From ‘White Lotus’ to White Sands: Bangkok Airways expands for tourist flow

Chief Executive Officer Putipong Prasartong-Osoth said that the middle-sized Thai carrier plans to tap at at least 20 single-Issal jets in the first half of the year. He said that its goal is to increase its fleet to at least 30 jets in the next four to five years, including the lease of some aircraft.

Putipong said in an interview, “We need to grow and a new aircraft fleet will be mandatory.” The carrier currently blows 25 jets, some of which are already 20 years old.

Bangkok Airways operates routes between major tourist destinations including Bangkok and Koh Samui, one of the filming places for the latest season of White Lotus and where the carrier owns the airport. With the prediction of 40 million visitors in this year’s country, the show is expected to run tourists’ influx for Thailand.

Putipong said the carrier has already seen a 14% increase in advanced flight booking for the second quarter, which usually increases the low season in the Thai tourist calendar.

According to Putipong, Bangkok Airways is ready to look at 10% to 20% more passengers over 2.7 million last year’s 2.7 million than 2.7 million of Koh Samui. The ownership of the island airport carrier gives it a virtual monopoly of flights to Holiday Hotspot.

With the optik in traffic, the company is ready to start a 1.5 billion baht ($ 45 million) renewal of Samui Airport in the second half of this year, he said. The project is expected to run for three years and the airport will continue to operate during that time. Bangkok Air has received approval to increase the number of 50 flights from 50 per day.

Overall, the carrier is expected to fly a record 4.7 million passengers this year, which is above 4.3 million in 2024, Putipong said.