Newish Thai Airline: Crystal Thai Airlines

[Beachlover]

Anyone heard of Crystal Thai Airlines before? It's a joint venture between some Thai and South Korean business people.

http://www.crystalthaiair.com

Apparently it started flying earlier this year. I can't get the website booking engine to work so I wonder how people are booking flights on it.

It says it is or will be flying Bangkok to Incheon, Clark, Bhutan, Dubai, Mumbai, Cochin and Colombo and Phuket to Incheon and Mumbai. Will be handy for visiting South Korea and Thailand in the same trip.

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New Thai airline takes flight this month

Crystal Thai aims to become Thailand's third-largest carrier by offering flights to growing markets such as South Korea and India
7 January, 2011

A new Thai airline is set to launch operations later this month.

According to a report on global news website Aviationweek.com, Crystal Thai Airlines has received its air operatorтАЩs certificate and will begin flights on January 30 with a service from Bangkok to Seoul Incheon.

Other planned destinations listed on the airlineтАЩs not yet fully functional website are: Busan, South Korea; Colombo, Sri Lanka; Phuket, Thailand; Clark, Philippines; Bhutan; and Cochin and Mumbai in India.

Aviationweek.com says Crystal Thai will cater mostly to tourists, and its Airbus A320 -- to be used for the Seoul, Busan and Colombo flights -- is in an all-economy configuration, while its A330s, which it plans to lease in March, will have economy- and business-class seats.

The carrier says it aims to become ThailandтАЩs third-largest carrier, after Thai Airways and Bangkok Airways.

No word yet on pricing, though the airline promises to offer low fares with premium services.

Read more: New Thai airline takes flight this month | CNNGo.com http://www.cnngo.com/bangkok/play/new-t ... z1Ox0FEYdU
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[fedssocr]

we had a brief discussion about this "airline" on FlyerTalk several months ago. It sounds like somebody's fantasy/hobby airline, not one with actual flying planes. It may just be a charter operation working for South Korean travel agencies but with some tickets sold ad hoc.

Frankly their expansion plans seem awfully pie in the sky to me. For example the flights to Bhutan. I have a hard time believing their will get permission to fly there.

[thonglor55]

... this "airline" ... pie in the sky

An interesting cliche

I think the very last thing we want is pie, dear.

:occasion9:

[Hmmm]

A quick glance around the industry forums reveals a large degree of cynicism about the prospects of this start up and their one leased 19-year-old Airbus. But they're a cynical bunch your fly boys.

Given recent history (1-2 GO, Orient Thai, Phuket Air), regulation of the airline industry in Thailand is as slipshod as many other Thai regulatory operations. So I'd like to see Crystal Thai keep their planes in the air for say, 10 years, before I'd chance them.

[Beachlover]

Well, Crystal sound like they could be right dodgy then...

The Flyertalk thread fedsoccr was referring to: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/thailand ... lines.html

Seems, there are quite a few little known and potential dodgies...

Thai Orient Airlines has a dodgy safety history: http://www.flyorientthai.com

Never heard of Happy Air: http://www.happyair.co.th

Never heard of Solar Air: http://www.solarair.co.th
Business Air have the funniest cringeworthy promotional video on their site. Watch it: http://www.businessaircenter.com :occasion9: