Thai Smile slowly winds down operations as THAI resumes domestic flights
Thai Airways International (THAI) will from October 1 resume flights to nine domestic destinations previously served by its low-cost subsidiary Thai Smile, a source said on Saturday.
From its home base at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport, THAI will fly to Krabi, Khon Kaen, Phuket, Narathiwat, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Hat Yai, Udon Thani and Ubon Ratchathani.
The changes will be effective during the winter flight schedule from October 2023 to March 2024, a THAI source familiar with the matter said.
From October 1, THAI will offer eight flights daily between Bangkok and Phuket. Then from October 29, the national carrier will offer five flights daily between Bangkok and Chiang Mai, and three flights daily between Bangkok and Udon Thani from December 1.
From January 1, THAI will offer two flights daily between Bangkok and Krabi, four flights daily between Bangkok and Khon Kaen, one flight daily between Bangkok and Narathiwat, two flights daily between Bangkok and Chiang Rai, three flights daily between Bangkok and Hat Yai, and two flights daily between Bangkok and Ubon Ratchathani.
All the flights will use Airbus A320 aircraft formerly operated by Thai Smile, except for the Bangkok-Phuket route, which will see an addition of Boeing 777-200 ER, according to the source.
This wide-body, 292-seat jetliner is intended to help THAI cope with the large volume of tourists expected to fly to the island resort during the upcoming high season, the source said.
Thai Smile will continue its flights between Bangkok and Phuket until the end of November before shifting to THAI’s airline code TG from December 1, the source added.
Under THAI’s business rehabilitation plan, Thai Smile will wind down operations and prepare to merge with its parent airline in early 2024.
In 2022, Thai Smile had a network of 16 destinations in Thailand and 14 destinations in Asia served by A320s. The low-cost airline started flying in July 2012 on domestic and regional routes, leaving THAI to concentrate on long-haul international routes.
