Phuket Air

Phuket Air (Phuket Airlines Co. Ltd) was an airline based in Bangkok, Thailand. It operated regularly scheduled and chartered domestic and international passenger flights from Bangkok International Airport.

Code Data

• IATA Code: 9R
• ICAO Code: VAP
• Callsign: Phuket Air

History

The airline was established in 1999 and started operations on December 19, 2001 with two Boeing 737-200 aircraft bought from Garuda Indonesia. It was owned by Angkana Apiwattanaporn and managed by Vikrom Aisiri, a Thai senator from Ranong who also owns the Andaman Club Hotel island casino in Myanmar and a resort hotel in Chiang Rai Province.

The airline rapidly expanded, adding some vintage NAMC YS-11 turbo-props, some older Boeing 747s and a Boeing 757-200 to its fleet. In addition to flying several domestic routes, Phuket Air undertook international routes to London, Paris, Amsterdam and Seoul.

Under strain from a downturn in the tourism industry after the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, and struggles to maintain its fleet of ageing aircraft, Phuket Airlines was plagued by poor service and safety concerns. By the end of 2005 it had scaled back its operations, having laid off hundreds of its employees and leased its equipment out to other carriers.

In March 2006, Phuket Air was entirely scrapped by its shareholders, who were planning to rename the airline and focus on flying four routes between Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket, Ranong and Buriram Province, using Boeing 737s. They had hoped to call the new entity Suvarnabhumi Airline, but since that name is already taken by the New Bangkok International Airport, which was bestowed by His Majesty the King, Thailand's Civil Aviation Department asked that they find another name.

Angkana and Vikram also have submitted an application for another airline named Holiday Airline, to fly to Beijing, Seoul and Tokyo using Boeing 747s.

Incidents and accidents

• April 2005 - on a fuelling stop for a Bangkok-London flight, passengers urged a Phuket Air 747 to abandon take off from Sharjah International Airport in the United Arab Emirates because they saw fuel leaking from a wing. The airline said the fuel tank had been overfilled and insisted there was no danger. However, passengers refused to fly and another plane was ordered from Bangkok, but it was delayed at Sharjah for nearly 11 hours because of further technical trouble. The incident also caused delays for Phuket Air's return flights from London's Gatwick Airport and prompted the United Kingdom's Department for Transport to place the airline on a blacklist.[1]
• April 9, 2005 - hydraulic problems caused a 24-hour delay in takeoff of Phuket Air Flight 9R 619 from Bankgok to Amsterdam. The airline is banned from flying in the Netherlands.
• France has banned the airline as well. [2]
• May 6, 2005 - A Phuket Air 747 was impounded at Gatwick Airport for non-payment of landing fees. [3] The plane was still there as of December 24, 2005 but has now left.
• August 2005 - a Phuket Air 747 was impounded at Incheon International Airport after a dispute with a local company. Phuket Air attempted to fly the aircraft out but was stopped and the airline was forced to pay $230,000 in bills owed to the TV Club Travel company. [4] The plane was noted back in Bangkok in October 2005.
• September 11, 2005 - Flight 9R 326 from Bangkok, an NAMC YS-11 (HS-KVO), skidded off the runway when landing at Mae Sot. The starboard wing and engine were damaged. There were no injuries. [5]

Services

As of February 2006, Phuket Air maintained one domestic route between Bangkok and Ranong and an international tour-package flight from Bangkok to Yangon, Myanmar. As of starting summer schedule 2006, Phuket Air does not offer flights anymore.

According to information submitted to the Thai regulatory authorities, Phuket Air is to be split up into two companies, Suvarnabhumi Airlines and Holiday Airlines. One of the new companies will be using B747-200/300 to operate as a charter airline serving the Thailand - Saudi Arabia route while the other will be using B737-200 to operate domestically and to nearby, neighbouring countries. Once the two new companies have received the operating licence from the Ministry of Transport, Phuket Airlines will terminate its business completely. Phuket Air was banned from flying in Europe in December 2006. On the 6th March 2007, the European Commission, the EU's executive arm, removed Phuket Air of Thailand from its list of banned aircraft after they made safety improvements and complied with their safety audits. [6].

Fleet

The Phuket Air fleet consists of the following aircraft (according to the airline's website on February 14, 2006):

• 3 Boeing 747-300 (HS-VAC, HS-VAN and HS-VAV )
• 1 Boeing 747-200 (HS-VAO)
• 1 Boeing 737-200 (HS-AKU)
• 1 NAMC YS-11 (HS-KVU)

External links

• Phuket Air
• Phuket Air fleet history at Thai-Aviation.net
• Phuket Air Fleet Detail
• Phuket Air Passenger Opinions

References

• Agence France-Presse (February 14, 2006), "Phuket Air ponders new routes," The Nation, print edition, Page A4; also "Thailand's struggling Phuket Air considers expansion".
• BBC (May 6, 2005). "Thai airline banned from UK", retrieved February 14, 2006.
• The Nation (April 12, 2005), "Officials to inspect Phuket Air aircraft".
• Mahitthirook, Amornrat and Kittikanya, Charoen (April 14, 2005). Phuket Air woes leave 800 fuming, Bangkok Post.
• Sritama, Suchat (March 7, 2006) "Phuket Air angles for new name, license, The Nation.