Thai AirAsia

Thai AirAsia is the Thai member of the AirAsia group, flying under the code FD. It is owned by Asia Aviation PCL (AAV), which is listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand and whose April 2026 company profile says it holds 100% of the airline and invests in nothing else. AAV's largest shareholder at 11 March 2026 was AirAsia Aviation Group, with 40.71%, followed by its executive chairman, Tassapon Bijleveld, with 17.75%. The airline is based at Bangkok's Don Mueang airport, where it has its head office.

History

AirAsia and the Thai company Shin Corporation set up the airline on 12 November 2003, and it began flying on 4 February 2004 from Don Mueang to Hat Yai, Phuket and Chiang Mai. AAV was incorporated in 2006 to hold the Thai shareholding. According to AAV's milestones, the airline opened a hub at Phuket in 2009, standardised on the Airbus A320 in 2010, opened a Chiang Mai hub in 2013, took its first A320neo in 2016 and its first A321neo in 2019. It has moved between Bangkok's two airports more than once: to Suvarnabhumi in 2007, back to Don Mueang in 2012, and into Suvarnabhumi again as a second hub from 2020.

Business model and network

AAV describes a high-frequency, short-haul operation, with flights of under 5.5 hours from hubs at Don Mueang, Suvarnabhumi, Chiang Mai and Phuket to South-east Asia, South Asia, southern China and Japan. At 31 December 2025 the airline served 23 domestic and 46 international destinations in 17 countries, on 97 routes. Extras matter to the model: in 2025 ancillary income made up 17.3% of revenue from sales and services, with baggage alone at 11.2%.

2026

• February 2026: Thai AirAsia took over the Bangkok–Seoul route from its long-haul sister, Thai AirAsia X; Wikipedia's table shows the route ending on 25 October 2026.
• 13 August 2026: in its April–June results, AirAsia Group said Thai short-haul flying had made a loss and that an operational reset was under way, with a return to profit expected in the fourth quarter.
• 1 October 2026: flights resumed from Suvarnabhumi, with six daily to Chiang Mai, five to Phuket and two to Krabi.
• 14 October 2026: up to six daily Don Mueang–Udon Thani flights were scheduled for the high season and the city's horticultural expo.

Fleet

Thai AirAsia flies only Airbus narrowbodies. AAV's company profile gives a fleet of 62 aircraft at 31 December 2025: 44 A320ceos with 180 seats, 11 A320neos with 186 seats and seven A321neos with 236 seats, with an average age of 11.1 years. The profile does not say how many of them were in service.