The projects include a hangar, three four-storey office buildings at Suvarnabhumi Airport and a 40-room hotel in Sukhothai province.

The company is waiting for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to approve the fund, according to Tawachwong Tanasumitra, the airline's deputy chief executive. After that, it expects to send the filing to investors in the first week of November and to financial institutions a week later.

The fund will mature in 30 years and carry a 6-per-cent guaranteed return per annum and an investment rate of return of more than 12 per cent, according to the company's filing.

Tawachwong said the company had relied to date on money from financial institutions to grow its business. "Because the business has become strong, it's time for the company to have its own financial resources to grow its business in the long run," said Tawachwong, adding that the company planned to conduct road shows in Singapore and few more countries next week.

At the initial stage, the company plans to build a Bt1-billion hangar at the new airport, which will be four-times larger than its current one at Don Muang Airport; three four-storey office buildings at a cost of about Bt240 million; a hotel in Sukhothai province; and a new terminal at its airport on Koh Samui in Surat Thani province, he said.

The new terminal at Samui airport, including land expansion from 4 to 60 rai, will be completed in January 2007. The total investment is Bt1.8 billion but Bangkok Airways only needs to pump in another Bt400 million to Bt500 million to finish the expansion.

The rest of the company's projects are in the design stage.

The airline also plans to buy four more jets to add to its current fleet of eight aircraft, said Dr Prasert Prasarttong-Osoth, Bangkok Airways' president and chief executive.

He said the company would take ownership of some of the jets in December and the rest in middle of next year. It is also upgrading its current fleet to add more luxury features.

Bangkok Airways will restart its Bangkok-Maldives route on November 30, which it will fly twice weekly. On December 9 it will start flying from Bangkok to Fukuoka, Japan three times a week.

During a promotional period lasting until March 2007 it will sell round-trip tickets to the Maldives for Bt18,000 and Bt28,700 for a package fare. It's round-trip fare to Fukuoka is Bt21,000 (except from December 24 to January 7, 2007) with packages priced at Bt41,000 per ticket. All prices exclude tax and surcharges.

Prasert said the company was waiting for an aviation licence to start other new routes next year, which are longer than its current flights, but he declined to reveal more details.

Bangkok Airways this year expects Bt9.74 billion in sales - 20-per-cent more than last year's Bt8.1 billion. It expects to haul 2.57 million passengers this year compared to 2.24 million last year.

Nitida Asawanipont

The Nation