Thai Smile is a planned airline in Thailand

Thailand

Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

, operated by Thai Airways International

Thai Airways International

Thai Airways International Public Company Limited is the national flag carrier and largest airline of Thailand. Formed in 1988, the airline's headquarters are located in Chatuchak District, Bangkok, and operates out of Suvarnabhumi Airport. Thai is a founding member of the Star Alliance. Thai is a...

 (Thai), that is expected to begin operations in July 2012.

On 20 May 2011, the Thai Airways board announced plans to create a new lower-cost airline, at the time dubbed Thai Wings. The creation of the airline was announced by Ampon Kittiampon, the chairman of Thai's board of directors, on 19 August 2011. It is planned to begin operations in July 2012. According to Ampon, Thai Smile is intended to serve the market gap between low-cost carrier

Low-cost carrier

A low-cost carrier or low-cost airline is an airline that generally has lower fares and fewer comforts...

s and full service airlines. The name Thai Smile was chosen from a pool of 2,229 entries in a contest to name the airline.

Thai Smile is planned to operate up to eleven Airbus A320

Airbus A320

The Airbus A320 family is a family of short- to medium-range, narrow-body, commercial passenger jet airliners manufactured by Airbus Industrie.Airbus was originally a consortium of European aerospace companies, and is now fully owned by EADS. Airbus's name has been Airbus SAS since 2001...

 aircraft, with four in the fleet at the start of operations. The aircraft will be outfitted in a two-class configuration, with business and economy seating.

Initially, Thai Smile will fly to domestic destinations only on routes of less than two hours, including Chiang Rai

Chiang Rai

-Demographics:Official Population count: According to the Thailand National Statistical Office, as of September 2010, Chiang Rai municipal district has a population of 199,699...

, Khon Kaen

Khon Kaen

Khon Kaen is a city in Isan, Thailand. It is also the capital of Khon Kaen province and the Khon Kaen district.-Geography and demography:Khon Kaen is located in the Khorat Plateau, in the central-northwestern area of Isaan...

, Surat Thani

Surat Thani

Surat Thani is a city in Amphoe Mueang Surat Thani, Surat Thani Province, southern Thailand. It is the capital of the province Surat Thani. The city has a population of 128,179 , and an area of 68.97 square kilometers. The city's population density is 1,858.47 inhabitants per km².Suran Thani is...

, Ubon Ratchathani

Ubon Ratchathani

Ubon Ratchathani is a city on the Mun River in the south-east of the Isan region of Thailand. It is known as Ubon for short. The name means "Royal Lotus City." The provincial seal features a pond with a lotus flower and leaves in a circular frame. Ubon is the administrative centre of Ubon...

 and Udon Thani

Udon Thani

Udon Thani is a city in Isan, north-east Thailand, and the capital of Udon Thani Province.-Location:The province of Udon Thani has a population of 1,467.200, the city alone 500.000. Geographical location and is approximately 560 km from Bangkok...

. By 2013, the airline is planned to expand into international markets in Southeast Asia, with potential destinations including Amritsar

Amritsar

Amritsar is a city in the northern part of India and is the administrative headquarters of Amritsar district in the state of Punjab, India. The 2001 Indian census reported the population of the city to be over 1,500,000, with that of the entire district numbering 3,695,077...

, Brunei

Brunei

Brunei , officially the State of Brunei Darussalam or the Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace , is a sovereign state located on the north coast of the island of Borneo, in Southeast Asia...

, Danang, Medan

Medan

- Demography :The city is Indonesia's fourth most populous after Jakarta, Surabaya, and Bandung, and Indonesia's largest city outside of Java island. Much of the population lies outside its city limits, especially in Deli Serdang....

 and Penang

Penang

Penang is a state in Malaysia and the name of its constituent island, located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia by the Strait of Malacca. It is bordered by Kedah in the north and east, and Perak in the south. Penang is the second smallest Malaysian state in area after Perlis, and the...

.

According to an official at Thai Airways International, Thai Smile is planned to begin showing an annual profit of about five million baht within two years of the start of operations.

External links