Bangkok Airways

Infobox Airline
airline = Bangkok Airways

logo_size =
IATA = PG
ICAO = BKP
callsign = BANGKOK AIR
parent =
founded = 1968 (As Sahakol Air)
headquarters = Bangkok, Thailand
key_people = Dr.Prasert Prasatthong-osoth(President)
hubs = Suvarnabhumi Airport
focus_cities = Koh Samui Airport
frequent_flyer = Flyer Bonus
lounge = Departures Lounge
alliance =
fleet_size = 17 (+8 orders)
destinations = 24
website = http://www.bangkokair.com/

Bangkok Airways Co., Ltd. is a regional airline based in Bangkok, Thailand. It operates scheduled services to 20 destinations in Thailand, Cambodia, China, Japan, Laos, Maldives, Burma, Singapore and Vietnam. Its main base is Suvarnabhumi Airport, Bangkokcite news | title= Directory: World Airlines | work= Flight International | page= 84 | date= 2007-03-27] .

History

The airline was established in 1968 as Sahakol Air operating air-taxi services under contract from OICC, an American construction company, USOM and a number of other organisations engaged in oil and natural-gas exploration in the Gulf of Thailand. It began scheduled services in 1986, becoming Thailand's first privately-owned domestic airline. It re-branded to become Bangkok Airways in 1989. The airline is owned by Dr Prasert Prasarttong-Osoth (92.31%), Sahakol Estate (4.3%), Bangkok Dusit Medical Services (1.2%) and other shareholders (2.19%). It has 1,903 employees and also wholly owns subsidiary airline Siem Reap Airways.

It built its own airport on Koh Samui, which was opened in April 1989 and offers direct flights between the island and Phuket, Hong Kong and Singapore. The airline opened its second airport at Sukhothai Province in 1996. A third airport was built in Trat Province, opening in March 2003 to serve the burgeoning tourism destination of Ko Chang.

The airline made its first foray into jet aircraft in 2000, when it started adding Boeing 717s to its fleet. Up until then, Bangkok Airways had flown propeller-driven aircraft, primarily the ATR-72. It had also operated the De Havilland Canada Dash 8, the Shorts 330 and for a short time, a Fokker F100. The carrier added another jet, the Airbus A320, to its fleet in 2004.

Bangkok Airways plans to order widebody aircraft as part of its ambition to expand its fleet. It wants to add its first widebody jets in 2006 to serve longer-haul destinations such as London, India and Japan and is looking at Airbus A330, Airbus A340 and Boeing 787 aircraft. In December 2005, Bangkok Airways announced it had decided to negotiate an order for six Airbus A350-800 aircraft in a 258-seat configuration, to be delivered to the airline commencing 2013. [ [http://www.eads.com/1024/en/investor/News_and_Events/news_ir/2005/2005/20051230_bangkok_a350.html| Bangkok Airways selects A350 for new long range services] 30 December 2005]

Destinations

Bangkok Airways serves the following [http://www.bangkokair.com/routemap/] :

;China
*Guilin (Guilin Liangjiang International Airport)
*Hong Kong (Hong Kong International Airport)
*Macau (Macau International Airport)
*Shenzhen (Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport)
*Xi'an (Xi'an Xianyang International Airport)

;Japan
*Fukuoka (Fukuoka Airport) [stops 1 October]
*Hiroshima (Hiroshima Airport)

;South Asia
*Malé (Malé International Airport)

;Southeast Asia
*Ho Chi Minh City (Tan Son Nhat International Airport)
*Luang Prabang (Luang Prabang International Airport)
*Pakxe (Pakse Airport)
*Phnom Penh (Phnom Penh International Airport)
*Siem Reap (Angkor International Airport)
*Singapore (Changi International Airport)
*Yangon (Yangon International Airport)

;Thailand
*Bangkok (Suvarnabhumi Airport) - main hub
*Chiang Mai (Chiang Mai International Airport)
*Ko Samui (Samui Airport) - focus city
*Krabi (Krabi Airport)
*Pattaya (U-Tapao International Airport)
*Phuket (Phuket International Airport)
*Sukhothai (Sukhothai Airport)
*Trat (Trat Airport)

Fleet

The Bangkok Airways fleet consists of the following aircraft (as at May 2008):

Incidents and accidents

*On November 21, 1990, a Bangkok Airways de Havilland Canada DHC-8-103 crashed on Koh Samui while attempting to land in heavy rain and high winds. All 38 people on board perished. [ [http://www.planecrashinfo.com/1990/1990-67.htm Koh Samui crash] ]

References

External links

* [http://www.bangkokair.com/ Bangkok Airways official website]
* [http://www.ch-aviation.ch/aircraft.php?search=set&airline=PG&al_op=1 Bangkok Airways Fleet]
* [http://www.fahthaimagazine.com Fah Thai inflight magazine]