AirAsia banks on big Chinese cities
Thai AirAsia next year will focus more on the Chinese market by adding three or four cities to its network.
Tassapon Bijleveld, chief executive officer of the leading low-cost carrier, yesterday declined to name the cities, but said the Chinese market had big potential because there are several cities with populations of 30 million to 50 million.
Expanding its flights will require more planes, so it will take delivery of six new Airbus A320s next year to join its current fleet of 27, he said.
Competition is still low in China because air traffic is mainly domestic. AirAsia has become almost the sole player carrying Chinese passengers to Thai destinations by offering inexpensive fares.
Thai AirAsia has steadily expanded the Chinese market in the past two years. This year alone, it has inaugurated services from Don Mueang International Airport to Chongqing, Wuhan and Xi’an, as well as from Chiang Mai to Macau. It also operates flights to Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Hong Kong.
Jumnong Junnapinya, director of the East Asia region for the Tourism Authority of Thailand, expects move than 2.2 million Chinese to visit Thailand this year. In the first nine months, Chinese arrivals were up 39 per cent to 1.94 million.
Last year saw 1.76 million Chinese coming here, making up 10 per cent of the total of 19 million foreign tourists.
Last month, AirAsia relocated to Don Mueang from Suvarnabhumi Airport. Tassapon said its operations had been |trouble-free. Takeoffs and landings have been on schedule. Immigration processing is also satisfactory at only 20 minutes.
However, convenience could be improved. For example, there are not enough taxis during heavy flight traffic in the evening for arriving passengers. Also, restaurants should be added in both departure and boarding areas. These concerns will be submitted to Airports of Thailand.
Next year the aviation outlook remains bright, thanks to the absence of violent political demonstrations. Foreign tourists seem to have become accustomed to Thailand’s political scene at a certain level.
Many people use Bangkok for flight connections to other cities such as Phuket and Chiang Mai.
