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Thai Airways Gets Warned By Lao Civil Aviation Authority
18th Dec 2014
Thai Airways International was on a hot seat recently when it reportedly violated the rights that the Lao government has extended to the former.
The warning arose when the flag carrier reportedly deployed a Thai Smile flight on the Bangkok-Vientiane route on its own behalf.
Currently, Thai Smile doesn't have a license to mount air service between Vientiane and Bangkok, though it flies between Bangkok and Luang Prabang.
The Lao Civil Aviation Authority (LCAA) alleged that Thai Airways has violated an air service agreement in mounting such flights without authorization from the Lao government. Thai Smile is a low-cost carrier and a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Thai flag carrier.
The LCAA has served the notice to the flag carrier calling its attention to comply with what has been officially granted to the airline. It stated that though Thai Smile is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Thai Airways it is not allowed to mount service on the Bangkok-Vientiane route, unless it applies for separate rights to fly.
Technically, the two airlines are not the same, according to Lao officials.
The authorities said that the state flag carrier should stop deploying Thai Smile flights immediately, but it didn't state further as to what consequences the airline might get if it ignores the warning.
Thai Smile planes, all of them A320s, sport a livery very similar to Thai Airways except for the distinctive Smile scrawled across its fuselage. Both planes have identical purple tail with the conspicuous THAI logo emblazoned on it.
THAI official reportedly got hold of the notice late last month, though it has been deploying its low-cost subsidiary for quite some time already.
The flag carrier has been suffering financial difficulties in recent years and one way of bringing down costs is using a smaller plane for certain routes.
According to industry experts, THAI might face a sanction against the Lao government for continued violation by banning its budget subsidiary from ever flying into Vientiane.
Only Thai Airways and Bangkok Airways currently serve the Lao market, as they are the only registered carriers given permits to operate between Thailand and Laos. However, both airlines haven't fully used the flight frequencies granted to them between the two countries.
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