Thai’s load factor also remains well below 2013 levels. Thai Airways had an average load factor of 75.7% in 1Q2015, excluding Thai Smile. This represents a 5.6ppt improvement compared to the 70.1% average load factor from 1Q2014 but was still 4.1ppt below the 79.8% load factor from 1Q2013.
Thai’s passenger numbers were up 5% in 1Q2015 to 5.041 million but were still down by 11% compared to the 5.688 million passengers carried in 1Q2013. RPKs were up 10% in 1Q2015 but had been down by 13% in 1Q2014.
When including full-service regional subsidiary Thai Smile, the group’s passenger numbers were up 17% in 1Q2015 to 5.62 million. RPKs for Thai Airways and Thai Smile combined were up 12.3% while ASKs were up 4.5%, resulting in a 5.3ppts improvement in load factor to 75.4%.