Thai Airways

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Fleet
(As at July 2009) Number of First Aircraft Orders Extradition
2 Airbus A300-600. September 26, 1985
15 Airbus A300-600R
14 Airbus A330-300 9. December 6, 1994
4 Airbus A340-500 6. April 2005
6 Airbus A340-600 30. June 2005
6 Airbus A380-800 scheduled for 2011-2012
2 ATR 72-200
7 Boeing 737-400. August 5, 1992
18 Boeing 747-400. February 21, 1990
8 Boeing 777-200. March 31,1996
6 Boeing 777-200ER.  November 17, 2006
6 Boeing 777-300. December 23, 1998
14 Boeing 787-9 planned for 2012-2015

Thai Airways IATA Code: TG
ICAO Code: THA
Callsign: Thai
Foundation: 1960

Bangkok Suvarnabhumi
Alliance: Star Alliance
Fleet size: 88 (+26 orders)

Thai Airways International is the national airline ofThailand, based in Bangkok.  Theairline’s hub is Suvarnabhumi airport, near the Thai capital of Bangkok.The airline is a founding member of Star Alliance. The corporate color is purple.

Suvarnabhumi Airport in detail

Along with operating in morethan fourteen destinations within Thailand, it operates in sixty internationaldestinations in over thirty countries. The cooperation between Thai and SAS,signed in 1959, is one of the oldest airline alliances in general.  Since its first flight on May 1, 1960,passenger numbers have increased rapidly.

In the late 1950s the Thai domestic carrier Thai Airways Company (TAC)developed a concept to enter the international business with SAS. The newcompany was known as Thai Airways International Company Limited.  The Thai government holds a 70 percent interest in thecompany, while SAS has a 30 percent interest.

On May 1, 1960, the airline beganoperations with DC-6 airplanes.  In thefirst year 83,000 passengers were transported. Later, the airline began using Convair 990 and French Caravellejets.  In 1966, Thai AirwaysInternational became the first airline in Asia to operate exclusively withjets.

Basic
Passengers: 19.6 million (as of September 30,2007)

Cooperation

Thai Airways International operates within theStar Alliance, among others.  The Star Alliance includes Deutsche Lufthansa, United Airlines, Air Canada and Scandinavian Airlines System.

Staff

Thai Airways International is headed by Apinan Sumanaseni. The Chairman is Chalit Pookpasuk.  As of the reporting date of September 30,2007 it employed 26,897 people.

Accidents / incidents
On June 30, 1967, the Caravelle 3 HS-TGI plungedduring a tropical storm while attempting to land at Hong Kong Kai Tak.  Of seventy-three passengers, twenty-four werekilled and five were injured.  The causeof the crash was pilot error.
On December 11, 1998, an Airbus A310-200 HS-TIAcrashed during bad weather in Thailand while attempting to land at the airportin Surat Thani.  Of the 146 passengers,101 died and forty-five were seriously injured.
On March 3, 2001, the Boeing 737-400 HS-TDC wasdestroyed at Gate 62 in Don Muang by an explosion.  Fuel vapors ignited, causing theexplosion.  A stewardess, who was on theplane, was killed
On April 19, 2005, there was a collision atBangkok airport in which a Singapore Airlines Boeing 777-200 and a Thai AirwaysAirbus A330-300 were seriously damaged. The pilot of the Boeing machine ignored the road markings.
Miscellaneous

The airline attaches great importance to Thaitradition and culture.  Asian food andgood wines are part of the service, as is the traditional Thai greeting, the” Wai” salute.  The motto is”The First Choice Carrier: Smooth As Silk. First Time. EveryTime.”

The company logo is anorchid blossom.  The frequent flyerprogram is called the Thai Royal Orchid Plus. Thai Airways also is sponsoringthe Thai tennis star Paradorn Srichaphan.

In 1971, the first intercontinentaldestinations were added to flight plans. Sydney was the first target; Copenhagen was added in 1972, followed in1973 with Frankfurt and London.

At thistime the airline had 3,000 employees, and was already the largest employer inThailand.  Following the cessation of theparticipation of SAS (in 1975), the Thai government began gradually ramping upits stake.  In 1977, the government wasthe sole owner.
The Airbus-Thai era was ushered in with the Airbusmodel A300 in 1978.  They are an able”work horse” of the intra-Asian routes, but also on the “racetrack” to Phuket.  The first Boeing747 came to the fleet 1979.
In 1988, the two airlines, TAC and Thai Airways,merged into Thai Airways International PCL.

The 1990s were marked in the history of Thai Airways with the foundingof the Star Alliance in 1997.  With thecommissioning of its first Airbus A340-500 on May 1, 2005, the airline alsointroduced a new look and a new color scheme. Today, Thai Airways ranks amongthe profitable airlines, and the state owns 54.21 percent.

Destinations

Thai Airways operates primarily from Bangkok tointernational destinations such as Singapore, Stockholm, Sydney, Dubai, LosAngeles, Zurich and Johannesburg.  InGermany, it flies 747s into Frankfurt twice a day, and Airbus A340-600 intoMunich once a day.  The ultra-long-haulroutes to New York (nonstop) were abandoned on July 1, 2008.