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]
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 was 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 would 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.[2] Thai Smile was set to cease all operations on 31 December 2023.
Corporate affairs
Thai Smile Airways was an official sponsor of Thai Honda Ladkrabang and Ratchaburi Mitr Phol.[7][8]
Destinations
As of 2023, Thai Smile flew to the following destinations. The airline served only domestic destinations before ceasing operations on 31st December 2023.:[9]
Fleet
As of 2023, THAI Smile operated the following aircraft:[14]
| Aircraft | In service | Orders | Passengers | Note | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U | Y | Total | ||||
| Airbus A320-200 | 3 | — | 12 | 156 | 168 | Transferred to Thai Airways International.[15] |
| 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.
- ^ a b 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
- ^ ""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
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