Thai Airways International (TG, Bangkok Suvarnabhumi) and its two affiliates, Nok Air (DD, Bangkok Don Mueang) and Thai Smile (Bangkok Suvarnabhumi), will meet at the end of this month to create a plan to streamline management of all three airlines under the entity THAI Group.
The joint framework will include flight routes, maintenance and group services, aircraft parking, and joint marketing, reports The Bangkok Post. Under THAI Group, the three airlines will have just one board of directors, according to Now 26.
Montree Jumrieng, Executive Vice President of Corporate Strategy & Sustainable Development at Thai Airways International, said that the plan is for the three airlines to work together to form an aviation network, with each airline transiting passengers to the others.
Meanwhile, Nok Air this week acquired shareholder approval to raise 1.5 billion baht through the issuing of 625 million ordinary shares. Thai Airways - as the largest shareholder with a 39% stake - is to contribute 600 million baht. Nok has brought in consultants to aid it in a rehabilitation plan over the next three months, following significant losses in 2016.
Thai Airways is a full service carrier providing services to thirty-four countries. Nok Air has traditionally focused on the domestic market with just three international destinations - Hanoi Noi Bai International, Ho Chi Minh City and Yangon. However, this year it plans to launch six new China destinations, a market where its joint venture NokScoot (Bangkok Don Mueang) is also particularly focusing on. Thai Smile serves domestic routes and select international routes in the southeast Asia region.
