Thai Airways International has begun to deploy two brand-new Boeing 777 freighters on Bangkok to Frankfurt and Bangkok to Amsterdam services as it seeks to regain lost ground after years of neglect playing a distant second fiddle to the passenger side.

The flag carrier last week started to use cargo capacity on the B777Fs, which are operated by Southern Air, a US-based low-cost cargo carrier, under an aircraft block space agreement (BSA) struck last year for a period of two years.

The deployment of the freighters has been delayed for nearly a month due to bureaucratic hurdles in gaining operation permits from the US Federal Aviation Administration as the planes were registered in the US.

Thai Cargo expects the B777Fs to open a new era for its cargo business, by letting the company meet long-distance bulk shipment requirements outside its current passenger network.

The BSA is intended as a quick fix for Thai Cargo, which has a muchdelayed plan to expand in cargo, a lucrative sector the carrier has not fully exploited since getting rid of its freighters some years back. The deal also sends a message to the industry, particularly current and potential customers, that Thai is committed to strengthening its presence and product offering in the cargo market.

With the two B777Fs in service, the carrier expects to see a 31 per cent rise in cargo revenue for 2010 to 24.12 billion baht (US$745.3 million), and a freight load factor of 53.6 per cent, according to Pichai Chunganuwad, managing director for Thai’s cargo and mail commercial department.