Orient Thai Airlines

Orient Thai Airlines Co., Ltd.[1] was an airline with its head office in Khlong Toei, Bangkok, Thailand.[2] It operated charter and scheduled services in Southeast Asia and was based at Don Mueang International Airport. On 9 October 2018, the airline ceased all operations.[3]

Orient Thai Airlines
โอเรียนท์ ไทย แอร์ไลน์
IATA ICAO Callsign
OX OEA ORIENT THAI
Founded1995 (1995)
Ceased operations
  • July 2018 (2018-07)
    (flight operations)
  • 9 October 2018 (2018-10-09)
    (liquidation)
Operating basesDon Mueang International Airport
HeadquartersKhlong Toei, Bangkok, Thailand
Key peopleKajit Habanananda (Chairman)

History

Orient Thai Airlines and its now-defunct wholly owned domestic carrier One-Two-GO Airlines are the only Thai airlines to bear a royal seal, made possible by the owner's, Udom Tantiprasonchai, close relationship with the King of Thailand, based on Mr. Tantiprasongchai's history of breaking traditional commercial barriers for Thailand. Prior to their current location, Orient Thai and its subsidiary One-Two-GO were headquartered in Don Mueang District, Bangkok.[4][5]

On 22 July 2008, shortly after the crash of One-Two-GO Airlines Flight 269 in Phuket which killed 89 people, and after the Internet publication of illegally excessive work hours and check ride fraud, Orient Thai and One-Two-GO were ordered to suspend service for 56 days.[6]

On 22 September 2010, Orient Thai took delivery of its first Boeing 747-400 aircraft, previously registered as N548MD, and arrived at the Orient Thai base as HS-STC.[7] In November 2015, Orient Thai Airways signed a contract with the Amadeus IT Group to be listed in Global Distribution Systems for the first time.[8]

In early May 2016, the airline was sanctioned for the second time within a few weeks by the Civil Aviation Administration of China after violating regulations.[9] In September 2017, Orient Thai Airlines temporarily suspended all operations.[10] In December 2017, it resumed services after completing re-certification with the Thai aviation authorities.[11]

By end of July 2018, Orient Thai Airlines suspended all operations and entered a restructuring process.[12] The airline later ceased operations and filed for bankruptcy in October 2018. On 5 January 2021, Royal Gazette published an announcement declaring Orient Thai Airlines bankrupt and ordering the Legal Execution Department to seize its remaining assets to pay its debtors. Two weeks later, the founder of the airline died at age 66.[13]

Destinations

As of November 2017, Orient Thai Airlines served the following scheduled destinations:[14]

Thailand
People's Republic of China
Australia

Fleet

Final fleet
Orient Thai Airlines Boeing 747-400
Orient Thai Airlines Boeing 767-300

Before the airline suspended all operations, the Orient Thai Airlines fleet consisted of the following aircraft:[15]

Aircraft In Service Orders Notes
Boeing 737-300 4 — all currently stored
Boeing 737-400 2 — all currently stored
Boeing 747-400 3 — all currently stored
Boeing 767-300 5 — all currently stored
Total 14 —

Retired aircraft
Former Orient Thai Cargo Boeing 747-200SF
Former Orient Thai Airlines McDonnell Douglas MD-82

During its history, Orient Thai Airlines operated a wide range of pre-owned aircraft including most variants of the Boeing 747:[16]

Orient Thai Airlines Retired Fleet[16]
Aircraft Total Note
Boeing 737-300 2 ex Continental Airlines and Air China
Lockheed L1011-1 6 ex 1x Rich International Airways, 3x Cathay Pacific, 1x Kampuchea Airlines & 1x Delta Airlines
Boeing 747-100 2 ex Japan Airlines
Boeing 747-100SR/SUD 2 ex Japan Airlines
Boeing 747-200B 7 ex Japan Airlines, United Airlines and Orange Air aircraft
Boeing 747-200SF 1 Cargo aircraft ex Japan Airlines; sold to MK Airlines
Boeing 747-200SCD 1 Cargo aircraft ex Japan Airlines; sold to MK Airlines
Boeing 747-300 6 ex Korean Air and Japan Airlines; 1 sold to Max Air
Boeing 747-300M 1 ex KLM
Boeing 747-400 1 ex Garuda Indonesia and Cathay Pacific Airways
Boeing 747-400M 1 ex Saudia; sold to Eaglexpress
Boeing 767-300ER 3 ex Aeroflot and China Eastern Airlines
McDonnell Douglas MD-81 2 ex Japan Airlines
McDonnell Douglas MD-82 2 ex MontAir and China Southern Airlines

Incidents and accidents
  • September 2004, an Orient Thai 747 mistakenly flew within 200 meters of Japan's Tokyo Tower over the heart of downtown Tokyo.[17]

References
  1. "." Orient Thai Airlines profile."
  2. "Contact Us Archived 2012-05-15 at the Wayback Machine." Orient Thai Airlines. Retrieved on 27 February 2012. "18 Ratchadapisek Road,Klongtoey, Bangkok 10110" – Thai Archived 2011-11-23 at the Wayback Machine: "เลขที่ 18 ถนนรัชดาภิเษก แขวงคลองเตย เขตคลองเตย กรุงเทพฯ 10110"
  3. "หนี้ท่วมสายการบินโอเรียนท์ สั่งพักใบอนุญาตไม่มีกำหนด". 11 October 2018.
  4. "Contact Us." Orient Thai Airlines. Retrieved on 4 Mar 2010. "Orient-Thai Airlines 222, Room 3606, Vipavadee Rangsit Rd, Seekan, Don Muang, Bangkok 10210. "
  5. "Contact Us." One-Two-GO Airlines. Retrieved on 4 March 2010. "Head office Address : 222, Room 3602, Vipavadee Rangsit Rd, Seekan, Donmuang, Bangkok 10210."
  6. "Matters of the Facts regarding Suspension of Air Operator Certificate of Orient Thai Airlines Co., Ltd. and One Two Go Airline Co., Ltd" (PDF). Department of Civil Aviation News. 2008-07-28. Retrieved 2011-07-23.
  7. "Skyliner – aviation news & more". www.skyliner-aviation.de. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  8. ch-aviation.com – Orient Thai selects Amadeus as GDS partner 5 November 2015
  9. "CAAC again sanctions Orient Thai". Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  10. "Orient Thai temporarily suspends flight operations".
  11. "Orient Thai Airlines completes re-certification".
  12. ch-aviation.com - Orient Thai Airlines retrieved 31 July 2018
  13. "Founder of first low-cost airline in Thailand dies". Bangkok Post. Bangkok. 17 January 2021. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  14. flyorientthai.com – Flight Schedule retrieved 5 November 2017
  15. planespotters.net – Orient Thai Airlines Fleet Details and History retrieved 8 June 2018
  16. planespotters.net – Orient Thai Airlines Fleet Details and History: Historic Fleet retrieved 8 February 2017
  17. "Orient Thai B747 passes within 200m of Tokyo Tower". Retrieved 2011-07-27.
  18. Maierbrugger, Arno (1 Aug 2013). "Exclusive – Orient Thai in near-crash landing". Inside Investor. Retrieved 1 Aug 2013.

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