Nok Air
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| Founded | February 2004 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commenced operations | July 2004 | |||
| Hubs | Don Mueang International Airport | |||
| Frequent-flyer program | Nok Fan Club | |||
| Fleet size | 20 | |||
| Destinations | 30 | |||
| Company slogan | We Fly Smiles | |||
| Headquarters | Sathorn, Bangkok, Thailand | |||
| Key people | Mr. Patee Sarasin (CEO) | |||
| Website | www.nokair.com | |||
Nok Air (Thai: นกแอร์, derived from nok (นก), the Thai word for (small) bird, sparrow) is a low-cost airline headquartered on the 17th floor of the Rajanakarn Building (อาคารรัจนาการ) in Sathorn, Bangkok, Thailand,[1] operating domestic services out of Bangkok's Bangkok Don Mueang Airport.[2] Nok Air is the budget airline of Thai Airways International. Nok Air is currently an official sponsor of TTM Chiang Mai, Hat Yai FC and Chiangmai FC.
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History[edit]
The airline was established in February 2004 and started operations on 23 July 2004. It had 130 employees in March 2007 and around 600 in 2011.[2] Nok Air began its first international service on 31 May 2007, with daily flights to Bangalore, India. The airline acquired landing rights to additional Indian cities (Chennai, Hyderabad and New Delhi).[3]
Nok Air suspended its operations to Bangalore in November 2007 - the second low-cost carrier to suspend operations after Jetstar Asia Airways. According to Rajiv Bhatia, the General Manager for the Indian operations, this was due to non-availability of aircraft, and to allow service to other lucrative routes in South East Asia like Vietnam. However, according to sources in the travel sector, the suspension of operations may be due to the decrease in passenger load factor for Nok Air by 40%.[4]
After its troubled international expansion, Nok Air has decided to focus on domestic services in Thailand. It is now the airline the serves the highest number of domestic routes within Thailand.[5] This strategy has been successful. In 2010, Nok Air generated 618 million Thai Baht in net profit on revenues of 3.97 billion Thai Baht. The airline plans to add seven Boeing 737-800 aircraft and four ATR 72 turboprop aircraft in 2011.[6]
Since its inception, Nok Air has been operating largely independently from Thai Airways International. This has led to some friction between the two companies along the way. To gain greater control of Nok Air, Thai Airways has tried to purchase the shares of other shareholders, notably Krung Thai Bank. However, although Thai Airways and Krung Thai Bank are both state enterprises under the control of the Ministry of Finance (Thailand), Krung Thai Bank refused to sell its shares in Nok Air to Thai Airways. The purchase would have lifted Thai Airways’ stake in Nok Air from 39% to 49%.[7]
Destinations[edit]
- From Don Mueang International Airport Hub
- Buriram - Buriram Airport [8]
- Chiang Mai – Chiang Mai International Airport
- Chiang Rai – Mae Fah Luang-Chiang Rai International Airport
- Chumphon - Chumphon Airport [8]
- Hat Yai – Hat Yai International Airport
- Loei - Loei Airport
- Mae Sot - Mae Sot Airport
- Nakhon Phanom - Nakhon Phanom Airport
- Nakhon Si Thammarat – Nakhon Si Thammarat Airport
- Nan - Nan Airport
- Phrae - Phrae Airport
- Phitsanulok - Phitsanulok Airport
- Phuket – Phuket International Airport
- Roi Et - Roi Et Airport
- Sakon Nakhon - Sakon Nakhon Airport
- Surat Thani – Surat Thani Airport
- Trang – Trang Airport
- Ubon Ratchathani – Ubon Ratchathani Airport
- Udon Thani – Udon Thani International Airport
- Yangon – Yangon International Airport (begins 01 November)
- From Chiang Mai International Airport
- Hat Yai - Hat Yai International Airport
- Mae Hong Son - Mae Hong Son Airport
- Mae Sot - Mae Sot Airport
- Udon Thani - Udon Thani International Airport
- From Mae Sot Airport
- Mawlamyaing - Mawlamyaing Airport (begins 01 September)[9]
- Yangon - Yangon International Airport (begins 01 October)[10]
- Island Destinations (by bus/ferry from Trang Airport)
- Koh Lanta (Saladan Pier)
- Koh Kradan
- Koh Laoliang
- Koh Lipe
- Koh Mook
- Koh Ngai
- Koh Phi Phi
- Langkawi (Awanna Pier)
- Island Destinations (by bus/ferry from Nakhon Si Thammarat and Surat Thani Airports)
- Koh Phangan (Tong Sala Pier),
- Koh Samui (Nar Ton Pier)
Terminated destinations[edit]
India
Thailand
Vietnam
Fleet[edit]
As of 18 December 2012, the Nok Air fleet consists of the following leased aircraft. [11][12]
| Aircraft | Total | Orders | Passengers | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Y | Total | ||||
| ATR 72-200 | 2 | — | — | 66 | 66 | |
| Boeing 737-400 | 2 1 |
— — |
— 12 |
156 137 |
156 149 |
To Exit Service 2013 |
| Boeing 737-800 | 11 | 1 | — | 189 | 189 | Aircraft on order due in 2013 |
| Saab 340B | 5 | 1 | — | 34 | 34 | Operate Under Nok Air Mini Brand Operated by Siam General Aviation |
| Total | 20 | 3 | ||||
[edit]
| Shareholders[13] | % of shares owned |
|---|---|
| Thai Airways International Public Company Limited | 49% |
| Nok Air Management Hong Kong Limited | 25% |
| CPB Equity Company Limited | 6% |
| The Siam Commercial Bank Public Company Limited | 5% |
| King Power International Company Limited | 5% |
| Individual investors | 10% |
Nok Air, wants to raise money to fund its growth and will offer up to 30 per cent stake in the company on the SET in mid-2013. [14]
References[edit]
- ^ "Contact Nok." Nok Air. Retrieved on 27 February 2012. "17 Fl. Rajanakarn Building 183 South Sathorn Road, Yannawa, Sathorn Bangkok 10120" - Thai: "ชั้น 17 อาคารรัจนาการ เลขที่ 183 ถนนสาทรใต้ เขตยานนาวา แขวงสาทร กรุงเทพฯ 10120"
- ^ a b "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International. 2007-04-10. p. 56.
- ^ "Party in the sky". Business-standard.com. 7 July 2007.
- ^ "Nok Air too suspends flights to Bangalore". Economic Times. 13 November 2007.
- ^ "Nok Air adds more small cities to plan". Bangkok Post. 29 March 2011.
- ^ "Nok performance hits record". Bangkok Post. 2 February 2011.
- ^ "KTB rebuffs Thai offer for Nok". Bangkok Post. 24 January 2011.
- ^ a b http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/aviation/304518/nok-air-plans-new-routes-for-new-planes
- ^ [1]
- ^ [2]
- ^ Nok Air Fleet
- ^ Nok Air Mini Fleet
- ^ "Shareholders". Nok Air. Retrieved 2012-07-12.
- ^ "Busy IPO year for Thailand ahead". Investvine.com. 2013-01-27. Retrieved 2013-02-08.
External links[edit]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Nok Air |
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