BBN Airlines Thailand (Bangkok Suvarnabhumi) plans to obtain a Thai Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC) by October 2024 and operate an initial fleet of four Airbus narrowbodies by the end of the next year.
The airline was established by Dublin based parent holding company Avia Solutions Group, the world’s largest ACMI provider (Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance, and Insurance), operating a fleet of 197 aircraft.
The start-up submitted an application for an Operating Licence (OL), the first step preceding the AOC certification. It will target the wet-lease and charter market, offering “fully customised ACMI solutions in the region”. The carrier’s plan includes quadrupling the fleet to 16 units by the end of 2025.
Avia Solutions Group said its Thai unit will operate a mix of A320-200s and A321-200s but refrained from giving an exact number of each type.
The chairman of BBN Airlines Thailand, Martynas Grigas, holds the same function at already active sister carrier, BBN Airlines Indonesia (which is, however, a Boeing operator). Avia Solutions Group also owns, among many other firms, Avion Express/Avion Express Malta, SmartLynx Airlines/SmartLynx Airlines Estonia/SmartLynx Airlines Malta, KlasJet, AirExplore, and BBN Airlines Nordic/BBN Airlines Türkiye, all of which proffer ACMI/charter services to the market.
