Bangkok Airways is striving to regain lost momentum by expanding its code-share partnership.
The SET-listed regional full-service carrier aims to draw up to six additional international airlines into the pool this year, compared with just one last year.
With preparations in the final stage, three airlines are expected to join the partnership over the next few months, with another three coming on board in the second half of this year, according to insiders.
Three of them are from China and three have been identified as Asian carriers, say the sources. An airline from Eastern Europe is also on the horizon.
China Eastern Airlines and its subsidiary Shanghai Airlines are among those in talks with Bangkok Airways.
Bangkok Airways is giving an extra push to expanding its code-share pool this year as it seeks to optimise this key strategic tool to boost its traffic rather than pursuing expansion of its own network to reach new source markets, as other carriers have done.
This year, Bangkok Airways aims to increase total revenue by 10-12% from its 2016 levels, raising the number of passengers carried in 2017 by 13-15%.
The code-share agreement essentially enables foreign airlines to feed passengers from their international networks onto Bangkok Airways routes, which mostly cover the Thai market and regional skies.
In particular, Bangkok Airways has prioritised Chinese carriers in its code-share partnership as a means of tapping into China's huge volume of air traffic, both in Thailand and beyond.
Thailand is one of the most popular destinations among Chinese tourists, with many cities and resort destinations being covered by Bangkok Airways.
Bangkok Airways saw passenger revenue from its code-share and interline partners grow by 20% in the first nine months of last year to 3.51 billion baht.
Bangkok Airways posted an aggregate net profit of 2.14 billion baht in the first nine months of 2016, up 20.4% year-on-year, with total revenue of 20.5 billion baht, up 10%.
Efforts to draw new airlines on board in 2016 faced multiple snags. Only Austrian Airlines agreed, becoming the 21st partner with Bangkok Airways.
Bangkok Airways also has more than 70 airlines in its interline agreement, which allows individual airlines to handle passengers travelling on itineraries that require multiple flights on multiple airlines.