Thai Airways looking to launch regional airline - report

Thai Airways is reportedly considering the establishment of a regional airline, as part of the carrier's plans to capture new passengers and become a fully integrated airline (The Nation, 18-Aug-2010). The airline would operate to secondary markets of no more than six hours flying time, such as Indochina, South China and India, with narrow-body aircraft configured with 150-180 Business and Economy class seats. Plans for the subsidiary have been submitted separately to plans to launch LCC Thai Tiger. The carrier is not expected to compete with Thai's existing operations. However, a member of Thai's executive board reportedly denied the plans, stating they have already been taken off the airline's agenda as it already has an integrated service from Thai, Nok Air and Thai Tiger.