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Bangkok Airways to order 20 aircraft this year
May 25th 2018
Thailand’s ‘boutique airline’, Bangkok Airways, will order 20 single aisle jet aircraft this year, airline president, Puttipong Prasattong-Osoth, told Bloomberg this week. Read More »
He said the carrier will ask for request for proposals from Airbus, Boeing and Bombardier, although the eventual order will be with a single OEM.
“The good thing is, once we change our planes to the same model, the cost of operations and maintenance will be lower,” Prasattong-Osoth said. Bangkok Airways operates a fleet of 14 A319ceo and nine A320ceo. They have near perfect commonality. The airline also has six ATR72-500s and nine ATR72-600s. Earlier this year, Bangkok Airways confirmed purchase of four more -600 turboprops to replace older versions of the type.
The Suvarnabhumi Airport-based airline flies to 30 destinations in 11 countries, including the Maldives, Hong Kong and Mumbai.
Bangkok Airways has almost been consistently profitable for the last decade and Prasattong-Osoth expects revenues in 2018 will increase 8% year-on-year, to THB28.5 billion baht, despite mounting competition and higher fuel costs.
The airline holds a 33% equity in Samui Airport. Prasattong-Osoth said the airline would like to increase that when the time and price was right. It also has major shareholdings in Sukhothai and Trat Airports.
