NewGen Airways launched its maiden service yesterday out of U-tapao airport, which the airline has adopted as its new local base.
The flight kicked off the scheduled charter service, at four flights a week, to Zhengzhou, the capital city of Henan province in central China.
Thailand's largest China-focused charter operator is finalising a plan to serve one or two additional Chinese cities from the Navy-operated airport in Rayong later this year.
U-tapao was seen as providing NewGen with an alternative to avoid the overcrowding at Bangkok's Don Mueang airport, where new flight slots are hard to secure.
Additionally, it provides an opportunity for NewGen to bring Chinese passengers directly to Pattaya, one of their top destinations in Thailand, chief executive Jarurnpong Sornprasit told the Bangkok Post.
NewGen aims to add the second and third Chinese routes out of U-tapao when the airline receives two additional Boeing 737-800 jets in July.
The Thai-registered airline last month received its 10th Boeing 737-800. NewGen has fully restored operations it had significantly scaled back due to a clampdown on so-called zero-dollar tourism scams, which began in July last year.
"The effects brought by the zero-dollar issue are behind us as we have fully resumed our services and are continuing to grow," Mr Jarurnpong said.
The influx of Chinese tourists to Thailand has also picked up, he said.
NewGen currently operates 30 flights a day to 25 Chinese cities.