Operator of Thailand’s crashed plane provides services for luxurious tours

Bangkok-based Thai Flying Service, established in 1978, has a registered capital of THB100 million (US$2.95 million), according to business database platform Companies House.

It recorded around $728,300 in revenue in 2020, according to latest data available from the platform.

The fatal flight was part of a service that the company provided for Soneva Kiri Resort, the operator of 34 luxurious pool villas on an island in Trat Province.

Soneva Kiri says on its website that it has two separate eight-seater aircraft to and from Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport. The transfer time takes approximately 90 minutes.

A one-way private charter flight to the resort costs around $5,000, according to some tourism websites.

Thai Flying Service’s Cessna Caravan C208B with nine people onboard left Suvarnabhumi Airport at 2.46 p.m. Thursday, bound for Ko Mai Chee Airport in Trat, according to flight tracking site FL360aero.

Five tourists from China and four Thais, comprising two pilots and two Soneva Kiri employees, were on the aircraft that went down 100 kilometers southeast of Bangkok, 11 minutes after losing contact with ground control following take-off.