Sizzling Thai-India traffic sparks race

While air travel demand on routes linking Thailand and other regions is slumping due to the economic slowdown and the H1N1 pandemic, traffic between Thailand and India seems to be buzzing.
Kingfisher will use an Airbus A320 jetliner for its debut Bangkok service.
The demand growth has prompted two Indian carriers to move aggressively to tap the potential of the market, which has been keenly eyed by several airlines.
Kingfisher Airlines is to start its first scheduled flight to Bangkok from Kolkata on Aug 14, while existing player Jet Airways is adding a second daily service between Bangkok and Mumbai on Aug 16.
Plans are also afoot for Kingfisher to start services between Mumbai and Bangkok in October, while the budget carrier Thai AirAsia hopes to inaugurate flights from the Thai capital to Mumbai and New Delhi around December.
They will be competing with Thai Airways International and Air India, which have the lion's share of the market.
Thailand has been on Kingfisher's radar screen for quite a while and its debut flight from its base in Bangalore to Bangkok was delayed from March due to aircraft availability constraints.
Kingfisher spokesman Prakash Mirpuri said the launch of flights to Thailand, among the airline's eight new international routes, is consistent with a goal of redeploying capacity on routes with better yields compared to domestic Indian sectors.
Industry sources said Kingfisher's decision to launch its service to Thailand may have been triggered by its arch-rival Jet Airways' move to step up its Thailand-India profile with the ramp-up of its frequencies.
Jet Airways, marketing itself as India's premier international airline, will use Boeing's B737-800 aircraft on the second Bangkok-Mumbai daily service, and is to offer two flights a week between Bangkok and Gaya on Oct 6, according to the airline's Bangkok office.
Jet Airways already runs daily flights from Bangkok to Delhi and Kolkata.
22/07/09 Boonsong Kositchotethana/Bangkokpost.com

To Read the News in full at Source, Click the Headline

Categories: Foreign Jul 2009, Jet Airways Jul 2009, Kingfisher Jul 2009