Bangkok Airways
Bangkok Airway’s roots go back to the Vietnam War when, as Thailand’s first airline, it flew under the name Sahakol Air. At that time its passengers were primarily involved in oil and natural gas exploration in the Gulf of Thailand.
The airline has also built its own airports, owning an airport on Ko Samui in the Gulf of Thailand, Sukhothai in central Thailand and Trat in eastern Thailand, near the island of Ko Chang.
Today, Bangkok Airways flies to a comprehensive rang of destinations spread across Thailand, Cambodia, southern China, Laos, Burma, Japan, Singapore and more. They have a mixed fleet of ATR 72-500s, Boeing 717-200s and Airbus 320s.
Flights can be booked at travel agents and online, their website often offers significant discounts from agency rates. They also offer a range of airpasses which are well worth considering if you are planning on undertaking three or more flights.
These Discovery Airpass allows passengers to fly on the Bangkok Airways, Siem Reap Airways International and Lao Airlines network, both domestically and internationally, using a combination of domestic and international coupons. Domestic coupons cost US$55 per segment and international coupons $90 (though some international routes to China and the Maldives cost $150). Passengers are required to purchase a minimum of three coupons (and a maximum of six) and all the flight dates are left open excepting the first departure date.
There are a few restrictions to coupon use — no one route can be travelled more than once, no more than one stopover is allowed in any one city, the cost excludes all taxes and fees and the entire collection of coupons must be used within two months of the first flight.
Despite these restrictions, the savings can be substantial if you’re planning on flying a few legs during your trip. For example, a “webfare” booked through the Bangkok Airways website for a passenger planning on flying Bangkok - Phnom Penh - Siem Reap - Bangkok, would cost 10,800B (before taxes and depending on season) which translates to roughly US270. To organise the same ticket with coupons would cost US210 — two international coupons and one domestic coupon — a saving of over 20%.
Currently coupons cannot be purchased through the Bangkok Airways website, but can be organised through travel agents and Bangkok Airway representative offices.
You can access their flight schedule here.
Bangkok Airways routes include:
From Singapore, Singapore [SIN]
Ko Samui, Thailand [USM]
From Bangkok (Suvannabhumi), Thailand [BKK]
Chiang Mai, Thailand [CNX]
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam [SGN]
Phuket, Thailand [HKT]
Shenzhen, China [SZX]
Rangoon, Burma [RGN]
Siem Reap, Cambodia [REP]
Phnom Penh, Cambodia [PNH]
Sukhothai, Thailand [THS]
Ko Samui, Thailand [USM]
Trat, Thailand [TDX]
Luang Prabang, Laos [LPQ]
Pakse, Laos [PKZ]
Male, Maldives [MLE]
Jinghong, China [JHG]
Guilin, China [KWL]
Fukuoka, Japan [FUK]
Hiroshima, Japan [HIJ]
Xian, China [XIY]
From Chiang Mai, Thailand [CNX]
Bangkok (Suvannabhumi), Thailand [BKK]
Ko Samui, Thailand [USM]
Jinghong, China [JHG]
From Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam [SGN]
Bangkok (Suvannabhumi), Thailand [BKK]
From Phuket, Thailand [HKT]
Bangkok (Suvannabhumi), Thailand [BKK]
Ko Samui, Thailand [USM]
Pattaya (Utapao), Thailand [UTP]
From Shenzhen, China [SZX]
Bangkok (Suvannabhumi), Thailand [BKK]
From Hong Kong, China [HKG]
Ko Samui, Thailand [USM]
From Rangoon, Burma [RGN]
Bangkok (Suvannabhumi), Thailand [BKK]
From Siem Reap, Cambodia [REP]
Bangkok (Suvannabhumi), Thailand [BKK]
Chiang Mai, Thailand [CNX]
Phuket, Thailand [HKT]
Ko Samui, Thailand [USM]
From Phnom Penh, Cambodia [PNH]
Bangkok (Suvannabhumi), Thailand [BKK]
From Sukhothai, Thailand [THS]
Bangkok (Suvannabhumi), Thailand [BKK]
Chiang Mai, Thailand [CNX]
From Ko Samui, Thailand [USM]
Singapore, Singapore [SIN]
Bangkok (Suvannabhumi), Thailand [BKK]
Phuket, Thailand [HKT]
Hong Kong, China [HKG]
Pattaya (Utapao), Thailand [UTP]
From Trat, Thailand [TDX]
Bangkok (Suvannabhumi), Thailand [BKK]
From Pattaya (Utapao), Thailand [UTP]
Phuket, Thailand [HKT]
Ko Samui, Thailand [USM]
From Luang Prabang, Laos [LPQ]
Bangkok (Suvannabhumi), Thailand [BKK]
From Pakse, Laos [PKZ]
Bangkok (Suvannabhumi), Thailand [BKK]
From Male, Maldives [MLE]
Bangkok (Suvannabhumi), Thailand [BKK]
From Jinghong, China [JHG]
Bangkok (Suvannabhumi), Thailand [BKK]
Chiang Mai, Thailand [CNX]
From Guilin, China [KWL]
Bangkok (Suvannabhumi), Thailand [BKK]
From Fukuoka, Japan [FUK]
Bangkok (Suvannabhumi), Thailand [BKK]
From Hiroshima, Japan [HIJ]
Bangkok (Suvannabhumi), Thailand [BKK]
From Xian, China [XIY]
Bangkok (Suvannabhumi), Thailand [BKK]
Prahok @ September 23, 2005