Thai Airways International

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Thai Airways International

IATA TG	ICAO THA	Callsign THAI
Founded		1960
Hubs		Suvarnabhumi Airport Phuket International Airport
Focus cities / secondary hubs		Chiang Mai International Airport Hat Yai International Airport
Frequent flyer program		Royal Orchid Plus
Member lounge		Royal First Lounge Royal Orchid Spa Lounge Royal Silk Lounge Royal Orchid Lounge
Alliance		Star Alliance
Fleet size		89
Destinations		74
Parent company		Thai Airways International
Headquarters		Bangkok, Thailand
Key people		Apinant Suraseranee (president), Wanchai Sarathulthat (chairman)
Website: www.thaiairways.com

Thai Airways International (Thai: การบินไทย) is the national air carrier of Thailand. Thai operates out of Suvarnabhumi Airport and is a founding member of the Star Alliance network. The carrier has traditionally used "Thai" on all of its livery. Like Singapore Airlines, Thai offers some of the longest non-stop commercial flights from New York and Los Angeles.

1 History
2 Destinations
3 Incidents and accidents
4 Codesharing
- 4.1 Flight numbers
5 Fleet
6 See also
7 External links

[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. [1] In August 2005, Thai Airways International president Kanok Abhiradee was suspended from his managerial duties just before the airline reported a massive loss for its fiscal third quarter to June 30. Following the suspension, the airline appointed board member Somchainuk Engtrakul to oversee Kanok's major responsibilities. The airline has named a new president in April 2006. [2]

As most tourists to the country come from Europe, Thai has a limited presence in North America, where its flights are marketed by Lufthansa.

Thai Airways aircraft at Bangkok International Airport

Thai Airways Boeing 747 at Paris Charles de Gaulle

Thai Airways promotes Bangkok - New York Non-Stop, branded as "New York Express".

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. It flies over the North Pole, with New York bound departs at midnight (Bangkok time 0040 at summer).

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.

In February 2006, the airline announced it was studying the startup of a new airline, to be called Thai Orchid (Thai: เอื้องหลวง), which would market itself as a luxury alternative to the low-cost carriers, such as subsidiary Nok Air (Thai: นกแอร์). [3] In June 2006 Thai International Airlines was awarded 'Worlds Best Cabin Staff' by Skytrax. Thai Airways International will be operating three weekly direct flights on the route Bangkok – Johannesburg v.v., utilizing A340-600 aircraft, effective in October 2006 onwards.

On September 28, 2006 at 1:45am, flight TG 662 to Shanghai was the last Thai Airways departure from Don Muang. At 4:45am, TG 613 from Delhi was Thai Airways' first official arrival at Suvarnabhumi. [4]

[edit] Destinations

Main article: Thai Airways International destinations

[edit] Incidents and accidents

April 27, 1980 – a Thai Airways BAe 748 enroute from Khon Kaen to Bangkok lost altitude during a thunderstorm and crashed about 8 miles from Don Mueang International Airport. All four crew members and 40 of the 49 passengers were killed. [5]
April 15, 1985 – a Thai Airways Boeing 737-200 hit high ground on Phuket and was destroyed by the impact and subsequent fire. All four passengers and seven crew members were killed. The accident occurred after a failure of both engines. [6]
August 31, 1987 – a Thai Airways Boeing 737-200 flying from Hat Yai to Phuket crashed into the sea off Phuket. All nine crew members and 74 passengers were killed [7]
July 31, 1992 – a Thai Airways International 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). [8], [9]

Thai Airways Domestic Passenger ticket (2004)

December 11, 1998 – a Thai Airways International 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. [10]
March 3, 2001 – a Thai Airways International Boeing 737-400, bound for Chiang Mai from Bangkok, was destroyed by an explosion and fire that occurred about 35 minutes before the Ex-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and about 150 other passengers were to board. Five members of the cabin crew were aboard, and one was killed. Witnesses said they heard an explosion before flames erupted aboard the aircraft. NTSB investigators reported that the center fuel tank exploded followed by the right tank 18 minutes later. The cause for the explosion was unclear. No traces of explosive were found. The center fuel tank is located near air conditioning packs which generate heat, and were running nonstop prior to the explosion.[11]
April 19, 2005 – a Singapore Airlines Boeing 777-200 stopped approximately 194 meters beyond a painted stop line at Don Mueang International Airport, and its left wing-tip was clipped by a Thai Airways International Airbus A330-300 taxiing for take-off. Both aircraft were severely damaged. There were no injuries.
October 26, 2005 – a Thai Airways International A300 skidded off the runway in heavy rain on landing at Don Mueang International Airport. There were no injuries.

Thai Airways International Boeing 747-400 taking off from London Heathrow Airport

[edit] Codesharing

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 Airways International or Swiss.
Emirates-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 Airways International.
Japan Airlines (JAL)-Codeshare on service to several destinations in Japan, including Osaka and Nagoya. Flights are operated by JAL 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.

[edit] Flight numbers

TG 0XX : Northeastern Thailand
TG 1XX : Northern Thailand
TG 2XX : Southern Thailand
TG 3XX : South Asia and Myanmar
TG 4XX : Southeast Asia ex. Myanmar and Indochina and Philippines
TG 5XX : Middle East and Pakistan
TG 60X - TG 67X : East Asia and Philippines
TG 68X - TG 69X : Indochina
TG 7XX : America and Africa
TG 8XX : Special Flight
TG 90X - TG 97X : Europe
TG 98X - TG 99X : Australia and New Zealand

[edit] Fleet

Aircraft Type	Number of Aircraft	Number of Seats	Royal First Class	Royal Silk Class	Premium Economy Class	Economy Class
Boeing 747-400	7	389	14	50	-	325
	11	375	10	40	-	325
Boeing 747-300	2	405	18	62	-	325
Boeing 777-300	6	388	-	49	-	339
Boeing 777-200ER	2	292	-	30	-	262
Boeing 777-200	1	358	-	55	-	303
	7	309	-	30	-	279
Boeing 737-400 (including 4 aircraft leased out to Nok Air)	10	149	-	12	-	137
Airbus A340-500	3	215	-	60	42	113
Airbus A340-600	5	267	8	60	-	199
Airbus A330-300	12	305	-	42	-	263
Airbus A300-600	10	247	-	46	-	201
	6	261	-	28	-	233
	5	260	-	28	-	232
ATR-72 (including 1 aircraft leased out to Nok Air)	2	66	-	-	-	66
Total Number of Aircraft	89	Updated: November 2006

The average age of Thai Airways International fleet was 10.4 years at April 2006.

Thai Airways International has ordered 6 Airbus A380 aircraft, which will be delivered in 2009/2010 for use on services to Australia and Europe.

Thai Airways International confirmed an order (made in 2004) for 6 Boeing 777-200ER aircraft to be delivered from 2006 to October 2007.

It has been announced that 21 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 A300-600 and B747-300 will leave the fleet within 2007,Thai now considering to buy 8 A330-300 to replace

4 MD-11s were retired from the fleet in May, 2005. They are now waiting in Don Muang International Airport and U-tapao Airport to be sold to new operators.

Thai is currently choosing between purchasing 6 or more of Boeing 787 or Airbus 350.