NICHOLAS IONIDES SINGAPORE
Angel Air, Thailand's second national carrier, has agreed a partnership agreement with China Northern Airlines to allow for the re-launch of some services.
The two-year-old carrier has been struggling since its launch and in June suspended operations. It resumed skeleton services in July through a tie-up with Thai charter carrier Orient Thai Airlines that covered the wet-lease of aircraft for Bangkok-Hong Kong flights.
Angle's president Somchai Bencharongkul says the agreement with China Northern is expected to cover the wet-lease of three Airbus A300-600s for up to five years, with an option to purchase. Somchai adds that the airlines will carry out joint marketing activities and will have "special" prorate and interline agreements.
He flatly denies, however, that the carrier is effectively "selling" its traffic rights to the Chinese carrier, calling suggestions to that effect "efforts by those who wish to discredit the company and top management".
Somchai says that under the partnership agreement, services are to be operated from Bangkok to Chengdu, Dubai and Hong Kong, while those to South Korea and Taiwan are being looked at.
Angel was launched after Thailand's government awarded it a national carrier designation, allowing for direct competition with Thai Airways International. It has had virtually no impact on the flag carrier, however, as the start-up's operations over the past two years have been inconsistent at best.
Immediately prior to its June grounding, Angel was operating a Boeing 757 wet-leased from China Southwest Airlines on domestic services between Bangkok and Chiang Rai, and international services to Chengdu and Kunming in China.
It earlier halted Bangkok-Udon Thani, Udon Thani-Chiang Mai and Bangkok-Singapore services, which had been operated using Fokker F28s wet-leased from fellow Thai carrier PB Air. Angel ended that agreement early as a result of financial difficulties, having earlier returned two Boeing 737s to Malaysia Airlines after failing to make lease payments.
Angel's struggles come as fellow Thai independent, Bangkok Airways, is expanding into new markets. The fast-growing carrier, which late in November was due to put a first Boeing 717 into service, has launched a new wholly-owned Cambodian domestic operator.
Siem Reap Airways is now operating between Cambodia's leading tourist centre, Siem Reap, and the capital Phnom Penh using an ATR 72 wet-leased from its parent. It has been publicly supported by Cambodia's government, which has complained of poor service standards of national carrier Royal Air Cambodge.
Source: Airline Business
