10/09/2018: Orient Thai Airlines Ceases Operations

Orient Thai Airlines (OX) reached the end of its operating history in October 2018. Planespotters records its closure as October 9, following a year of interruptions and recertification. Contemporary reporting described an indefinite suspension of its operating certificate over unpaid debts, rather than a completed liquidation.

Founded in 1995, the Bangkok-based carrier traced its origins to Orient Express Air. It operated both charter and scheduled services, with a fleet that grew from Boeing 727s to Lockheed L-1011 TriStars and later Boeing widebodies. Thai Aviation History’s airframe records document 727s registered in 1995 and 1996, followed by TriStars in 1997.

One-Two-Go and Fleet Growth

Orient Thai’s subsidiary, One-Two-Go Airlines (OG), began operations on December 3, 2003. Its base was Bangkok Don Mueang International Airport (DMK). Boeing 757-200 XU-123 operated the first One-Two-Go flight, according to the airframe records; MD-82s joined later. The One-Two-Go brand’s operating history ended in July 2010.

On September 16, 2007, a One-Two-Go MD-82 crashed during an attempted landing and missed approach at Phuket International Airport. The US National Transportation Safety Board sent an accredited representative and technical advisers to assist the Thai investigation. The accident was a separate event from Orient Thai’s debt-related grounding in 2018.

Orient Thai’s later fleet included Boeing 767-300s and 747-400s. The airframe records identify HS-STC as a 747-400 registered to the airline in September 2010.

Recertification and Final Grounding

Orient Thai suspended international operations in September 2017. It received a new air operator’s certificate on November 9, 2017, according to contemporaneous reporting by ch-aviation. The new certificate restored its regulatory authorization for commercial operations.

In October 2018, Thailand’s Civil Aviation Authority indefinitely suspended the certificate. CAAT Director General Chula Sukmanop cited overdue debts to aviation state agencies and a lack of liquidity, as reported by The Nation on October 10.

In an October 11 report, Thai Rath quoted Chula saying the airline had to stop selling tickets and flying. He identified unpaid aircraft-parking charges to Airports of Thailand and air traffic service charges to Aeronautical Radio of Thailand. Any return would require the debts to be cleared and the regulator to review the airline’s debt-management and business plans.

Bankruptcy followed later. CAPA’s airline profile records a Central Bankruptcy Court ruling effective September 14, 2021, announced by Thailand’s government in January 2022. The certificate suspension that ended the airline’s operations and the subsequent bankruptcy ruling were distinct steps.

Featured image: Orient Thai Airlines Boeing 747-300 HS-UTN, photographed July 29, 2011 (file photo), licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.