Air Berlin ramps up Thai route
Responding to the surge in travel demand between Thailand and Germany in the coming high season, Air Berlin has nearly doubled its capacity.
Local unrest in April and May had limited impact on Air Berlin, says Mr Magiera.
Germany's second largest airline will offer 14 flights a week between the two countries over the next six months, up from eight in the six-month summer period ended last month.
The increase gives Air Berlin more seats _ a total of 8,484 _ on nonstop flights between Thailand and a European country than any other European airline.
Last winter, Air Berlin operated 13 flights per week but this year it has introduced a new Phuket-Berlin service.
Germans are flying to Thailand in droves for holidays, said Stefan Magiera, Air Berlin's general manager for the Middle East and Southeast Asia.
"Germans love to come to Thailand, regardless of the problems such as political unrest (earlier this year)," he said.
He said the impact of the unrest in April and May on the carrier was limited as traffic picked up very quickly after the crisis.
"Bookings for Air Berlin flights on Germany-Thailand sectors looks promising, far better than in the last winter which was good," he added.
Air Berlin has also benefited from growing demand for passengers travelling from Thailand to other destinations in Europe including Helsinki and Vienna.
This winter, Air Berlin has also started code-sharing co-operation with Bangkok Airways on Thai domestic flights to Chiang Mai, Koh Samui and Phuket. It is expanding the code-share arrangement to cover a regional destination operated by Bangkok Airways.
Mr Magiera said low fares would remain a main selling point for Air Berlin, with all-inclusive round-trip tickets from Thailand to Germany starting at 22,000 baht for economy class and 76,000 baht for business.
Credit: Bangkok Post
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