Bangkok Airways expands to India
Credit: Bangkok Post (www.bangkokpost.com)
After a two-year break, Bangkok Airways is resuming the expansion of its international network with a foray into the Indian subcontinent.
Bangkok Airways’ ‘Rainbow’ A319 will be used for its Indian foray.
The privately owned carrier, which had undergone a rationalisation with the suspension of several international routes, is to embark on flights from Bangkok to Mumbai and Dhaka in March next year.
The launch represents a renewed but cautious move as the global airline industry steadily recovers from its slump as the world economy picks up.
Branding itself Asia's boutique airline, Bangkok Airways will start serving the Bangkok-Mumbai route on March 2 with six flights a week using an Airbus A319 jet configured with dual classes and 120 seats.
The Bangkok-Dhaka service is due for take-off on March 27 with seven flights a week using an Airbus A320 with 162 seats in all economy class, said vice-president Nandhika Varavan.
The Indian subcontinent is the only international region where the airline is looking to expand because of promising traffic opportunities. It wants to expand to other major Indian cites like New Delhi and Kolkata, but is restricted by availability.
M.L. Nandhika said the increasing demand on the Bangkok-Mumbai route comes from more Indians visiting Thailand for leisure and business.
For Dhaka, the airline expects the bulk of passengers will be Bangladeshi traders visiting Thailand for business, she added.
Bangkok Airways appointed Global Aviation Services Pvt as its general sales agent for India.
India is becoming a hot spot for Bangkok-based airlines to spread their wings due to the rising popularity of the Thai capital as a destination both for leisure and business among Indians.
On Dec 1, Thai AirAsia (TAA) will break new ground in air travel between Thailand and India with the debut of low-cost service.
After two years of planning and navigating India's complex approval process, the no-frills airline will launch flights from Bangkok to Kolkata and New Delhi.
Bangkok Airways executives do not see TAA as direct competitors because Bangkok Airways targets the full-service market segment.
It has no plans to resume services on routes suspended two years ago to stem losses of about 1 billion baht in 2008 and 2009. Those routes included Ho Chi Minh City, Guilin, Macau, Hiroshima, Fukuoka, Xian and Shenzhen.
Credit: Bangkok Post (www.bangkokpost.com)
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