Thai AirAsia launches Phuket-Bali service next month
PHUKET : Thai AirAsia is moving to consolidate its Phuket hub with the launch of the first commercial air link between the southern resort province and the Indonesian island of Bali.
The inauguration of the Phuket-Bali route commencing on Dec 17 represents a challenge for the low-cost carrier (LCC) since both islands have common features that compete against each other.
Phuket and Bali both attract largely tropical beach lovers and are travel hubs offering a variety of connections.
But Tassapon Bijleveld, Thai AirAsia's chief executive, believes the two will complement each other, as Bali is regarded as a more culturally oriented destination with a slower pace of life, while Phuket offers more vibrant and diverse modern offerings.
The no-frills carrier especially wants to attract Australians already holidaying on the Indonesian island to Phuket, especially Australian long-stay travellers, said Mr Tassapon.
"We believe many Australians would like to combine Phuket with their Bali holiday trips but cannot do so now due to the lack of a direct connection between the two. But soon they can with our flights," he said.
More than two million foreigners visit Bali each year, and the potential exists for many of them to continue on to Phuket, said Mr Tassapon.
Thai AirAsia's Phuket-Bali flights will be of three-and-a-half hours duration with service four times a week using 180-seat Airbus A320s.
"We'll monitor the business turnout for a few months and then decide if we need to step up to a daily frequency," he said.
Thai AirAsia is targeting a high load factor of 85-90% on the new route, with Australians constituting up to 70% of the passenger mix.
Bali will be the only new route from the airline's Phuket hub over the next year or so, as the airline will concentrate its resources to open its third hub in Chiang Mai next January, said the executive.
Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi airport is Thai AirAsia's main hub.
Scheduled for a Jan 24 launch, the airline will commence two routes out of Chiang Mai using the A320 _ one to Singapore and the other to Hat Yai, both on a daily basis.
Thai AirAsia will also stabilise its Phuket hub over the next year by consolidating traffic on the four existing routes _ Hong Kong, Udon Thani, Ubol Ratchathani and Chiang Mai _ and possibly increasing frequencies.
The local unit of Malaysia-based AirAsia, which is the continent's largest LCC, has not been successful with all of its routes out of Phuket, although additional connections between the southern Thai resort island and other cities continue to be established. In May, Thai AirAsia terminated its daily Phuket-Ho Chi Minh City and twice-weekly Phuket-Medan services due to weak demand.
Meanwhile, Thai AirAsia will accept delivery of only two of the four new Airbus A320s planned for next year due to domestic political uncertainty.
The other two will go to sister airline Indonesia AirAsia instead. Thai AirAsia now has 18 A320s in its fleet.
The airline has targeted revenue growth of 25% next year from 12 billion baht expected this year, along with raising passenger numbers by 20% from this year's 6.2 million, said Mr Tassapon.
Credit: Bangkok Post
PHUKET : Thai AirAsia is moving to consolidate its Phuket hub with the launch of the first commercial air link between the southern resort province and the Indonesian island of Bali.
The inauguration of the Phuket-Bali route commencing on Dec 17 represents a challenge for the low-cost carrier (LCC) since both islands have common features that compete against each other.
Phuket and Bali both attract largely tropical beach lovers and are travel hubs offering a variety of connections.
But Tassapon Bijleveld, Thai AirAsia's chief executive, believes the two will complement each other, as Bali is regarded as a more culturally oriented destination with a slower pace of life, while Phuket offers more vibrant and diverse modern offerings.
The no-frills carrier especially wants to attract Australians already holidaying on the Indonesian island to Phuket, especially Australian long-stay travellers, said Mr Tassapon.
"We believe many Australians would like to combine Phuket with their Bali holiday trips but cannot do so now due to the lack of a direct connection between the two. But soon they can with our flights," he said.
More than two million foreigners visit Bali each year, and the potential exists for many of them to continue on to Phuket, said Mr Tassapon.
Thai AirAsia's Phuket-Bali flights will be of three-and-a-half hours duration with service four times a week using 180-seat Airbus A320s.
"We'll monitor the business turnout for a few months and then decide if we need to step up to a daily frequency," he said.
Thai AirAsia is targeting a high load factor of 85-90% on the new route, with Australians constituting up to 70% of the passenger mix.
Bali will be the only new route from the airline's Phuket hub over the next year or so, as the airline will concentrate its resources to open its third hub in Chiang Mai next January, said the executive.
Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi airport is Thai AirAsia's main hub.
Scheduled for a Jan 24 launch, the airline will commence two routes out of Chiang Mai using the A320 _ one to Singapore and the other to Hat Yai, both on a daily basis.
Thai AirAsia will also stabilise its Phuket hub over the next year by consolidating traffic on the four existing routes _ Hong Kong, Udon Thani, Ubol Ratchathani and Chiang Mai _ and possibly increasing frequencies.
The local unit of Malaysia-based AirAsia, which is the continent's largest LCC, has not been successful with all of its routes out of Phuket, although additional connections between the southern Thai resort island and other cities continue to be established. In May, Thai AirAsia terminated its daily Phuket-Ho Chi Minh City and twice-weekly Phuket-Medan services due to weak demand.
Meanwhile, Thai AirAsia will accept delivery of only two of the four new Airbus A320s planned for next year due to domestic political uncertainty.
The other two will go to sister airline Indonesia AirAsia instead. Thai AirAsia now has 18 A320s in its fleet.
The airline has targeted revenue growth of 25% next year from 12 billion baht expected this year, along with raising passenger numbers by 20% from this year's 6.2 million, said Mr Tassapon.
Credit: Bangkok Post
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