The airline Thai Smile ceased flight operations at the end of 2023. The carrier will be integrated into the parent company Thai Airways. The low-cost airline was in the air for around eleven years.
A long time ago, Thai Airways decided to set up a subsidiary and get involved in the low-cost airline segment under the Thai Smile brand. Eleven years later, the decision was reversed and the low-coster was integrated into the mainline. Thai Smile operated its last flights from Bangkok (Suvarnabhumi) on December 31, 2023.
The move didn't come as a huge surprise, as it had been announced for some time that the merger was imminent. It's just that the merger took longer than originally stated. Thai Airways expects the combined company to work more efficiently. With a few exceptions, all routes will be continued.
Those aircraft that have previously been operated by Thai Smile will gradually receive the colors of Thai Airways since September 2023. Most of the machines are owned or leased by the parent company and sub-leased to Thai Smile. Therefore, the “bureaucratic effort” is kept to a manageable extent.
The merger also has a side effect, as Thai Airways is once again active in the area of domestic flights under its own brand. This business area was outsourced at the time when Thai Smile was founded. Domestic flights are now being offered again.