Thai Airways International
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| Thai Airways International | ||
|---|---|---|
| Image:Thai Airways Logo.png | ||
| IATA TG | ICAO THA | Callsign THAI |
| Founded | 1960 | |
| Hubs | Suvarnabhumi Airport Don Mueang Int'l Airport | |
| Focus cities | Chiang Mai International Airport Phuket International Airport | |
| Frequent flyer program | Royal Orchid Plus | |
| Member lounge | Royal First Lounge Royal Orchid Spa Royal Silk Lounge Royal Orchid Lounge | |
| Alliance | Star Alliance | |
| Fleet size | 90 (+15 orders) | |
| Destinations | 74 | |
| Parent company | Thai Ministry of Finance[1] | |
| Headquarters | Image:Flag of Thailand.svg Bangkok, Thailand | |
| Key people | Apinan Sumanaseni (president), Chalit Pookpasuk(chairman) | |
| Website: www.thaiairways.com | ||
Thai Airways International Public Company Limited (Thai: การบินไทย) (SET: THAI) is the national air carrier of Thailand, operating out of Suvarnabhumi Airport, and is a founding member of the Star Alliance network. Thai offers some of the longest non-stop commercial flights, including routes from Bangkok to New York and to Los Angeles. Skytrax awarded Thai Airways International 'Worlds Best Cabin Staff' in 2006, while placing second in the 'Airline of the Year' category in 2007. [2]
Contents |
[edit] History
Thai started as Thai Airways International, a joint venture with Scandinavian Airlines System (which initially held a 30% share), along with a domestic carrier, Thai Airways Company (Thai: เดินอากาศไทย). The carrier's first flight was on May 1, 1960. On April 1 1977, the Thai government bought out the remaining 15% of SAS-owned shares. On April 1 1988, the two carriers merged to form the present Thai Airways International. [3]
The arrival of the A340-500 coincided with a change to the airline's image, including a new livery and a revised font for the title "Thai".
On May 1 2005, the airline began a non-stop Bangkok-New York service (TG790/791) with a new A340-500. The New York bound flight time is 16 hours 55 minutes and Bangkok bound flight time is 17 hours 10 minutes. Routing from New York/JFK is via Bergen; Oslo; Stockholm; the Baltic States; south of Moscow; Kabul; south of Delhi and on into Bangkok. Routing from Bangkok/BKK is north over Laos and Vietnam; then over China and into Siberia; north to a very short crossing of the Chukchi Sea to near Nome, Alaska; east past Cambridge Bay and the southern end of the Northwest passage; then southeast over Hudson Bay to a point between Ottawa and Montreal. Finally over the Adirondacks and the Hudson Valley down into JFK.
Non-stop Bangkok-Los Angeles service (TG794/795) started on December 2 2005, also using a new A340-500. The flight time is 16.5 hours eastbound. This replaces TG774/775 (LAX-KIX-BKK & BKK-KIX-LAX) service using Boeing 747-400 aircraft and the stop at Kansai International Airport in Osaka.
Thai Airways International operates three weekly direct flights on the route Bangkok – Johannesburg v.v., utilizing A340-600 aircraft from October 2006.
[edit] Destinations
On September 28, 2006 at 1:45am, flight TG 662 to Shanghai was the last Thai Airways departure from Don Mueang. At 4:45am, TG 316 from Indira Gandhi International Airport Delhi, India was Thai Airways' first official arrival at Suvarnabhumi.[citation needed]
[edit] Cargo
Thai Airways Cargo operate 747-200F freighter aircraft service, thrice weekly Bangkok-Dubai-Paris in cooperation with Focus Air Cargo.
[edit] Fleet
The Thai Airways International fleet consists of the following aircraft as of October 2007 [4]:
| Aircraft | Total | Passengers (First/Royal Silk/Premium Economy*/Economy) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Airbus A300-600 | 10 4 5 | 247 (0/46/201) 261 (0/28/233) 260 (0/28/232) | Some to be phased out in 2007 |
| Airbus A330-300 | 12 (8 orders) | 305 (42/263) | Entry into service 2008-2010 |
| Airbus A340-500 | 4 | 215 (0/60/42/113) | Ultra long-haul flights to New York and Los Angeles |
| Airbus A340-600 | 5 (1 order) | 267 (8/60/199) | |
| Airbus A380-800 | 0 (6 orders) | Entry into service 2010 | |
| ATR-72-200 | 2 | 66 (0/0/66) | Includes 1 aircraft leased out to Nok Air |
| Boeing 737-400 | 10 | 149 (0/12/137) | Includes 4 aircraft leased out to Nok Air |
| Boeing 747-400 | 6 12 | 389 (14/50/325) 375 (10/40/325) | |
| Boeing 777-200 | 8 | 309 (0/30/279) | |
| Boeing 777-200ER | 6 | 292 (0/30/262) | |
| Boeing 777-300 | 5 1 | 388 (0/49/339) 364 (0/34/330) | |
| Total number of aircraft | 90 (15 orders) | Updated: November 2007 |
The average age of the Thai fleet was 10.1 years at September 2007.
