The main international airports in Thailand are at Bangkok (BKK IATA) and Phuket (HKT IATA), which are well-served by intercontinental flights. Practically every airline that flies to Asia also flies into Bangkok, meaning that there is plenty of competition to keep ticket prices down. Bangkok has two major airports: Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK IATA) which is the main airport and serves most full-service carriers, and the older and smaller Don Mueang International Airport (DMK IATA) which primarily serves low-cost carriers.
International airports are also located at Hat Yai, Krabi, Ko Samui and Chiang Mai, though these are largely restricted to flights from other Southeast Asian countries. Kuala Lumpur and Singapore make excellent places to catch flights into these smaller Thai cities, meaning you can skip the ever-present touts and queues at Bangkok. During the winter high season, there are also many chartered services directly from European cities to beach destinations like Phuket and Krabi, but they can usually be booked only via travel agencies as part of a packaged tour.
The national carrier is the well-regarded Thai Airways, with Bangkok Airways filling in some gaps in the region. Bangkok Airways offers free Internet access while you wait for boarding to start at your gate. In addition, Malaysian discount carrier AirAsia has also set up a subsidiary in Thailand, and is often the cheapest option for flights into Thailand.
For a full at-a-glance list of all Thai-based carriers, see the Thai airlines section (below).