Thai Smile Launched Double Daily Bangkok-Macau Service
07-Jul-2012 Thai smile, the new sub-brand of Thai Airways, launched its operations on 7th July between Bangkok and Macau. An inaugural flight ceremony was held at Macau International Airport to celebrate its coming. The ceremony was presided by Mr. Chakri Srichawana, The Royal Thai Consulate General; Mr. Simon Chan, President of Civil Aviation Authority of Macau SAR; Ms. Suning Liu, Executive Director of Macau International Airport Company Limited (CAM); Eng. Joao Manuel Costa Antunes, Director of Macau Government Tourist Office; Mr. Chulasingh Vasantasingh, Board Member of Thai Airways; Mr. Pandit Chanapai, Executive Vice President of Commercial of Thai Airways; and Mr. Worranate Laprabang, Managing Director of Thai Smile.
Based at the Bangkok Suvarnabhumi airport, Thai Smile s fleet will consist of 11 brand new Airbus A320-200 aircraft with 2 classes of service; 'Smile Plus' short haul business class service and "Smile" economy class. Passengers can enjoy complimentary beverages, light meal onboard and free baggage allowance. The airline plans to launch more domestic and regional flights in the near future. Passengers can also connect seamlessly to the attractive Thai destinations like Phuket, Krabi, Surat Thani, with less hassle by connecting the Thai Airways' network.
Ms. Suning Liu, Executive Director of CAM in the speech expressed that Macau International Airport was much honored for the coming of Thai Smile as Macau was chosen to be the first international destination of its operation. MIA previously served 6 Bangkok daily services and now adds up to a total of 8 daily. Bangkok being a popular destination, contributed nearly 260,000 air passengers to MIA traffic for the first half of the year, it represents a 45% increase compared to same period of last year. She believed that with the easiness and convenience in reaching Macau Airport, the different products offered and the frequent flight schedules in between, passengers would prefer it even more flying out of Macau.
For the first six months of this year, Macau International Airport handled over 2 million passengers, a 6.7% increase compared to the same period last year, and more than 90% of the total traffic is the destination passengers which accounts approximately 1.9 million. It is confident that the increase in capacity will definitely bring in even more visitors from Thailand. Along Macau working towards "A World Centre of Tourism and Leisure", the airport will continue to attract more airlines to bring in more international passengers to Macau - one of the world's most desired destination.
With these double-daily flights between Bangkok and Macau, the airline s new Airbus A320-200 aircraft and its friendly crew will be introducing new comfort for passengers onboard of Thai Smile. To bless the Macau operation with greater success, the representatives of Thai Airways officiated the lion dance eye dotting ceremony, wishing for auspiciousness and prosperity.