:: Orient Thai Airlines ::

      Five months later he was clutching a Thai Air Operator�s Certificate and Orient Express Air was on its way to being the first private jet operator in Thailand in over two decades. Flights began in September using two Boeing 727s to fly from the airline�s
Chiang Mai base to Ubon Ratchathani, Udon Thani and Khon Kaen in northeast Thailand, plus Hat Yai in the deep south near the
Malaysian border. With tickets often selling for a third of the price charged by TG and routes avoiding tedious transits in Bangkok or the only alternative, tortuous road trips, Orient Express Air�s flights were popular.

        Success encouraged Orient Express Air to lobby the Government for permission to fly non-stop from Chiang Mai and other cities in Thailand to Bangkok in 1996. Confident approval to fly the same routes as TG would be forthcoming, Orient Express Air bought two Lockheed L1011 Tristars from Cathay Pacific Airlines and changed its name to Orient Thai Airlines that year.          However state-owned TG�s influence proved too strong and Orient Thai Airlines� request was rejected. Nevertheless Asia�s first lowcost airline struggled on, putting the Tristars into service in 1997, flying to Bangkok from both Chiang Mai and Phuket via U-tapao, about an hour south of the capital. This absurd situation was the only way to circumvent the regulations. Nobody ever alighted in U-tapao.
        Orient Thai Airlines soldiered on for two years losing money on domestic routes. Udom hoped that by proving demand for
its services existed the Government would relent and change the regulations. Unfortunately this was not the case. So in 1999 Orient Thai Airlines suspended domestic services to focus on international charter operations.
          While waiting in vain for permission to take on TG domestically, Orient Thai Airlines was busy running profitable charter flights in the high seasons between Bangkok and Macau on behalf of Hong Kong tour companies. It was barred from flying to Hong Kong, as this was TG�s prerogative.

         Orient Thai Airlines was Asia�s only international charter operator. Along with subsidiary Kampuchea Airlines it provided services to other airlines including Finnair, Lufthansa, LTU and Merpati.
          It transported refugees around the world for the UN�s International Office of Migration (IOM), including returning people to Kosovo from Australia and helping Timorese return to East Timor in 1999 after it won its independence from Indonesia. Orient Thai Airlines also became a designated UN carrier, transporting troops for peacekeeping operations worldwide.
         Orient Thai Airlines wasn�t just helping refugees get home or troops undertake their missions, its aircraft were also busy flying Muslim Hajj pilgrims to Saudi Arabia for various clients including Air India and the Saudi royal family. At the peak of its charter work Orient Thai Airlines� subsidiary operated nine Tristars aircrafts.
         Times change and in 2001 telecom tycoon Dr. Thaksin Shinawatra won Thailand�s general election, promising among other things to support businessmen and liberalise air transport. Sensing a change in the winds, Orient Thai Airlines began preparing for its return to Thailand in 2002.
          Soon after Dr. Thaksin took power an open skies policy was enacted, ending TG�s domestic monopoly and giving other carriers the right to use international slots it held but did not use. Orient Thai Airlines bought two Boeing 747 Classics and started daily scheduled services between Bangkok and Hong Kong in February 2002. Seoul services were added in April , running daily during peak months.
           Another two 747s and one Tristar were added to the fleet the following October, when services to Kuala Lumpur and Singapore were launched. During 2002, 180,000 passengers were carried on the Hong Kong route, while 45,000 took Orient Thai Airlines� Seoul flights.
            Strong demand on its international services continues into 2003 despite the impact of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) on travel in East Asia. While many major carriers have slashed services and racked up losses, Orient Thai Airlines continues to fill 95 per cent of the seats on its flights and rack up profits.
             While success on the international playing field has been satisfying, Udom could not let go of his original plan for a frequent, convenient domestic service. The conducive environment ushered in with the Thaksin Administration encouraged Udom to resurrect domestic plans strangled by bureaucracy in the late 1990s.