SGA rebrands as Nok Mini, leases larger aircraft

       SGA Airlines, Thailand's first commuter carrier, will deploy two larger aircraft,expand its network and undergo a rebranding.
       The Thai privately owned airline,which has been operating for eight years,is leasing two Swedish twin-engine Saab 340B turboprop planes from a Singaporebased firm, as it embarks on new domestic feeder services starting this December.
       SGA Airlines will rebrand itself as Nok Mini to foster a closer association with Nok Airlines, the budget airline owned 39%by Thai Airways International (THAI).
       Nok Mini will become a sub-brand of Nok Airlines whose management agreed to allow SGA Airlines to use the marque for free in order to expand the alliance's profile as well as to complement each other's network.
       The two airlines have loosely collaborated on joint marketing programmes over the past few years.
       "Our association with Nok Airlines in the past three years has been fruitful and we decided to take it to another level," said Jain Charnnarong, the president of Siam General Aviation Co, which operates SGA Airlines.
       SGA Airlines has already been dubbed "Nok Lek", or Junior Nok, by the travelling public, he said.
       There is no cross-shareholding between the two airlines as a result of the increased alliance, and there are no definite plans to boost joint-marketing programmes.
       But SiamGeneral Aviation has already increased its registered capital to 200 million baht from 80 million to meet the regulatory requirement for utilising larger aircraft and becoming a regional airline.
       SGA Airlines will base its Saab 340Bs at Chiang Mai International Airport, along with two of its three Cessna 208B Grand Caravan planes. The third Cessna is stationed at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport for charter.
       The airline intends to initially use the Saab 340Bs to launch its Chiang MaiMae Hong Son and Chiang Mai-Udon Thani routes on Dec 5 this year.
       It will offers four flights a day on the Chiang Mai-Mae Hong Son and one daily flight on Chiang Mai-Udon Thani.