World’s Coolest Airport?: Bangkok Airways ATR72 From Koh Samui to Phuket

In June 2022, as part of our vacation in Thailand, we flew with Bangkok Airways from Koh Samui (USM) to Phuket (HKT) onboard their ATR72 aircraft. The Koh Samui-Phuket route is a monopoly route for Bangkok Airways and hence if you want to fly between the two islands, you can only do so with them. Read on to know what flying on Bangkok Airways is like.

In this trip:

• Thai Airways A350 Economy Class Review – Mumbai (BOM) to Bangkok (BKK)
• Bangkok Airways ATR72 Economy Class Review – Bangkok (BKK) to Koh Samui (USM)
• The Culture Samui Review
• Bangkok Airways ATR72 Economy Class Review – Koh Samui (USM) to Phuket (HKT) (this review)
• Hilton Garden Inn Phuket Bang Tao Review
• Le Méridien Khao Lak Resort & Spa Review
• Thai Smile Airways (Thai Airways) A320 Economy Class Review – Phuket (BKK) to Bangkok (BKK)
• Thai Airways B777 Economy Class Review – Bangkok (BKK) to Mumbai (BOM)

If you want to see a video of this review, check this out:

Bangkok Airways ATR72 Flight Booking

As of June 2025, Bangkok Airways has 10 ATR aircraft in its fleet. We booked this flight through a local travel agent for approximately INR 10,000 ($117).

Details about the flight are as follows:

• Origin: Koh Samui (USM)
• Destination: Phuket (HKT)
• Departure time: 0800 hours
• Arrival time: 0900 hours
• Aircraft: ATR72-600
• Flight Number: PG251

Airport Experience

Our flight – PG251 – was scheduled to depart from Koh Samui (USM) at 0800 hours. Since we were staying at The Culture Samui resort, which is just a 10-15 minute drive from the airport, we left the property around 0615 hours and reached the airport around 0630 hours.

Once at the airport, we proceeded to the check-in counters, where the queue wasn’t long. We dropped our bags, got our boarding passes and were on our way to security check in no time.

Koh Samui Airport is one of the few airports in the world which is fully outdoors. Except for the gift shop, ticket office, washrooms and the VIP lounge, all the other passenger amenities are outdoors. The airport has a unique, open-air design. Its design easily blends with the outdoor surroundings. It has many different seating areas like bean bags in the garden, normal chairs in a shaded area etc.

The gardens, outdoor coffee shops, ponds etc all make for a not-so-normal airport experience, one which is really good and is a welcome change from the usual cookie-cutter airport designs that we are used to.

One really good thing about flying with Bangkok Airways is that irrespective of the cabin you are flying in, you get access to Bangkok Airways’ lounge. Although not a proper lounge, Bangkok Airways has a “Courtesy Corner” at Koh Samui Airport. Sandwiches, snacks, sweets and beverages are offered here.

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Bangkok Airways ATR72 Economy Class Cabin

My seat – 12F – was in the middle of the aircraft. In the front, there was a literature area and a standard tray-table. There’s also a small pocket to store your personal belongings under the tray-table.

Legroom is okay-ish for short hops like this. ATR seats are always a tight squeeze and this was nothing different.

The Flight

Boarding began on-time at 0720 hours. The airport has these really cool non-AC buses that transfer passengers to/from the aircraft. The aircraft operating our flight has registration HS-PZH (the same aircraft we flew from Bangkok to Koh Samui), delivered brand new to the airline in April 2017. It seats 70 passengers in an all-Economy cabin and features a special “Sea & Palm” livery, embodying the airline’s tropical destinations.

We pushed-back, taxied and took-off from runway 17 on-time. The take-off views from Koh Samui are excellent, with the whole southern part of the island visible when taking-off from runway 17.

Since I flew with them during the COVID-19 pandemic, they didn’t offer a meal for safety reasons. However, they did provide a snack upon landing which was a Chicken Sausage Pie.

The rest of the flight was uneventful. It was a short 40 minute hop. The approach into Phuket from the east is beautiful. Phuket is made up of 33 islands, including the main island, which is the largest in Thailand.

We landed in Phuket 15 minutes before the scheduled arrival time of 0900 hours at 0845 hours.

The Service

Cabin crew on this flight were excellent. The service was warm, professional and friendly. While the interaction was minimal, they were highly energetic.

IH Thoughts and Score

As I mentioned in the earlier review, I think Bangkok Airways market themselves very well as “Asia’s Boutique Airline”. The flight was great, from the comfortable seats (as per ATR standards) to the lounge access and everything in between. They are a nice little airline and I would not hesitate to fly with them again.

IH Score:

• Airport Experience: 20/20
• Seat and Amenities: 16/20
• Inflight Food: 16/20
• Aircraft and Cleanliness: 18/20
• Service: 20/20

The Good:

• On-time flight
• Excellent airport experience
• Great lounge

The Bad:

• Cramped seats

Overall: 90/100

Featured image by Ishan Haria

All the other images by Ishan Haria

Have you flown on Bangkok Airways? If yes, how was your experience? Let me know in the comments section below.

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