March Newsletter

COVID-19 & Siam Seaplane

During these unprecedented times of the COVID-19 outbreak, we sincerely hope all of you are keeping healthy and follow relevant recommendations to ensure we can flatten the curve. The airline and hospitality industries are majorly impacted by the pandemic, with closures, bankruptcies and widespread layoffs. Many of our close friends, advisors and partners are affected and we hope we will all be able to get through this together.

How does COVID-19 affect our plans to launch amphibious seaplane services in Thailand? Our ambitions remain as strong as ever, and we keep working hard on the necessary steps for a launch. Our working culture from the start has been defined by flexibility. A work from home (or anywhere) policy has been a normal component for the team from the start. Yet, our office in central Bangkok remains open for the time being, and we continue to conduct crucial meetings, while keeping a close eye on new government requirements and recommendations.

At the same time, many of our existing and potential resort partners, as well as government agencies, are currently in crisis mode. We thus expect some delays, but keep preparing to be able to offer the highest quality, professional, safe and comfortable transportation service and experience once the pandemic has subsided. More than ever, Thailand needs a premium differentiator in its tourism offering once travelers will start to come back again.

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Seaplanes are not just for tourists — how we can help with delivery of crucial goods, evacuations and more?

Typically seen as a luxury means of transportation, seaplanes can also act as a paramount lifeline to the back-country or areas affected by natural disasters. Due to the versatile configurations that can be set up, seaplanes offer the possibility to bring cargo, mail, crucial goods or evacuate injured patients from areas that are hardly reachable by car or conventional aircraft, and that would take prolonged time with limited capacity if a helicopter was used instead. On a day-to-day basis, examples of this can often be seen in Canada or Alaska where without seaplanes some industries or populated areas will simply come to a stop.

In times of crisis, such as during the recent hurricane Dorian that devastated the Bahamas, seaplanes acted as a major bridge towards the Bahamas where airports were no longer running. Through the amphibious capacity, flying from Fort Lauderdale airport (USA) to any remote water access point, our partner’s aircraft brought no less than 197,000 pounds worth of relief aids, as well as evacuated almost 860 people.

At Siam Seaplane we are aware of the crisis affecting the world right now. As such, we are preparing for the future to answer and help the recovery of the tourism sector, but also to be able to support local communities to recover from the Covid-19 crisis by bringing an accessible, safer, innovative and stronger future to all.

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Our New Website

We are happy and proud to announce that in March we have launched a new website that provides you with a first overview of what’s to come. With an inevitable shift towards experiential services and lifestyle in the travel and hospitality industry, we would like to give you a first glimpse of how transportation to waterfront locations such as beach resorts can mean an unparalleled experience by itself. Our website ought to reflect our ambition for end-to-end premium services that focus on guest satisfaction, while ensuring the highest standards of quality, safety and professionalism. At the same time, as we announced last month, we can already facilitate private jet bookings for our executive and VIP guests.

If you haven't already been there, hit the home page and let us know what you think! → www.siamseaplane.com

Dream Destination of the Month — Koh Kood

Let us introduce you to our favorite destinations. This month we’ve selected Koh Kood. The island is in the east of Thailand, in Trat Province. Curiously, the island only has a population of 2,000 people. This makes it the district with the smallest population of all Thailand!

We love Koh Kood because of its stunning, untouched beaches, crystal clear waters, and beautiful nature on the island. Even during high season, the island is usually very quiet compared to other island destinations in Thailand.

Getting to Koh Kood is a hassle right now. From Bangkok you can fly to Trat (1 hour flying time), drive to the pier (1 hour), and take a ferry or speed boat (around 1 hour). It would only make sense to have an amphibious seaplane service that flies to Koh Kood directly. The flight duration from Bangkok for example would be just over one hour, whereas from Jomtien you could reach the island in 30 minutes. We can’t wait!