Thai Smile

THAI Smile Airways is 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]

THAI Smile Airways
บริษัท ไทยสมายล์แอร์เวย์ จำกัด
IATA ICAO Callsign
WE THD THAI SMILE
Founded19 August 2011 (2011-08-19)
(as Thai Wings)
Commenced operations7 July 2012 (2012-07-07)
(as Thai Smile)
AOC #AOC.0007[1]
HubsBangkok–Suvarnabhumi
Focus citiesChiang Mai
Frequent-flyer programRoyal Orchid Plus
AllianceStar Alliance (Connecting Partner)
Fleet size16
Destinations35
Parent companyThai Airways International (100%)
Headquarters89 Vibhavadi Rangsit Road, Chatuchak, Bangkok 10900, Thailand
Key peopleViset Sontichai (CEO)
Websitewww.thaismileair.com

History

On 20 May 2011, the Thai Airways board announced plans to create a new lower-cost airline, at the time dubbed Thai Wings.[3] The creation of the airline was announced by Ampon Kittiampon, the chairman of Thai's board of directors, on 19 August 2011.[4] It is planned to begin operations in July 2012.[4] According to Ampon, THAI Smile is intended to serve the market gap between low-cost carriers and full service airlines.[4] The name THAI Smile was chosen from a pool of 2,229 entries in a contest to name the airline.[4] According to an official at Thai Airways, THAI Smile is planned to begin showing an annual profit of about five million baht within two years of the start of operations.[4]

In 2020, THAI Smile established a partnership with USA based Optiontown to run a prepaid flight subscription platform called Flight Pass, which enables customers to pre-purchase THAI Smile flights to one or more destinations at the best available price and decide when they want to travel at a later date.[5]

Merger into Thai Airways International

In February 2023, it has been announced that Thai Smile may be dissolved as a separate entity and merged with parent company, Thai Airways International, by mid-2024 in an effort to reduce losses.[6]

On 18 May 2023, it was announced that Thai Smile would be merged into its parent as part of Thai Airways International's post-COVID reconstruction process by the end of 2023.[7]

Destination[8]

As in 2023, Thai Smile operate the following destination

Country/Territory City/Region Airport Notes Refs
 BangladeshChittagongShah Amanat International AirportTerminated
 CambodiaPhnom PenhPhnom Penh International AirportTerminated
Siem ReapSiem Reap International AirportAirport Closed
Siem Reap-Angkor International Airportbegins 29 October 2023
 ChinaChangshaChangsha Huanghua International AirportTerminated
ChongqingChongqing Jiangbei International AirportTerminated
KunmingKunming Changshui International AirportTerminated
XiamenXiamen Gaoqi International AirportTerminated
ZhengzhouZhengzhou Xinzheng International AirportTerminated
Hong Kong Hong KongHong KongHong Kong International AirportTerminated
 IndiaAhmedabadSardar Vallabhbhai Patel International AirportTerminated[9]
DelhiIndira Gandhi International AirportTerminated
GayaGaya AirportSeasonal
HyderabadRajiv Gandhi International AirportTerminated
JaipurJaipur International AirportTerminated
KolkataNetaji Subhas Chandra Bose International AirportTerminated[10]
LucknowChaudhary Charan Singh International AirportTerminated
MumbaiChhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International AirportTerminated
VaranasiLal Bahadur Shastri AirportTerminated
 IndonesiaJakartaSoekarno–Hatta International AirportTerminated
 LaosLuang PrabangLuang Prabang International AirportTerminated
VientianeWattay International AirportTerminated
Macau MacauMacauMacau International AirportTerminated
 MalaysiaKota KinabaluKota Kinabalu International AirportTerminated[11]
Kuala LumpurKuala Lumpur International AirportTerminated
PenangPenang International AirportTerminated
 MyanmarMandalayMandalay International AirportTerminated
YangonYangon International AirportTerminated
   NepalKathmanduTribhuvan International Airportends 30 November 2023
 SingaporeSingaporeChangi AirportTerminated
 Sri LankaColomboBandaranaike International AirportTerminated
 TaiwanKaohsiungKaohsiung International AirportTerminated
TaipeiTaiwan Taoyuan International AirportTerminated
 ThailandBangkokDon Mueang International AirportTerminated[12]
Suvarnabhumi AirportHub
Chiang MaiChiang Mai International AirportFocus city; ends 28 October 2023
Chiang RaiMae Fah Luang - Chiang Rai International Airportends 31 December 2023
Hat YaiHat Yai International Airportends 31 December 2023
Khon KaenKhon Kaen Airportends 31 December 2023
KrabiKrabi International Airportends 31 December 2023
LoeiLoei AirportTerminated
Nakhon Si ThammaratNakhon Si Thammarat AirportTerminated
NanNan Nakhon AirportTerminated
NarathiwatNarathiwat Airportends 31 December 2023
PhuketPhuket International AirportTerminated
Roi EtRoi Et AirportTerminated
Surat ThaniSurat Thani International AirportTerminated
TrangTrang AirportTerminated
Ubon RatchathaniUbon Ratchathani Airportends 31 December 2023
Udon ThaniUdon Thani International Airportends 30 November 2023
 VietnamHanoiNoi Bai International Airport
Ho Chi Minh CityTan Son Nhat International Airportend 28 October 2023

Fleet
Thai Smile Airbus A320-200

As of 2023, THAI Smile operates the following aircraft:[13]

Aircraft In Service Orders Passengers Note
U Y Total
Airbus A320-200 3 — 12 156 168 To be transferred back to Thai Airways International by the end of 2023.[14]
9 — 162 174
Total 12

Sponsorship

Thai Smile Airways is currently an official sponsor of Thai Honda Ladkrabang and Ratchaburi Mitr Phol.[15][16]

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 to launch new budget airline". Bangkok Post. 20 May 2011. Retrieved 22 August 2011.
  4. "THAI sister airline launch set for 2012". Bangkok Post. 20 August 2011. Retrieved 22 August 2011.
  5. "Thai Smile Flight Pass". Thaismile.com. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
  6. bangkokpost.com - Thai Smile-THAI merger 'to cut losses' 25 February 2023
  7. Cross, Lee (2023-05-18). "Thai Smile to be Re-Absorbed into Thai Airways International". Airways. Retrieved 2023-05-22.
  8. "Thai Smile Booking and Destinations". Thai Smile. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  9. "THAI SMILE MOVES AHMEDABAD SERVICE TO THAI FROM SEP 2023". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  10. "Thai Smile Resumes Kolkata Bangkok Flights".
  11. Liu, Jim (August 16, 2017). "Update 2: Thai Smile cancels Kota Kinabalu service from Sep 2017". Routes Online. Retrieved 2022-01-25.
  12. "New Route! Fly Direct Flights from Donmuang to Chiang Mai". Thai Smile.
  13. Airbus Orders and Deliveries (XLS), accessed via "Orders & Deliveries". Airbus. 31 August 2017. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
  14. leah (2023-05-18). "Thai Airways - Thai Smile merger gets green light". Thaiger. Retrieved 2023-05-21.
  15. ""ไทยฮอนด้า" ทุ่ม 100 ล้าน ลุยไทยลีก ตั้งเป้าท็อป 10". Retrieved 29 January 2017.
  16. "สายการบินแรก!ราชบุรีจับมือไทยสมายล์". Retrieved 15 September 2017.

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