Thai has ordered 6 Airbus A380 aircraft, which will be delivered in 2010 for use on services to Frankfurt, Paris and London where frequencies cannot yet be increased.
Thai has confirmed an order (placed in 2004) for 6 Boeing 777-200ER aircraft to be delivered from 2006 to October 2007.
Twenty-one A300-600 aircraft will leave the fleet sometime from 2006-2007. This will most likely coincide with the delivery of the new 777-200ER aircraft.
Six Airbus A300-600 and two Boeing 747-300 will leave the fleet within 2007, Thai has been confirmed to buy 8 A330-300 as a replacement for delivery between 2008 and 2010.
Thai is choosing between purchasing 6 or more Airbus A350 or Boeing 787. The airline has two plans for increasing its fleet: it retires 35 planes, and buys 61 in 10 years OR the airline retires 47 planes, and buys 65 in 10 years. Types studied are Boeing 737-900, Boeing 787-9, Airbus A350 and Airbus A321. If the second plan is chosen the airline will buy 8 747-8s as well.
[edit] Cabin
Thai has four travel classes: Economy, Premium Economy, Royal Silk and Royal First.
[edit] Economy Class
Economy Class is the lowest priced class on Thai. Seat pitch on Thai Economy offers passengers up to 36" pitch in selected aircraft with an average of 34" on all aircraft. On 777 aircraft, rows are configured in a 3-3-3 configuration. All Economy seats in Airbus A340-500, Airbus A340-600, Boeing B777-200ER and Boeing 777-300 (HS-TKA only) have individual Audio-Video On Demand (AVOD) In-flight Entertainment (IFE) system. Passengers will be given a choice of Thai or Western meals. Alcoholic beverages are free and served to passengers over the age of 18 (subsequent to exiting U.S. airspace, where the legal age is 21).
[edit] Premium Economy Class
The new Premium Economy Class is only available on inter-continental flights between Bangkok(BKK) and Los Angeles(LAX) or New York(JFK) on Airbus A340-500 aircraft. The fare for Premium Economy Class is slightly higher than Economy but lower than Royal Silk (Business) Class. Premium Economy seating is configured as 2-3-2 rather than the standard 2-4-2 in Economy. Seat pitch is increased to 42", 135 degree angle of recline and the seat features a leg-rest. Premium Economy class passengers also have more choices over their meal selection.
On some long-haul routes such as Bangkok - Copenhagen, Bangkok - Stockholm, aircraft with previous generation Business Class seats are used - therefore the seats are sold under Premium Economy Class fare.
[edit] Royal Silk (Business) Class
This includes a dedicated check-in facility at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi International Airport, dedicated check-in desks at major airports around the world, lounge access, priority boarding, pre-flight champagne, fast track lane for passport control & security-check and priority baggage handling.
The new shell, angled lie-flat business class seats are installed on 12 Boeing 747-400 aircraft, all Boeing 777-200 aircraft and all Airbus A340 aircraft. The pitch is 60" between seats and width is 20". When fully reclined (electrically adjusted) the seat becomes completely flat, however it is angled. The seat can perform lumbar massage. All seats are equipped with AVOD IFE.
There are more choices of main course meal selection in Royal Silk class on international flights, although some may be identical to Economy Class offering. Premium alcoholic drinks are served with a more extensive choices of wine. Port and cheese is served after lunch and dinner.
[edit] Royal First Class
The new Royal First Class was introduced with the arrival of the Airbus A340-600. It offers 8 solo flat-beds. Furthermore, Thai's retrofited 12 B747-400s are also equipped with this B/E Aerospace seat which mostly serves Europe-Australia and some intra-Asian flights.
[edit] Royal Orchid Plus
Thai Airways International's Royal Orchid Plus is the first frequent flyer program established in Thailand[citation needed]. It has a membership of over two million members world-wide. Individuals above the age of two can join the program.
