GreenBkk.com Aviation | Thai AirAsia giving up on Taipei flights

Thai AirAsia giving up on Taipei flights

Published: 21/03/2011 at 12:00 AM

Heavy fare discounts by at least two international full-service airlines and soaring fuel prices have prompted Thai AirAsia (TAA) to discontinue its service between Bangkok and Taipei later this month.

It is one of the few routes the budget carrier has decided to abandon in recent years as it is unable to match the "almost give-away" fares offered by KLM and EVA Air that simply want to fill empty seats on intercontinental flights from Taipei that stop over in Bangkok.

With jet fuel prices surging to around US$130 a barrel and the relatively long flight time of three hours and 40 minutes, it became difficult for TAA to profit even if it raised fares, said chief executive Tassapon Bijleveld.

Competing full-service carriers charge as little as 6,000 to 7,000 baht for round-trip Bangkok-Taipei flights, according to airline sources.

TAA recorded a relatively good load factor, most recently 75-78% on the route. TAA inaugurated the service in September 2009 and operates four flights a week using a 180-seat Airbus A320. The last flight is scheduled for March 25.

Mr Tassapon said TAA was better off shifting the capacity to the Bangkok-Singapore route, a shorter trip with strong demand. It will introduce a fourth daily Bangkok-Singapore flight on April 1.

With fuel prices high, he said, TAA would have to be more cautious about introducing new routes where traffic demand has yet to be proven.

It has therefore suspended its plan to launch regular flights from Bangkok to Hangzhou, China, initially scheduled at three a week. It takes about four hours to fly to Hangzhou, and the fuel cost is the primary concern.

TAA would rather focus on the new market it entered last December: daily flights from Bangkok to Kolkata and Delhi, which are producing high load factors.

The airline is looking to serve more Indian cities, such as Bangalore and Chennai, in the future.

With the termination of Taipei service, TAA serves 13 international destinations and 10 domestic.

Credit: Bangkok Post (www.bangkokpost.com)