Thai Airways International

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Template:Infobox Airline Thai Airways International (Thai: การบินไทย) is the national air carrier of Thailand. As the national airline of Thailand, Thai operates out of Bangkok International Airport and is a founding member of the Star Alliance network.

1 Code Data
2 History
3 Destinations
4 Incidents and accidents
5 Fleet
6 See also
7 External links

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Code Data

IATA Code: TG
ICAO Code: THA
Callsign: Thai

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History

The carrier's first flight was on May 1, 1960. 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).

On April 1, 1977, the Thai government bought out the remaining 15% of SAS-owned shares.

Image:Thai Airways tails-KayEss-2.jpeg

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 expects to name 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.

Image:Thai nyc express.png

The arrival of the new A340-500 kicks-off the airline's image revamp, 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 16.5 hours, the fastest direct flight from Southeast Asia to the East Coast of the USA. It uses a flightpath over the North Pole.

Non-stop Bangkok-Los Angeles service (TG794/795) started on December 2, 2005, also using a new A340-500. The flight time is 14.5 hours eastbound, the fastest direct flight from Southeast Asia to the West Coast of the USA. This replaces decades old 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]

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Destinations

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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 Bangkok International Airport. All four crew members and 40 of the 49 passengers were killed. [4]
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 was reported. [5]
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 [6]
July 31, 1992 - a Thai Airways International Airbus A310-304 (registration: HS-TID) hit the side of a hill 23 miles north of Kathmandu while descending towards Tribhuvan International Airport from Bangkok (flight TG 311). All 113 on board (99 passengers and 14 crew) died. The accident was caused by technical faults (with flaps and a posible second unknown fault), pilot error (in comprehending direction) and lack of equipment at TIA at the time (no radar). [7], [8]

Image:Thai domestic passenger ticket.jpg

December 11, 1998 - a Thai Airways International A310-200 (HS-TIA), bound for Surat Thani from Bangkok, was making its third landing attempt during a heavy rain and crashed into a rice paddy about 2 miles from Surat Thani airport; 102 of 143 aboard were killed. [9]
March 3, 2001 - a Thai Airways International Boeing 737-400 (HS-TDC), bound for Chiang Mai from Bangkok, was destroyed by an explosion and fire that occurred about 35 minutes before the 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.[10]
April 19, 2005 - a Singapore Airlines Boeing 777-200 stopped approximately 194 meters beyond a painted stop line at Bangkok 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 Bangkok International Airport. There were no injuries.
October 26, 2005 - a Thai Airways International A340 had a tire blow out on a hard landing in heavy crosswinds at Melbourne International Airport. Several small hydraulic fires were sparked, but were quickly extinguished by ground crew and the 250 passengers were evacuated without incident.
January 21, 2006 - The pilot of a Thai Airways International Boeing 747 elected to return to Stockholm shortly after take off when a drunken passenger aboard Flight TG961 became unruly and had to be overpowered by crew and passengers. The flight, with 397 people aboard, resumed five hours later. There were no injuries. [11]

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Fleet

Aircraft Type	Number of Aircraft	Number of Seats	First Class	Royal Silk Class	Premium Economy Class	Economy Class
Boeing 747-400	2	405	18	62	-	325
	9	389	14	50	-	325
	7	375	10	40	-	325
Boeing 747-300	2	405	18	62	-	325
Boeing 777-300	6	388	-	49	-	339
Boeing 777-200	8	358	-	55	-	303
Boeing 737-400	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
	11	260	-	28	-	232
MD-11	4	285	10	42	-	233
ATR-72	2	66	-	-	-	66
Total Number of Aircraft	91	Updated: 15 February 2006

The average age of Thai Airways International fleet is 10.4 years old in 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. There has been some speculation about this order. [12]

Thai Airways International confirmed an order (made in 2004) for 6 Boeing 777-200ER aircraft to be delivered from 2006 to October 2007. THAI recently ordered more 747-400 and A330-300 to replace the soon to be retired MD-11 and A300-600

It has been announced that the 4 MD-11 and 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, 747-400 and A330-300 aircraft.

For 4 MD-11 They will stop servicing from 26 March 2006 and they will sell to other airlines.

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