On 20 May 2011, the Thai Airways board announced plans to create a new lower-cost airline, at the time dubbed Thai Wings.[2] The creation of the airline was announced by Ampon Kittiampon, the chairman of Thai's board of directors, on 19 August 2011.[3] It is planned to begin operations in July 2012.[3] According to Ampon, Thai Smile is intended to serve the market gap between low-cost carriers and full service airlines.[3] The name Thai Smile was chosen from a pool of 2,229 entries in a contest to name the airline.[3]
According to an official at Thai Airways, Thai Smile is planned to begin showing an annual profit of about five million baht within two years of the start of operations.[3]