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Thai AirAsia plans Phuket air links 
Thai AirAsia plans Phuket air links
Thai AirAsia CEO, Tassapon
Bijleveld, unveiled the airline’s expansion plans that include new
flights from Phuket to Bali and Hong Kong, during the Asean Hotel &
Restaurant Association Seminar, held last week, in Bangkok.
According
to Mr Tassapon, the airline will take delivery of three more Airbus
A320s, later this year, and will base one of the aircraft in Phuket to
serve new routes, Phuket – Bali and Phuket - Hong Kong.
"Tourists
will not have to transit in Bangkok allowing them to fly non-stop to
Bali and Hong Kong," said Mr Tassapon.
Thai Air AsiaThe airline
believes there are enough Australians visiting Phuket, who would like to
travel to Bali and there are direct services from Japan and China to
Bali, two markets that could supply traffic to Phuket.
Currently,
the airline offers daily flights between Bangkok and Bali that started
last January.
Mr Tassapon said the airline plans to build Phuket
as a secondary hub, and expects to base three to four aircraft there in
the future.
Parking and landing fees are much lower in Phuket,
when compared with Bangkok.
Ultimately, the airline wants to link
Phuket with Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, Siem Reap in Cambodia,
Vientiane in Laos as well as Indonesia cities such as Surabaya; Medan;
and Jakarta.
According to Mr Tassapon, by the end of the year the
airline will have 18 aircraft. Two of the three aircraft, due to arrive
in the last quarter, will be deployed to offer a second daily service,
Bangkok – Hong Kong, as well as a new Bangkok - Taipei service. The
third aircraft due in December will be used to launch a service to
Mumbai, Thai AirAsia’s first destination in India, and also a Bangkok –
Hangzhou service in China.
In 2010, the airline will take
delivery of eight new aircraft, of which six will replace older
aircraft, due to be phased out.Source: http://www.ttrweekly.com/site/2009/09/thai-airasia-plans-phuket-air...
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