Flying colours
Known for its vibrant paint schemes, Thailand’s Nok Air celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. Dirk Grothe explores its history and speaks to CEO Wutthiphum Jurangkool about his plans for the future
The Nok Air Boeing 737-800s in different colourful liveries are popular with spotters
ALL IMAGES DIRK GROTHE UNLESS STATED
The word ‘nok’ in Thai translates as ‘bird’, hence it is apt that Nok Air adorns the noses of its aircraft with yellow avian beaks. The vibrant airline has been flying in Thailand since 2004 and is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.
Established as a low-cost subsidiary of Thai Airways International, Nok Air kickstarted its fleet with a pair of Boeing 737-400s sourced from its parent carrier. By the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the fleet had grown to 25 737-800s, spanning HS-DBA through Z – with only HS-DBI missing – completing the alphabet of registrations. During the 2019/2020 winter season, two additional -800s were leased from Transavia France, registered under Thai registrations HS-DMA (c/n 35274) and HS-DMB (c/n 35276).
Pandemic problems
As in the broader travel landscape, the COVID-19 pandemic dealt a severe blow to Thailand’s aviation sector, leading to a reduction in Nok Air's 737-800 fleet to just 13 aircraft, with only nine currently in active operation. Despite this setback, Nok Air's future is promising as Thailand's aviation industry gradually rebounds from the pandemic's aftermath, with domestic travel demand resurging.
“We were able to survive the pandemic well by switching to cargoonly flights and only had to let go of 20 employees,” said CEO Wutthiphum Jurangkool in an interview with Airliner World. “We were the only airline in Thailand that continued to fly throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and never stopped operations.”