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Thai Lion Air Launches Medan-Hat Yai Service
16th Mar 2014
Traveling between Medan (Indonesia) and Hat Yai (Thailand) is now a flight away with the introduction of a direct service by Thai Lion Air. The Hat Yai-Medan service commences today and will be a thrice weekly affair.
Hat Yai has been a popular destination in recent years and Thailand's major international gateway to the south. Medan, meanwhile, is the capital and major city of the Northern Sumatra province in Indonesian island of Sumatra.
Hat Yai International Airport is the second major hub in the country for Thai Lion Air next to Bangkok's Don Mueang International Airport.
The direct air service has shortened the journey between Sumatran and Thai travelers more significantly in a faster and more convenient way. Before the opening of the service, Sumatrans had to book multiple flights to Jakarta and then to Bangkok to get to other parts of Thailand such as Hat Yai which was really a tedious journey.
Thai Lion Air will be using its ATR 72-600 turboprop for the Hat Yai-Medan route. It also uses the same aircraft type for other new routes from its Hat Yai hub to Surat Thani and Hua Hin.
By April 13, the budget carrier will launch another regional service from Hat Yai to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. These two new regional routes from Hat Yai are part of the airline's long-term plan to develop an easy and seamless connection between major destinations in the ASEAN region.
Air traffic between the two countries has been growing significantly in recent years which badly needs a reliable and efficient airline to do that. Thai Lion Air has a commitment to serve the growing air travelers in the region, especially between Thailand and Indonesia, two of the largest air travel markets in Southeast Asia.
In 2013, Hat Yai International Airport handled about 2.47 million passengers or 22% increase for the same period over the previous year. Of the total number, only 227,000 were international passengers. The figure, though, is expected to increase even more this year with the introduction of more regional as well as domestic routes especially to destinations where air service is insufficient.
Thai Lion Air is a budget airline, a local subsidiary of Lion Air group, Indonesia's largest privately-owned airline. To date, its route network includes 5 domestic and 4 regional destinations. Its current fleet consists of 4 narrow-body B737-900ER aircraft and a single ATR 72-600 turboprop.
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