, Thai Lion Air currently operates six B737-800s, three B737-900(ER)s, and one B737-9, the ch-aviation fleets advanced module indicates.