THAI Airways International (THAI) has reported a three per cent year-on-year increase in forward bookings for both the third and fourth quarters of this year.

The airline’s executive vice president for commercial, Pandit Chanapai, said most advanced bookings for the third quarter were from East Asia, with Japan showing recovery.

Frequency hikes are under consideration for THAI’s Bangkok-Osaka and Bangkok-Beijing routes to meet the higher demand.

Pandit said although forward business from Europe, the airline’s main market, was slow for the current quarter, it was expected to surge in the last three months of the year, when Thailand enters its high season.

THAI carried 17.5 million passengers in 2010, recording a load factor of 73.7 per cent, 0.8 per cent higher than the year before. This year, the carrier operated at an average load factor of 76.1 per cent in the first quarter, and 66.5 per cent in the second quarter.

The airline is expecting its total passenger numbers for the year to grow by three per cent, said Pandit.