THAI Smile Airways was a Thai regional airline and a wholly owned subsidiary of Thai Airways International headquartered in Bangkok. In 2023, it was announced that Thai Smile would be merged into its parent company, Thai Airways.[2] The airline merged into Thai Airways International on 31 December 2023. The full cessation of operations was fully effective on January 1, 2024.[3]
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| Founded | 19 August 2011 (as Thai Wings) | ||||||
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| Commenced operations | 7 July 2012 (as Thai Smile) | ||||||
| Ceased operations | 31 December 2023 (re-integrated into Thai Airways International) | ||||||
| AOC # | AOC.0007[1] | ||||||
| Hubs | Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi | ||||||
| Focus cities | Chiang Mai | ||||||
| Frequent-flyer program | Royal Orchid Plus | ||||||
| Alliance | Star Alliance (affiliate; Connecting Partner) | ||||||
| Fleet size | 12 | ||||||
| Parent company | Thai Airways International (100%) | ||||||
| Headquarters | 89 Vibhavadi Rangsit Road, Chatuchak, Bangkok 10900, Thailand | ||||||
| Key people | Viset Sontichai (CEO) | ||||||
| Website | www | ||||||
History
Foundation
On 20 May 2011, the Thai Airways board announced plans to create a new lower-cost airline, at the time dubbed Thai Wings.[4][verification needed] The creation of the airline was announced by Ampon Kittiampon, the chairman of Thai's board of directors, on 19 August 2011.[5][verification needed] It began operations in July 2012.[5] According to Ampon, THAI Smile is intended to serve the market gap between low-cost carriers and full service airlines.[5] The name THAI Smile was chosen from a pool of 2,229 entries in a contest to name the airline.[5] According to an official at Thai Airways, THAI Smile was planned to begin showing an annual profit of about five million baht within two years of the start of operations.[5]
Merger into Thai Airways International
In February 2023, it was reported that Thai Smile may be dissolved as a separate entity and merged with its parent company, Thai Airways International, by mid-2024 in an effort to reduce losses.[6] On 18 May 2023, Thai Airways announced that Thai Smile would be merged into its parent as part of the group's post-COVID reconstruction process by the end of 2023.[7] Thai Smile was set to ceased all operations on 31 December 2023.
Corporate affairs
Thai Smile Airways was an official sponsor of Thai Honda Ladkrabang and Ratchaburi Mitr Phol.[8][9]
Destinations
As of 2023, Thai Smile flew to the following destinations. The airline served only domestic destinations before ceasing operations on 31st December 2023.:[10]
Fleet
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As of 2023[update], THAI Smile operated the following aircraft:[15]
| Aircraft | In Service | Orders | Passengers | Note | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U | Y | Total | ||||
| Airbus A320-200 | 3 | — | 12 | 156 | 168 | Transferred to Thai Airways International.[16] |
| 9 | — | 162 | 174 | |||
| Total | 12 | |||||
References
- ^ "List of Thailand Air Operator Certificate Holders". Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand. 5 October 2022. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
- ^ Cross, Lee (2023-05-18). "Thai Smile to be Re-Absorbed into Thai Airways International". Airways. Retrieved 2023-05-22.
- ^ "Thai Smile Airways to cease flight operations on December 31". nationthailand. 2023-12-01. Retrieved 2023-12-02.
- ^ "THAI to launch new budget airline". Bangkok Post. 20 May 2011. Retrieved 22 August 2011.
- ^ a b c d e "THAI sister airline launch set for 2012". Bangkok Post. 20 August 2011. Retrieved 22 August 2011.
- ^ bangkokpost.com - Thai Smile-THAI merger 'to cut losses' 25 February 2023
- ^ Cross, Lee (2023-05-18). "Thai Smile to be Re-Absorbed into Thai Airways International". Airways. Retrieved 2023-05-22.
- ^ ""ไทยฮอนด้า" ทุ่ม 100 ล้าน ลุยไทยลีก ตั้งเป้าท็อป 10". Retrieved 29 January 2017.
- ^ "สายการบินแรก!ราชบุรีจับมือไทยสมายล์". Retrieved 15 September 2017.
- ^ "Thai Smile Booking and Destinations". Thai Smile. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
- ^ "THAI SMILE MOVES AHMEDABAD SERVICE TO THAI FROM SEP 2023". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
- ^ "Thai Smile Resumes Kolkata Bangkok Flights".
- ^ Liu, Jim (August 16, 2017). "Update 2: Thai Smile cancels Kota Kinabalu service from Sep 2017". Routes Online. Retrieved 2022-01-25.
- ^ "New Route! Fly Direct Flights from Donmuang to Chiang Mai". Thai Smile.
- ^ Airbus Orders and Deliveries (XLS), accessed via "Orders & Deliveries". Airbus. 31 August 2017. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
- ^ leah (2023-05-18). "Thai Airways - Thai Smile merger gets green light". Thaiger. Retrieved 2023-05-21.
External links
Media related to Thai Smile at Wikimedia Commons
