Thai AirAsia X to Finally Take Off

23rd Apr 2014

The local long-haul subsidiary of the budget leader AirAsia Bhd. has officially launched its operations with a domestic run to give local travelers a sample of what a low-cost long-haul service would be like.

Thai AirAsia X, the first overseas subsidiary of the long-haul brand AirAsia X, has officially launched its domestic run in the country before it will fly out to long-haul destinations in June.

The airline is already planning to launch its maiden service with the Bangkok-Seoul route by June. It will open two more long-haul routes, Bangkok-Tokyo and Bangkok-Osaka, a month later. The planned Bangkok-Seoul and Bangkok-Tokyo routes will be once-daily services while its Bangkok-Osaka route will be a 5-times a week affair.

Thai AirAsia X, according to its CEO, Nadda Buranasri, said that the airline positions itself in a region where travel market is projected to grow faster than any other regions in the world for many years to come. It also wants to take part in Thailand's drive to become the hub of commercial aviation in the region by 2015 when the ASEAN integration is expected to take effect.

The ASEAN community comprises 10 member countries which include Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and Brunei.

According to data from the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), visitors from Japan and South Korea to Thailand increased by 12% and 11%, respectively, in 2013. This year, the same groups of tourists are likely to grow rather modestly, by 11% and 9%.

But the state-controlled Thai Airways reported a different tune saying that the volume of passengers from the two East Asian countries dropped significantly during the first three months of this year, 8% from Japan and 17% from South Korea.

With the planned inaugural service of its long-haul operations by June to South Korea and by July to Japan, the airline is trying to capitalize on that potential as predicted by PATA.

Thai AirAsia officials brushed off the drop of passengers traveling to Thailand as reported by Thai Airways, saying that the drop was mainly due to stiff competition from low-cost carriers that fly the same routes.

The low-cost long-haul subsidiary currently has two A330-300 aircraft in its fleet for its inaugural operations.

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