Earning Miles
There are two types of mile which can be earned towards a Royal Orchid Plus account.
Firstly, Eligible Qualifying Miles (EQM) this type of mile is earned on flown:
- Thai Airways flights
- TG codeshare flights on routes departing from/to Bangkok (Malaysian Airlines, Emirates Airlines, El Al Israel Airlines and China Eastern Airlines)
- Star Alliance flights
- Jet Airways flights
Qualifying Miles (Q Miles) are the actual miles flown and additional class of service miles on Thai and Star Alliance airlines. Royal Orchid Plus miles are earned based on the paid class of travel and subject to eligible booking class codes of the airline flown.
Secondly, Partner Miles are earned from non-airline partners, such as hotels.
Status Tiers
There are three tiers in the Royal Orchid Plus program
- Member - entry-level status
- Silver - requires 10,000 Q Miles in one calendar year or 15,000 Q Miles from the date of enrolment up to December 31 of the next complete calendar year
- Gold - requires 50,000 Q Miles in one calendar year, 80,000 Q Miles from the date of enrolment up to December 31 of the next complete calendar year, or 40 international flown sectors on THAI within any 1 calendar year.
[edit] Codeshare agreements
Thai Airways International codeshares with the following airlines on the following routes:
- Swiss International Airlines -codeshare on service between Bangkok and Zurich, Switzerland. Service is operated by either Thai or Swiss.
- Emirates Airline -codeshare on service from Bangkok to Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Thai operates the service and Emirates codeshares it.
- Malaysia Airlines -codeshare on service between Thailand and Malaysia. Thai takes some of the service, Malaysian the rest.
- El Al -codeshare on service to Tel Aviv, Israel. All flights are operated by El Al and codeshared by Thai.
- Japan Airlines (JAL) -codeshare on service to several destinations in Japan, including Osaka and Nagoya. Flights are operated by JAL or Thai Airways.
- All Nippon Airways (ANA) -codeshare on service between Bangkok and Tokyo or Osaka, Japan, as well as various destinations around Thailand and other destinations within Asia. Flights are operated by ANA or Thai Airways.
- Jet Airways -codeshare operated by Jet Airways codesharing with Thai to Indian destinations.
- Royal Jordanian -codeshare operated by Royal Jordanian codesharing with Thai to Amman, Jordan.
- Air Madagascar -codeshare operated by Air Madagascar codesharing with Thai to Antananarivo.
- Qatar Airways -codeshare operated by Qatar Airways codesharing with Thai to Doha, Qatar.
- Gulf Air -codeshare operated by Gulf Air codesharing with Thai to Bahrain.
- Egyptair -codeshare operated by Egypt Air codesharing with Thai to Cairo, Egypt.
- Pakistan International Airlines -codeshare on services to Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad in Pakistan
- Shanghai Airlines -codeshare services to Shanghai Pudong International Airport operated by both Shanghai Airlines and Thai.
[edit] Incidents and accidents
- July 31 1992 – Thai Airways International Flight 311, an Airbus A310-304 hit the side of a hill 23 miles north of Kathmandu while descending towards Tribhuvan International Airport from Bangkok. All 113 on board (99 passengers and 14 crew) died. The accident was caused by technical faults (with flaps and a possible second unknown fault), pilot error and lack of equipment at TIA at the time (no radar).[5]
- December 11 1998 – Thai Airways Flight 261, another A310-200, bound for Surat Thani from Bangkok, during its third landing attempt in heavy rain, crashed into a rice paddy about 2 miles from Surat Thani airport; 102 of 143 aboard were killed.[6]
- March 3 2001 – a Thai Airways International Boeing 737-400, bound for Chiang Mai from Bangkok, was destroyed by An explosion of the center wing tank resulting from ignition of the flammable fuel/air mixture in the tank. The source of the ignition energy for the explosion could not be determined with certainty, but the most likely source was an explosion originating at the center wing tank pump as a result of running the pump in the presence of metal shavings and a fuel/air mixture. [3] One flight attendant died [4].
[edit] References
- ^ Major Shareholders. The Stock Exchange of Thailand (2007-01-10). Retrieved on 2007-08-16.
- ^ AIRLINES wins Airline of the Year title in the 2007 World Airline Awards which were unveiled today by Skytrax
- ^ Thai Airways International Public Information
- ^ Thai Airways International Website November 2007
- ^ [1], [2]
- ^ Asia Economic News 14 December 1998
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
Image:Flag of Thailand.svg Airlines of Thailand |
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