Bangkok / Recently – Bangkok Airways Public Company Limited announces its operating results for the first quarter of 2015 which has amounted to a net profit of 1,086.7 million baht; up by 106.5 percent from the same period of the previous year (526.1 million baht).

Mr. Puttipong Prasarttong-Osoth, President of Bangkok Airways PLC commented that, “The Company earnings in the first quarter of 2015 = 6,733.86 million baht compared to the previous year (2014) which was 6,089.9 million baht, demonstrating a rise of 10 percent. Furthermore, the number of passengers in the first quarter of 2015 = 1.43 million passengers, up by 10.9 percent (1.29 million passengers) compared with the same period in the previous year. Supporting factors for such growth include the recovery of the economy and tourism, political stability and oil price stability. Moreover, Bangkok Airways continuously adheres to its business strategy. In the first quarter of 2015, we took delivery of 2 aircraft, an AIRBUS 319 and an ATR 72-600, bringing the fleet to 29 aircraft in total. The additional aircraft resulted in a 10.1 percent increase in Average Seat Kilometer (ASK), 14.3 percent increase in Revenue Passenger Kilometer (RPK) and 71.9 percent increase in load factor compared to the same period in the previous year (69.3 percent).

“In addition to that, earlier this year, the Department of Civil Aviation of Thailand granted permission to Samui airport to increase its flight operating allowance to 50 flights a day. This has allowed Bangkok Airways to increase capacity and to operate more flights in and out of Samui Airport. In March, the company increased flight frequency on the Samui-Singapore route from 7 flights per week to 10 flights per week and on the Samui-Kuala Lumpur route from 7 flights per week to 11 flights per week.”

Recently, The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) has revealed that MSCI Inc., a global index provider added BA in its MSCI Global Small Cap Indexes which will be effective from 29 may 2015. Not only will this generate a positive factor for the Stock Exchange of Thailand, but also make BA more well-known amongst investors around the world.

Bangkok Airways is certified by the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA), established by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), by passing its vigorous international flight safety standards. It certifies that the Company has achieved flight safety efficiency. This assures confidence and recognition to leading airlines when entering into codeshare agreements. Recently, Bangkok Airways has signed an additional codeshare agreement with China Airlines, increasing its code share partners to 17. The latest codeshare agreement with China Airlines enables Bangkok Airways to increase the number of passengers and expand its route network by connecting to Taipei and Kaohsiung, Taiwan.