Bangkok Airways spending 3 billion on new planes, airports

PHOTO: A Bangkok Airways ATR 72-600 dwarfed by a Thai Airways ‘jumbo’

Bangkok Airways is putting aside 3 billion baht to finance two new aircraft to support their growing passenger numbers.

The local airline is forecasting a 3% growth in bums-on-seats this year to over 6 million passengers. The airline’s CEO says they hope to purchase two new ATR 72-600 aircraft. He says they’re hoping to take delivery before the middle of this year. The company is also spending some of the funds on maintenance and refurbishment of its single-aisle Airbus fleet.

Bangkok Airways already runs 40 aircraft – nine Airbus A320s, 15 Airbus A319s, 11 ATR 72-600s and 5 ATR 72-500s.

The airline is also set to spend on its three airports in Koh Samui, Trat and Sukhothai with a runway extension planned for its Trat operation.

For new routes, Bangkok Airways is poised to capitalize on its regional strengths, opening up flights into Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam.

For Vietnam, Bangkok Air already operates a Bangkok-Cam Ranh route with four flights a week after operating the Bangkok-Phu Quoc route with seven flights per week as well as Chiang Mai-Hanoi. It’s also increasing the frequency of the Bangkok-Da Nang route to 14 flights per week, up from seven flights.

The airline is also proposing increased flights for it’s Chiang Mai-Luang Prabang, Bangkok-Vientiane, Bangkok-Krabi and Bangkok-Mandalay routes.

The ATR 72-600 is a popular plane for the leisure routes and smaller airports