Small Planet Airlines (Vilnius) says it is looking to base two A320-200 aircraft out of Bangkok Don Mueang by autumn of next year as part of plans to tap into the Thai domestic and regional market using its Small Planet Airlines Thailand (Bangkok Don Mueang) subsidiary.
In a statement, the Lithuanian ACMI specialist said it is now in pursuit of a Thai Air Operators Certificate (AOC) which, once secured, would allow it to start carrying tourists from China and South Korea to Bangkok in the autumn of 2015. In the longterm, Small Planet intends to generate about 30% of its turnover in Asia by basing six aircraft in South East Asia during the winter season.
“Last winter we successfully operated flights to Bhutan [with Bhutan Airlines (B3, Paro)], and this winter two of our aircraft are carrying passengers to Cambodia [with Skywings Asia Airlines (Phnom Penh)]. Today I am pleased to announce that Small Planet Airlines will establish a leisure airline in Thailand. We are following our strategy to reduce seasonality in Europe," Vytautas Kaikaris, Small Planet Airlines CEO, said.
Fellow Lithuanian operator Avion Express (X9, Vilnius) has also announced plans to establish its own foreign operation with Dominican Wings (Santo Domingo Las Américas) set to offer charter flights between the Dominican Republic and Argentina once its A320-200 LY-VEP (cn 561) is re-registered as HI-986 early next year.
