Thai AirAsia maintains plans for China
THAI AIRASIA is maintaining its operations and expansion plans for mainland China, despite the fact that the world's biggest outbound-tourism market is facing financial problems.
Chief executive officer Tassapon Bijleveld yesterday said the low-cost airline would continue to operate 14 routes from Thailand to 10 destinations in mainland China, comprising 21 daily flights to the country.
Future Thai AirAsia expansion plans in relation to China are also unchanged, he said.
By the final quarter of the year, the airline is set to launch two new routes out of U-tapao Airport near Pattaya, and an additional two routes originating from Bangkok’s Don Mueang International Airport, to link with China.
Starting next Wednesday, AirAsia Malaysia will operate a direct flight from Kuala Lumpur to U-tapao. “As we are operating mainly into second-tier cities in China, we should not receive any impact from current financial issues,” said Tassapon.
He added that the China market contributed 20 per cent of the carrier’s passengers, with arrival numbers rising even further in the coming high season.
Thai AirAsia plans to carry 14.5 million passengers in total this year. It is scheduled to receive five new aircraft both this year and next, which will bring its fleet to more than 60.
Preparing pilots for future growth
Thai AirAsia yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding with Bangkok Aviation Centre (BAC) to produce more pilots in order to meet long-term demand.
Under the agreement, BAC will produce commercial licensed pilots at a targeted rate of 70 per year for AirAsia, in step with the airline’s plan to expand and receive five new Airbus A320s each year.
Some 181 AirAsia pilots have completed the BAC course, which is roughly 40 per cent of the airline’s 450 current pilots. Of the 450 pilots, 206 are captains and 244 are first officers.
Piya Tregalnon, chief executive officer of BAC, said the company currently held the largest share of the local pilot-training market at about 80 per cent, and was expanding internationally.
BAC produces pilots for several national-level carriers, including Thai AirAsia, Thai Airways and Thai Smile. It has produced a total of 815 pilots and is currently training 180, he said.
Its goal is to produce internationally accepted pilots in order to contribute to Thailand’s trade balance, as pilots on average generate Bt6 million in annual income per person.
By creating Thai pilots for the world market, even at only 10 per cent of the market – which will demand 460,000 new pilots by 2031 – Thailand would see Bt270 billion in income, with virtually no impact to its natural capital, said Piya. Meanwhile, after Denpasar Airport’s closure due to a volcanic ash cloud yesterday, Thai AirAsia suspended two flights to Bali from Thailand.
The airline will be monitoring the situation on a daily basis before deciding whether to operate or suspend the service further.
Thai Airways International yesterday said it had suspended its daily service between Bangkok and Denpasar for the same reason.
The airline said in a statement that it would resume operations as soon as possible.
