Thai Smile

THAI Smile Airways
บริษัท ไทยสมายล์แอร์เวย์ จำกัด

IATA ICAO Call sign WE THD THAI SMILE
Founded	19 August 2011 (2011-08-19) (as Thai Wings)
Commenced operations	7 July 2012 (2012-07-07) (as Thai Smile)
Ceased operations	31 December 2023 (2023-12-31) (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.thaismileair.com

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

See also: Thai Tiger Airways

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]

Country/territory	City/region	Airport	Notes	Refs
Bangladesh	Chittagong	Shah Amanat International Airport	Terminated
Cambodia	Phnom Penh	Phnom Penh International Airport	Terminated
	Siem Reap	Siem Reap International Airport	Airport closed
		Siem Reap–Angkor International Airport	Terminated
China	Changsha	Changsha Huanghua International Airport	Terminated
	Chongqing	Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport	Terminated
	Kunming	Kunming Changshui International Airport	Terminated
	Xiamen	Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport	Terminated
	Zhengzhou	Zhengzhou Xinzheng International Airport	Terminated
Hong Kong		Hong Kong International Airport	Terminated
India	Ahmedabad	Ahmedabad Airport	Terminated	[10]
	Delhi	Indira Gandhi International Airport	Terminated
	Gaya	Gaya Airport	Terminated
	Hyderabad	Rajiv Gandhi International Airport	Terminated
	Jaipur	Jaipur International Airport	Terminated
	Kolkata	Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport	Terminated	[11]
	Lucknow	Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport	Terminated
	Mumbai	Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport	Terminated
	Varanasi	Lal Bahadur Shastri Airport	Terminated
Indonesia	Jakarta	Soekarno–Hatta International Airport	Terminated
Laos	Luang Prabang	Luang Prabang International Airport	Terminated
	Vientiane	Wattay International Airport	Terminated
Macau		Macau International Airport	Terminated
Malaysia	Kota Kinabalu	Kota Kinabalu International Airport	Terminated	[12]
	Kuala Lumpur	Kuala Lumpur International Airport	Terminated
	Penang	Penang International Airport	Terminated
Myanmar	Mandalay	Mandalay International Airport	Terminated
	Yangon	Yangon International Airport	Terminated
Nepal	Kathmandu	Tribhuvan International Airport	Terminated
Singapore		Changi Airport	Terminated
Sri Lanka	Colombo	Bandaranaike International Airport	Terminated
Taiwan	Kaohsiung	Kaohsiung International Airport	Terminated
	Taipei	Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport	Terminated
Thailand	Bangkok	Don Mueang International Airport	Terminated	[13]
		Suvarnabhumi Airport	Hub
	Chiang Mai	Chiang Mai International Airport	Terminated
	Chiang Rai	Mae Fah Luang - Chiang Rai International Airport	Terminated
	Hat Yai	Hat Yai International Airport
	Khon Kaen	Khon Kaen Airport
	Krabi	Krabi International Airport
	Loei	Loei Airport	Terminated
	Nakhon Si Thammarat	Nakhon Si Thammarat Airport	Terminated
	Nan	Nan Nakhon Airport	Terminated
	Narathiwat	Narathiwat Airport
	Phuket	Phuket International Airport	Terminated
	Roi Et	Roi Et Airport	Terminated
	Surat Thani	Surat Thani International Airport	Terminated
	Trang	Trang Airport	Terminated
	Ubon Ratchathani	Ubon Ratchathani Airport
	Udon Thani	Udon Thani International Airport	Terminated
Vietnam	Hanoi	Noi Bai International Airport	Terminated
	Ho Chi Minh City	Tan Son Nhat International Airport	Terminated

Fleet

Thai Smile Airbus A320-200

As of 2023^[update], 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

1. "List of Thailand Air Operator Certificate Holders". Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand. 5 October 2022. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
2. Cross, Lee (2023-05-18). "Thai Smile to be Re-Absorbed into Thai Airways International". Airways. Retrieved 2023-05-22.
3. "Thai Smile Airways to cease flight operations on December 31". nationthailand. 2023-12-01. Retrieved 2023-12-02.
4. "THAI to launch new budget airline". Bangkok Post. 20 May 2011. Retrieved 22 August 2011.
5. "THAI sister airline launch set for 2012". Bangkok Post. 20 August 2011. Retrieved 22 August 2011.
6. bangkokpost.com - Thai Smile-THAI merger 'to cut losses' 25 February 2023
7. ""ไทยฮอนด้า" ทุ่ม 100 ล้าน ลุยไทยลีก ตั้งเป้าท็อป 10". Retrieved 29 January 2017.
8. "สายการบินแรก!ราชบุรีจับมือไทยสมายล์". Retrieved 15 September 2017.
9. "Thai Smile Booking and Destinations". Thai Smile. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
10. "THAI SMILE MOVES AHMEDABAD SERVICE TO THAI FROM SEP 2023". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
11. "Thai Smile Resumes Kolkata Bangkok Flights".
12. Liu, Jim (August 16, 2017). "Update 2: Thai Smile cancels Kota Kinabalu service from Sep 2017". Routes Online. Retrieved 2022-01-25.
13. "New Route! Fly Direct Flights from Donmuang to Chiang Mai". Thai Smile.
14. Airbus Orders and Deliveries (XLS), accessed via "Orders & Deliveries". Airbus. 31 August 2017. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
15. 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

• Official website