Bangkok / 15 August 2017 – (Today) Bangkok Airways Public Company Limited announces its operating results for the six-month period of 2017 with total revenue amounting to 13,451.2 million baht. The net profit was reported at 44.4 million baht while the number of passengers grew by 3.5 percent.

Mr. Puttipong Prasarttong-Osoth, President of Bangkok Airways Public Company Limited commented that, “In the second quarter, total revenue of the company was 5,982.2 million baht, decreased by 1.2 percent from the same period in the previous year due to an intense in competition which caused fares to drop. The average passenger load factor was 62.7 percent while passenger yield per RPK was 4.25 Baht, a decrease from the second quarter of 2016 by 8.3 percent. However, the number of passengers of Bangkok Airways increased by 4.5 percent for the second quarter of 2017. The main contribution in terms of passenger growth was from the point-of-sale in China which grew by 59.4 percent over the same period of the previous year. The company launched direct flight services between Samui and Chengdu in July 2016, and has been operating daily flight services between Samui and Guangzhou since January 2017.”

“For the six-month period, the company has achieved a total revenue amounting to 13,451.2 million baht, which dropped by 2.7 percent while the number of passengers grew by 3.5 percent. The average passenger load factor was 67.1 percent. Net profit was shown in the amount of 44.4 million baht for the first half of 2017 of which profit was attributable to the equity holders of the company amounted to 14.8 million baht. The weaker net profit was mainly due to substantial increases in fuel costs, excise tax on fuel, aircraft rental costs and passenger services costs were also higher during the period. Earnings per share for the six-month period of 2017 was 0.01 baht,” added Mr. Puttipong.

In the second quarter of 2017, the company received two brand-new ATR72-600 aircraft, therefore, as of 30 June, the company has a total of 36 aircraft. Moreover, the company entered into codeshare agreements with two more airlines which are Xiamen Airlines and Hong Kong Airlines. The new partnership with Xiamen Airlines will facilitate their passengers to conveniently connect with tourist destinations in Thailand and Cambodia such as Chiang Mai, Phuket, Krabi, Samui and Phnom Penh. The partnership with Hong Kong Airlines allows the company to provide passengers of Hong Kong Airlines a more convenient and seamless access to and from Samui, and to enhance the connectivity between Hong Kong and Thailand.

Also in June 2017, the company received “World’s Best Regional Airline” and “Best Regional Airline in Asia” awards from SKYTRAX. These awards were evaluated based on the world’s largest airline passenger satisfaction survey, taken by travelers from around the world every year.

For the next six months, the company will still focus on expanding its network to cover the most important destinations throughout Asia in order to facilitate passengers and codeshare partners. The company plans to launch four flights weekly (Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday) between Bangkok - Phu Quoc (Vietnam) by the end of October 2017.