At the end of January, we reported that the first of two Airbus A350s acquired by Thai Airways had been spotted. With several months having now passed, this first aircraft has been delivered to the airline, making its way from Tarbes to Bangkok on May 11th. With this latest delivery, Thai Airways has 13 A350-900s in its fleet.

Delivery flight details

On May 11th, the newest Thai Airways aircraft registered HS-THO with manufacturer's serial number (MSN) 351 departed Tarbes-Lourdes-Pyrenees Airport (LDE) for Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK). According to FlightRadar24.com data, the jet departed LDE at 15:54 local time as flight TG8934. Flying overnight, the aircraft arrived at BKK at 07:51 local time on May 12th. The total flight duration of this ferry service was 10 hours and 57 minutes.

Photo: FlightRadar24.com

Prior to the aircraft's delivery, it had presumably been undergoing pre-delivery work at Tarbes since February 15th. Before this, the Airbus A350 had spent about two and a half weeks at Bordeaux–Mérignac Airport.

Approaching four years of age

As noted in our previous coverage of this aircraft, the airframe is not exactly brand new. Indeed, the jet's first test flight took place in August 2019, so it will soon be four years old.

Data from Aviation Flights indicates that this airframe was originally built to fly with Chinese carrier Hainan Airlines. The aircraft is listed as being 'delivered on contract' to the airline on December 30th, 2019. However, the pandemic and/or pre-existing financial difficulties played a role in Hainan Airlines' inability to operate the aircraft - the jet was flown directly from Toulouse to Tarbes in January 2020. For the remainder of 2020, the entirety of 2021, and most of 2022, it appears that the aircraft was stored at Tarbes before being moved between Bordeaux, Toulouse, and Tarbes between late November 2022 and May 2023.

Photo: N509FZ via Wikimedia Commons

While flight hours and cycles remain unknown, ch-aviation.com data indicates that MSN 351 has an estimated market value of $110,250,000. Notably, this is an increase in value from the $110,170,000 figure we quoted in January. The reasons for this increase in value are unspecified. The aircraft's owner remains listed as Park Aerospace Holdings and continues to be managed by aircraft lessor Avolon.

Where HS-THO could fly

At the time of publication, Thai Airways' 13 Airbus A350-900s are deployed on short, medium, and long-haul routes.

Relatively close to the airline's home airport of Bangkok Suvarnabhumi, the airline takes its Airbus A350s to Singapore and Hong Kong. Longer services see the type deployed to cities like Beijing, Delhi, Lahore, and Seoul. However, the longest services utilizing the A350 include Melbourne (7,316 KM/3,950 NM), Munich (8,809 KM/4,756 NM), and Stockholm (8,300 KM/4,481 NM). It should be noted, however, that the distances given for the flights to Europe are great circle distances and do not include the longer routes taken due to airspace restrictions.

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Sources: Planespotters.net, FlightRadar24.com, Aviation Flights