The city will get an afternoon flight to Bangkok from May.

Thai Smiles, the wholly owned subsidiary of Thai Airways, will start operating between Calcutta and Bangkok from March 31 night, an airline official said.

Initially, the airline had planned a 1am departure from Calcutta. The flight will reach Bangkok at 5.30am local time.

But the timing would be changed from May 2 and the flight would take off from Calcutta at 4.30pm and reach Bangkok at 9pm local time.

“We got a market feedback regarding the timing. There are already five or six departures from Calcutta to Bangkok at night. The new timings will be convenient for those who don’t want to travel at night,” Kris Theerarak, general manager, Thai Airways, Calcutta, said.

“Also, the 9pm arrival in Bangkok will be convenient for those who want to take connecting flights to China, Japan and Australia.”

A Thai Airways flight leaves Calcutta around 2am and reaches Bangkok at 5.50am local time.

Most Bangkok-bound flights of Thai AirAsia, SpiceJet and IndiGo are at night.

“Thailand is a leisure destination and most people travel with families. Many are reluctant to travel at night,” Anil Punjabi, chairman, east, Travel Agents Federation of India, said.

Thai Smile will operate five days a week and the airline will fly an Airbus A320 aircraft with 12 premium economy and 150 economy class seats, an airline official said.