Thai start-up operator PB Air is planning to launch its first charter/scheduled domestic service in 1998, initially using a recently acquired Fairchild Dornier 328 30-seat turboprop.
The 12-month-old carrier hopes to fly daily from Bangkok to Hattyai via Chumporn Airport in southern Thailand, says PB Air chief pilot Capt Anusorn Singhagajen. Services to Chumporn, 320km (170nm) south of the Thai capital, can only start once Bangkok's new airport is opened in 1998.
Longer-term plans call for the acquisition of larger aircraft for regional services to Medan in Indonesian Sumatra and to the Malaysian island of Langkawi. It is also hoping to operate charter services to neighbouring Cambodia, Myanmar and Vietnam.
Under Thailand's regulated system, PB Air is restricted to operating to destinations not now served by either the flag carrier, Thai Airways International, or scheduled domestic operator Bangkok Airways. "We hope these rules will change soon, otherwise it is just a monopoly," says Singhagajen.
PB Air was the first carrier to take delivery, in October 1996, of a 328 equipped with a quick-change interior, allowing use as a 20-seat corporate aircraft. Such flights are normally operated for PB Air's owners, the Singha Brewery. PB Air also operates a Socata TBM700 for the private use of Singha and airline chairman Dr Piya.
Source: Flight International
