Thai start-up Kom Airlines to receive its first Superjet 100 this autumn

Kom Airlines is to get six SSJ100s in 100-seat single economy class configuration (SCAC)

Southeast Asia will soon see another commercial operator of the Russian-built Superjet 100 (SSJ100) aircraft. Thailand’s start-up Kom Airlines Company has firmed its letter of intent for six of the regional jets, in an accord signed with Russian manufacturer Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Co (SCAC) two months ago.

The Thai carrier, which is in the process of being created, is ‘expected to take delivery of its first SSJ100 during [next] autumn’, a SCAC statement reads.

According to the terms of the contract, all of the aircraft, each configured with a 100-seat single economy class cabin, are to be delivered in the 2019-2020 period. The airline will use the jets for both domestic and international services in the region. The total value of the contract is approximately US$300 million, at catalogue prices.

Local maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) provider WishV, with its hangar facility located at U-Tapao Rayong-Pattaya International airport, is to support the airline’s SSJ100 maintenance needs. WishV is currently qualified to work with Embraer, Boeing, Cessna, Dassault, Bell Helicopter and Bombardier aircraft, and is in the process of obtaining approval for an SSJ100 maintenance station in Thailand.

Kom Airlines will be the first commercial operator of the SSJ100 both in Thailand and in the south-east Asian region. Previously, in the 2013-2014 period, Indonesian airline Sky Aviation and Laos’ Lao Central Airlines both briefly operated Superjet 100s, before the two carriers went out of business.

Three Sukhoi 100LRs – in VIP configuration – have been in service in Thailand since 2016 and are operated by the country’s Royal Air Force.