Orient Thai Airlines Co., Ltd. was[1] a Thai airline with its head office in Khlong Toei, Bangkok.[2] It operated charter and scheduled services in Southeast Asia and was based at Don Mueang International Airport. On October 9, 2018, the airline ceased all operations.[3]
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Founded | 1995 (1995) | ||||||
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Ceased operations | July 2018 (flight operations) 9 October 2018 (liquidation) | ||||||
Hubs | Don Mueang International Airport | ||||||
Fleet size | 13 | ||||||
Destinations | 4 | ||||||
Headquarters | Khlong Toei, Bangkok, Thailand | ||||||
Key people | Kajit Habanananda, Chairman | ||||||
Website | flyorientthai.com |
Orient Thai Airlines and its now-defunct wholly owned domestic carrier One-Two-GO Airlines are the only Thai airlines to bear a royal seal, made possible by the owner's, Udom Tantiprasonchai, close relationship with the King of Thailand, based on Mr. Tantiprasongchai's history of breaking traditional commercial barriers for Thailand. Prior to their current location, Orient Thai and its subsidiary One-Two-GO were headquartered in Don Mueang District, Bangkok.[4][5]
On 22 July 2008, shortly after the crash of One-Two-GO Airlines Flight 269 in Phuket which killed 89 people, and after the Internet publication of illegally excessive work hours and check ride fraud, Orient Thai and One-Two-GO were ordered to suspend service for 56 days.[6]
On 22 September 2010, Orient Thai took delivery of its first Boeing 747-400 aircraft, previously registered as N548MD, and arrived at the Orient Thai base as HS-STC.[7] In November 2015, Orient Thai Airways signed a contract with the Amadeus IT Group to be listed in Global Distribution Systems for the first time.[8]
In early May 2016, the airline was sanctioned for the second time within a few weeks by the Civil Aviation Administration of China after violating regulations.[9] In September 2017, Orient Thai Airlines temporarily suspended all operations.[10] In December 2017, it resumed services after completing re-certification with the Thai aviation authorities.[11]
By end of July 2018, Orient Thai Airlines suspended all operations and entered a restructuring process.[12] The airline later ceased operations and filed for bankruptcy in October 2018. On 5 January 2021, Royal Gazette published an announcement declaring Orient Thai Airlines bankrupt and ordering the Legal Execution Department to seize its remaining assets to pay its debtors and the founder of the airline dies 2 weeks later at age 66.[13]
As of November 2017, Orient Thai Airlines served the following scheduled destinations:[14]
As of July 2018, the Orient Thai Airlines fleet consisted of the following aircraft:[15]
Aircraft | In Service | Orders | Notes |
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Boeing 737-300 | 4 | — | all currently stored |
Boeing 737-400 | 2 | — | all currently stored |
Boeing 747-400 | 3 | — | all currently stored |
Boeing 767-300 | 5 | — | all currently stored |
Total | 14 | — |
During its history, Orient Thai Airlines operated a wide range of pre-owned aircraft including most variants of the Boeing 747:[16]
Aircraft | Total | Note |
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Boeing 737-300 | 2 | ex Continental Airlines and Air China |
Lockheed L1011-1 | 6 | ex 1x Rich International Airways, 3x Cathay Pacific, 1x Kampuchea Airlines & 1x Delta Airlines |
Boeing 747-100 | 2 | ex Japan Airlines |
Boeing 747-100SR/SUD | 2 | ex Japan Airlines |
Boeing 747-200B | 7 | ex Japan Airlines, United Airlines and Orange Air aircraft |
Boeing 747-200SF | 1 | Cargo aircraft ex Japan Airlines; sold to MK Airlines |
Boeing 747-200SCD | 1 | Cargo aircraft ex Japan Airlines; sold to MK Airlines |
Boeing 747-300 | 6 | ex Korean Air and Japan Airlines; 1 sold to Max Air |
Boeing 747-300M | 1 | ex KLM |
Boeing 747-400 | 1 | ex Garuda Indonesia and Cathay Pacific Airways |
Boeing 747-400M | 1 | ex Saudia; sold to Eaglexpress |
Boeing 767-300ER | 3 | ex Aeroflot and China Eastern Airlines |
McDonnell Douglas MD-81 | 2 | ex Japan Airlines |
McDonnell Douglas MD-82 | 2 | ex MontAir and China Southern Airlines |
Media related to Orient Thai Airlines at Wikimedia Commons
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Full service |
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Low-cost | |
Regional & charter | |
Cargo | |
Defunct |
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