Ultimately, flying is a means to an end. Admittedly, your first time in a plane is very exciting as the wheels leave the ground for the first time and the thrusters kick in with that powerful "whooosh!" that pins you to the back of your seat, the plane heads for untold altitudes and the ground drops away, turning the landscape into a living patchwork quilt.

Unfortunately, habit blunts the edge of pleasure, and exciting things soon grow mundane. So it is with commercial flights. Short hauls can be particularly disappointing with noisy propellers, and all too often, you feel more like a head of cattle than a valued customer.

Thailand's relatively young airline PB Air, with its motto "a great little airline," has recognized this and taken measures to ensure that your flight is as smooth and as comfortable as possible. They refer to their flights as an "air limousine" service. 

When our tour group stepped onto the tarmac at Bangkok airport to board the 75-seat plane that was to take us on a beach holiday to Krabi they noticed something a bit unusual. It had twin jet engines mounted on the tail, like a full-size airliner. Recognizing a photo opportunity, they insisted that the cabin crew pose with them for a photo, which they did with patient good humour.

The safety card said the aircraft was a Fokker RJ28 commuter plane. If you recall your Peanuts cartoons, the Fokker Tri-plane was the machine of choice for the legendary flying ace Manfred von Richthofen, aka the Red Baron, during WWI, so we were in safe hands engineering-wise, even if we were pretty unlikely to get in a dogfight on the way. And even if we did, we had the benefit of comfortable and spacious seating, without the tiring drone of propellers.

Once in the air, the staff looked after us well, bestowing genuine smiles, trays of orange juice and boxed lunches upon us, (all complimentary). Within what seemed a few short minutes, we were taxiing into Krabi airport to a smooth landing.

PB Air currently operates flights from Bangkok to Krabi, Roi-et and Wattanakorn - routes not covered by other airlines, and has plans to expand over the next couple of years. Special private charter flights are also available.