"This could be the first year in history that the number of passengers in the high season has dropped the most," president Piyasvasti Amranand said yesterday.

"It's possible that THAI will post a net loss this year, as passengers switch to other destinations on travel warnings even though most tourist destinations are unaffected by floods."

The inundation pulled THAI's cabin factor down to 65.8 per cent in October from 74 per cent in the same month last year. The cabin factor plunged further to 61 per cent in November from 72 per cent the year before, as groups particularly from India and China, including Hong Kong, cancelled trips on travel alerts.

Though the situation has improved this month, the factor may not reach 70 per cent, compared with 75 per cent last year.

THAI posted a net loss of Bt4.8 billion in the first nine months of this year, due to a foreign-exchange loss of Bt3.3 billion and higher oil price.

To cope with the situation, THAI has launched promotions.

The company estimates extra expenses of about Bt1 billion to help affected employees. Each is eligible for Bt100,000 or one month of salary, whichever is higher. Of 26,000 employees, about 10,000 are expected to have suffered from floods.

Travellers from China and Singapore have dropped by half, while those from Europe have also dropped, but to a lesser extent.

The slump is expected to linger into January and February, as some passengers have already changed their travel plans.

Floods at Don Mueang Airport have delayed the retrofitting of three of THAI's aircraft by two months. The number of aircraft for retrofits next year is to rise to 16.

Yesterday, THAI reopened its technical centre at the old airport, which had been closed since October 26. On December 19, it will be ready for service every day.

The five aircraft that had been undergoing heavy maintenance in the hangar were unaffected by the flooding, as they were supported by aircraft equipment.

"We are estimating the damage. Preliminarily, the damage should be minimal," Piyasvasti said.

THAI has flood insurance, he said.

THAI has received offers for two Airbus A300-600 from nine prospective buyers. He expects to reap about US$5 million (Bt154 million) each.

The two Airbus A300-600s that had been decommissioned and were waiting to be sold were parked at Don Mueang. THAI's technical department had taken care to secure these aircraft and engines in plastic wrap, and they were found to be in normal condition.

THAI continues to serve passengers from Suvarnabhumi Airport and to conduct aircraft maintenance services at its technical departments at Suvarnabhumi and in Chon Buri.