Thailand’s largest private airline Bangkok Airways has announced plans to further cement itself as one of Asia’s leading regional carriers, by announcing a further four destinations in India.
The airline’s president, Puttipong Prasarttong-Osot has announced plans to commence flights between Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport, and cities on the Subcontinent including Lucknow, New Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai. The airline will proceed with plans once given the green light from Indian aviation authorities.
The move will be Bangkok Airway’s second stint at flying to India, with the airline commencing flights between Bangkok and Mumbai earlier this year.
- Bangkok Airways are impressed with their initial foray into India, plans are underway to add another three more destinations.
- Bangkok Airways will receive another Airbus A319 next month, which is plans to use on flights to India.
On Sept 26, flights Bangalore commenced, with a strong load factor in the 70% range for its early stages.
Marketing itself as Asia’s boutique airline, Bangkok Airways will commence services to Lucknow depending on the provision of landing and take-off slots. If all goes well, the carrier will be flying to Lucknow in the state of Uttar Pradesh.
Lucknow will be followed by a further three Indian destinations over the next three years, with the airline’s president describing the Indian air travel market as having huge potential.
“India offers a robust demand for air travel between India and Thailand,” said Capt Puttipong.
With a swell of low-cost carriers expanding and opening up around them, Bangkok Airways doesn’t necessarily view the extra competition as a negative. The carrier reiterates its position as a full-service airline, claiming to provide a premium level of service.
Indian visitors arriving in Thailand over the first eight months of this year has increased dramatically. The figure has leaped by 34.7% compared with the same time last year, with a total of 627,670 arrivals – 4.9% of the international visitor arrivals during the period.
While the next confirmed route for Bangkok Airways won’t be until March next year, when the airline begins flights between Koh Samui and the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur, the carrier hopes to boost the frequency of services to Bangalore to a daily flight.
The airline will receive a new Airbus A319 narrow-bodied jet next month, which it plans to use on the route.
