Nok Air

Nok Air

IATA DD ICAO NOK Callsign NOK AIR
Founded	February 2004
Commenced operations	July 2004
Hubs	Don Mueang International Airport
Frequent-flyer program	Nok Fan Club
Fleet size	13
Destinations	30
Company slogan	We Fly Smiles
Headquarters	Sathorn, Bangkok, Thailand
Key people	Mr. Patee Sarasin (CEO)
Website	www.nokair.com

Nok Air (Thai: นกแอร์, derived from nok (นก) , the Thai word for bird) is a low-cost airline headquartered in Sathorn, Bangkok, Thailand,^[1] operating domestic and international services out of Bangkok Don Mueang Airport.^[2] Nok Air is the budget airline of Thai Airways International. Nok Air is currently an official sponsor of TTM Phichit , Bangkok United and Chiangmai FC.

History

A Nok Air Boeing 737-400 (2007).

A Nok Air Boeing 737-400 at Phitsanulok Airport (2011).

The airline was established in February 2004 and started operations on 23 July 2004. It has 130 employees (as of March 2007) and around 600 in 2011.^[2] Nok Air began its first international service on 31 May 2007, with daily flights to Bangalore, India. The airline acquired landing rights to additional Indian cities (Chennai, Hyderabad and New Delhi).^[3]

Nok Air suspended its operations to Bangalore in November 2007 - the second low-cost carrier to suspend operations after Jetstar Asia Airways. According to Rajiv Bhatia, the General Manager for the Indian operations, this was due to non-availability of aircraft, and to allow service to other lucrative routes in South East Asia like Vietnam. However, according to sources in the travel sector, the suspension of operations may be due to the decrease in passenger load factor for Nok Air by 40%.^[4]

After its troubled international expansion, Nok Air has decided to focus on domestic services in Thailand. It is now the airline the serves the highest number of domestic routes within Thailand.^[5] This strategy has been successful. In 2010, Nok Air generated 618 million Thai Baht in net profit on revenues of 3.97 billion Thai Baht. The airline plans to add seven Boeing 737-800 aircraft and four ATR 72 turboprop aircraft in 2011.^[6]

Since its inception, Nok Air has been operating largely independently from Thai Airways International. This has led to some friction between the two companies along the way. To gain greater control of Nok Air, Thai Airways has tried to purchase the shares of other shareholders, notably Krung Thai Bank. However, although Thai Airways and Krung Thai Bank are both state enterprises under the control of the Ministry of Finance (Thailand), Krung Thai Bank refused to sell its shares in Nok Air to Thai Airways. The purchase would have lifted Thai Airways’ stake in Nok Air from 39% to 49%.^[7]

Destinations

Destinations in Thailand

Bangkok (Don Mueang International Airport),stop service temporary because the flood at Don Mueang International Airport Bangkok (Suvarnabhumi Airport) temporary Buri Ram (Buriram Airport), Chiang Mai (Chiang Mai International Airport), Hat Yai (Hat Yai International Airport), Loei (Loei Airport), Mae Sot (Mae Sot Airport), Mae Hong Son (Mae Hong Son Airport), Nakhon Phanom (Nakhon Phanom Airport), Nakhon Si Thammarat (Nakhon Si Thammarat Airport), Nan (Nan Airport), Narathiwat (Narathiwat Airport), Phitsanulok (Phitsanulok Airport), Phrae (Phrae Airport), Phuket (Phuket International Airport), Roi Et (Roi Et Airport), Sakon Nakhon (Sakon Nakhon Airport), Surat Thani (Surat Thani Airport), Trang (Trang Airport), Ubon Ratchathani (Ubon Ratchatani Airport), Udon Thani (Udon Thani International Airport).

Island Destinations (by bus/ferry from Trang Airport)

Koh Lanta (Saladan Pier), Koh Kradan, Koh Laoliang, Koh Lipe, Koh Mook, Koh Ngai, Koh Phi Phi, Langkawi (Awanna Pier).

Island Destinations (by bus/ferry from Nakhon Si Thammarat and Surat Thani Airports)

Koh Phangan (Tong Sala Pier), Koh Samui (Nar Ton Pier).

Terminated destinations

India - Bangalore
Thailand - Chiang Rai, Krabi
Vietnam - Hanoi

Fleet

Boeing 737-400 of Nok Air

ATR 72-200 of Nok Air

As of November 2011, the Nok Air fleet consists of the following leased aircraft with an average age of 17.3 years: ^[8]

Nok Air fleet

Aircraft	In Service	Orders	Passengers (Business/Economy)
ATR 72-200	2	—	66 (0/66)
Boeing 737-400	10	—	149 (12/137) 150 (0/150)
Boeing 737-800	2	8
Total	13	1

Shareholders

Shareholders	% of shares owned
Thai Airways International Public Company Limited	49 %
Dhipaya Insurance Public Company Limited	10 %
Government Pension Fund	10 %
CPB Equity Company Limited	6 %
The Siam Commercial Bank Public Company Limited	5 %
Thailand Prosperity Fund by ING Funds (Thailand) Company Limited	5 %
King Power International Company Limited	5 %
Individual investors	10 %

External links

	Thailand portal
	Companies portal
	Aviation portal

• Official website (Thai and English)

References

1. ^ "Contact Us." Nok Air. Retrieved on 4 March 2010.
2. ^ ^{a b} "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International: p. 56. 2007-04-10. 
3. ^ "Party in the sky". Business-standard.com. 7 July 2007. http://www.business-standard.com/lifeleisure/storypage.php?leftnm=5&subLeft=2&chklogin=N&autono=290305&tab=r. 
4. ^ "Nok Air too suspends flights to Bangalore". Economic Times. 13 November 2007. http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2007-11-13/news/27676281_1_nok-air-bangalore-singapore-thai-low-cost-carrier. 
5. ^ "Nok Air adds more small cities to plan". Bangkok Post. 29 March 2011. http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/aviation/229102/nok-air-adds-more-small-cities-to-plan. 
6. ^ "Nok performance hits record". Bangkok Post. 2 February 2011. http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/aviation/219438/nok-performance-hits-record. 
7. ^ "KTB rebuffs Thai offer for Nok". Bangkok Post. 24 January 2011. http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/aviation/217790/ktb-rebuffs-thai-offer-for-nok. 
8. ^ Nok Air fleet list at planespotters.net