Bangkok Airways president Puttipong Prasarttong-Osoth and THAI president Piyasvasti Amranand met recently to look at the potential for co-operation on routes, training and operational issues.
The move comes only weeks after Malaysian-based AirAsia and Qantas-owned Jetstar agreed an operational alliance between the two low-cost carriers.
Thai AirAsia has made major inroads in the domestic market and AirAsia’s regional network extends to more than 60 destinations with over 110 routes.
In the past, THAI has proposed established a flying academy that would allow pilots to be trained on a variety of different aircraft, creating greater flexibility for managing routes.
A rival airline, Orient Thai, recently approached Bangkok Airways regarding an alliance but was rebuffed.
See www.thaiairways.com and www.bangkokair.com
Kenny Coyle