Siamese Airways merged with Pacific Overseas Airlines (Siam) Limited (POAS), to form Thai Airways Company Limited (TAC) (Thai: บริษัท เดินอากาศไทย จำกัด (บดท)) - commonly Thai Airways, following a government resolution on 1 November 1951.
In 1960, Thai Airways established the international flag carrier, Thai Airways International Company Limited (THAI; Thai: บริษัท การบินไทย จำกัด). The international carrier was a joint venture between Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) with the Scandinavian carrier initially providing a 30% share capital of two million baht.[2]
On 1 April 1988, Thai Airways Company Limited (TAC) merged with Thai Airways International to create the unitary national airline of the Kingdom of Thailand, under a cabinet resolution and direction of the Prime Minister, General Prem Tinsulanonda.[2]
Thai Airways's 11 aircraft, comprising three Boeing 737-200, four Short 330, two Short 360 and two Airbus A310-200, combined fleet with Thai Airways International, for a total of 41 aircraft.[4]Airline codes changed to Thai Airways International's airline codes at the end of 1988.
21 January 1968: At 10000 feet over Damnoen Saduak District, Ratchaburi Province, a Thai Airways Sud Caravelle IA (HS-TGL) collided with Royal Thai Air Force Beechcraft Queen Air02018 that was photographing the Caravelle in flight; the Baron lost control and crashed, killing all six on board, but the Caravelle landed safely at Bangkok.[6]
7 May 1971: A Thai Airways Douglas C-47A (HS-TDE) undershot the runway at Mae Hong Son Airport, landing hard and bouncing in the process, after which it veered off the runway and turned around; all 21 on board survived, but the aircraft was written off.[7]
21 June 1980: A Thai Airways Hawker Siddeley HS 748 (HS-THG) overran the runway on takeoff at Chiang Rai Airport after failing to get airborne; all 21 on board survived, but the aircraft was written off.[8]
15 April 1985: A Thai Airways Boeing 737-200 (HS-TBB) hit high ground on Phuket and was destroyed by the impact and subsequent fire. All four passengers and seven crew members were killed. The accident occurred after a failure of both engines was reported.[9]
28 April 1987: A Thai Airways Hawker Siddeley HS 748 (HS-THI) made a wheels-up landing at Chiang Rai Airport after the co-pilot forgot to lower the landing gear; all 43 passengers and crew on board survived, but the aircraft was written off.[10]
31 August 1987: Flight 365, a Boeing 737-200 (HS-TBC) flying from Hat Yai to Phuket, crashed into the sea off Phuket. All nine crew members and 74 passengers were killed.
^ a b"Thai Airways International - Company History". Archived from the original on 26 June 2010. Retrieved 13 September 2010.
^"Thai Aviation History - Fleets of Defunct Thai Airlines" (PDF).
^"Thai Airways International - Developments and Advancements of THAI AD. 1979–1988". Archived from the original on 29 May 2009. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
