Orient Thai Airlines
Orient Thai Airlines Co., Ltd. was a Thai airline with its head office in Khlong Toei, Bangkok. It operated charter and scheduled services in Southeast Asia and was based at Don Mueang International Airport. On October 9, 2018, the airline ceased all operations.
History
Orient Thai Airlines and its now-defunct wholly owned domestic carrier One-Two-GO Airlines are the only Thai airlines to bear a royal seal, made possible by the owner's, Udom Tantiprasonchai, close relationship with the King of Thailand, based on Mr Tantiprasongchai's history of breaking traditional commercial barriers for Thailand. Prior to their current location, Orient Thai and its subsidiary One-Two-GO were headquartered in Don Mueang District, Bangkok.On 22 July 2008, shortly after the crash of One-Two-GO Airlines Flight 269 in Phuket which killed 89 people, and after the Internet publication of illegally excessive work hours and check ride fraud, Orient Thai and One-Two-GO were ordered to suspend service for 56 days.
On 22 September 2010, Orient Thai took delivery of its first Boeing 747-400 aircraft, previously registered as N548MD, and arrived at the Orient Thai base as HS-STC. In November 2015, Orient Thai Airways signed a contract with the Amadeus IT Group to be listed in Global Distribution Systems for the first time.
In early May 2016, the airline was sanctioned for the second time within a few weeks by the Civil Aviation Administration of China after violating regulations. In September 2017, Orient Thai Airlines temporarily suspended all operations. In December 2017, it resumed services after completing re-certification with the Thai aviation authorities.
As of July 2018, Orient Thai Airlines suspended all operations and entered a restructuring process. The airline later ceased operations on 9 October 2018.
Destinations
As of November 2017, Orient Thai Airlines served the following scheduled destinations:;Thailand
- Bangkok – Don Mueang International Airport base
- Changsha – Changsha Huanghua International Airport
- Nanchang – Nanchang Changbei International Airport
- Shanghai – Shanghai Pudong International Airport
Fleet
Current fleet
As of July 2018, the Orient Thai Airlines fleet consisted of the following aircraft:| Aircraft | In Service | Orders | Notes |
| Boeing 737-300 | 4 | — | all currently stored |
| Boeing 737-400 | 2 | — | all currently stored |
| Boeing 747-400 | 3 | — | all currently stored |
| Boeing 767-300 | 5 | — | all currently stored |
| Total | 14 | — |
Retired aircraft
During its history, Orient Thai Airlines operated a wide range of pre-owned aircraft including most variants of the Boeing 747:| Aircraft | Total | Note |
| Boeing 737-300 | 2 | ex Continental Airlines and Air China |
| Boeing 747-100 | 2 | ex Japan Airlines |
| Boeing 747-100SR/SUD | 2 | ex Japan Airlines |
| Boeing 747-200B | 7 | ex Japan Airlines, United Airlines and Orange Air aircraft |
| Boeing 747-200SF | 1 | Cargo aircraft ex Japan Airlines; sold to MK Airlines |
| Boeing 747-200SCD | 1 | Cargo aircraft ex Japan Airlines; sold to MK Airlines |
| Boeing 747-300 | 6 | ex Korean Air and Japan Airlines; 1 sold to Max Air |
| Boeing 747-300M | 1 | ex KLM |
| Boeing 747-400 | 1 | ex Garuda Indonesia and Cathay Pacific Airways |
| Boeing 747-400M | 1 | ex Saudia; sold to Eaglexpress |
| Boeing 767-300ER | 3 | ex Aeroflot and China Eastern Airlines |
| McDonnell Douglas MD-81 | 2 | ex Japan Airlines |
| McDonnell Douglas MD-82 | 2 | ex MontAir and China Southern Airlines |
Incidents and accidents
- On September 2004, an Orient Thai 747 mistakenly flew within 200 meters of Japan's Tokyo Tower over the heart of downtown Tokyo.
- On 31 July 2013, a chartered Orient Thai 737-400 operating as OX833 made an emergency landing at Surat Thani airport, carrying Chinese passengers from Shenzhen to Phuket. None of the 130 passengers and nine crew was injured.