Eight new Thai airlines set to launch amid anticipated travel recovery

This year, eight new Thai airlines are set for take off, anticipating a continued recovery in leisure travel and anticipating around 35 million foreign tourists. Among them is Cool Airlines, which intends to provide scheduled services on medium to long-haul international routes.

This comes following approval from the Ministry of Transport for operating licenses, as stated by the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT). These airlines have also been granted authorisation to import a total of 60 aircraft.

The new entrants will vie for a share of the projected 130 million passengers due to travel through the country’s six major airports this year. This competitive landscape includes established carriers like Thai Airways International, which is finalising an order for up to 80 jets from Boeing, and Thai AirAsia.

In the previous year, foreign tourist arrivals surged to 28 million, more than doubling following the government’s decision to waive visa requirements for travellers from crucial markets like China, and India.

Founded by Patee Sarasin, the former CEO of budget carrier Nok Airlines, Really Cool Airlines is set to initiate chartered flight services in March. The initial plan is to operate flights to Japan and gradually extend to additional Asian destinations such as Hong Kong, Singapore, and Shanghai within the first two years.

Patee stated in November that the venture aims to have 70% of its passengers be international, starting operations with two leased Airbus A330 planes. The airline’s service would span between premium and low-cost.

Patee shared that the airline would exclusively focus on international routes to steer clear of the highly competitive domestic routes, which are predicted to intensify when local tourism reverts to normal levels.

In addition to Really Cool Airlines, other airlines planning to commence operations this year include Pattaya Airways, Asian Aerospace Service, Avanti Air Charter, Siam Seaplane, and Asia Atlantic Airlines, reported Bangkok Post.