Thai AirAsia adds new route to tap Vietnam market, offers 5 destinations in 7 routes
Thai AirAsia adds new route to tap Vietnam market, offers 5 destinations in 7 routes Tourism February 26, 2019 01:00 BUDGET AIRLINE Thai AirAsia is further expanding in the Vietnam market by adding a new route – Chiang Mai-Da Nang. The move reflects its plan to continually grow in CLMV (Cambodia, Lao, Myanmar and Vietnam) markets in 2019, with a special focus on Vietnam. The expansion is expected to enable growth and reduce possible risks from dependence on any single source of travellers. Nattinee Tawanchulee, director of commercial for Thai AirAsia, said the CLMV markets are strategically important to the airline. Chiang Mai-Da Nang is the third Thailand-Vietnam route it has announced this year, following the Don Mueang-Can Tho and Don Mueang-Nha Trang routes. The Chiang Mai-Da Nang flight (one daily flight) will take off on April 12, as the carrier seeks to attract Vietnamese travellers to Thailand during the Songkran holidays. The Bangkok-Can Tho route (three flights weekly) will launch on May 2, while the Bangkok-Nha Trang route (four flights a week) will begin on May 1. This year Thai AirAsia has set a target to serve 2.7 million passengers throughout CLMV. That is up from 2.2 million in 2018, of which CLMV accounted for 10 per cent of all passengers it served. The 2018 CLMV figure was up 12 per cent from 2017. The Chiang Mai-Da Nang flight can now be booked at a promotional fare starting at Bt1,090 one-way from yesterday until March 10 at airasia.com and via all ticketing channels for travel from April 12 to October 26. According to Vietnam’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, 15.4 million foreign visitors travelled to that country in 2018, up 19.9 per cent from 12.9 million in 2017, with over 12 million from Asian countries. A total of 349,000 Thai people travelled to Vietnam last year, up 15.9 per cent from 300,000 in 2017. Vietnam was the sixth choice for Thai visitors, behind China, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan and Malaysia. “Our additional routes and flight frequencies to Vietnam and the entire CLMV not only create opportunities for growth, but also help reduce our dependence on any single source of travellers. The move will strengthen us in the long run,” Nattinee said. With the three new routes to Vietnam, Thai AirAsia flies to Vietnam from Bangkok (Don Mueang) and Chiang Mai, serving five destinations on seven routes: Bangkok-Hanoi (two flights a day), Bangkok-Ho Chi Minh (three flights a day), Bangkok-Da Nang (three flights a day), Bangkok-Can Tho (three flights a week), Bangkok-Nha Trang (four flights a week), Chiang Mai-Hanoi (one flight a day), and Chiang Mai-Da Nang (one flight a day). Thai AirAsia aims to fly 23.15 million passengers this year, up from 21.6 million last year. It will add four new aircraft to its existing 62 planes this year, taking the fleet strength to 66. Meanwhile, Asia Aviation (AAV), a major shareholder in Thai AirAsia, informed the Stock Exchange of Thailand yesterday on news reports of its interest to acquire Nok Air shares from the Jurangkool group. AAV clarified that it was currently considering whether such an investment would be appropriate, but there had not been any written agreements or actions taken that were binding on the company regarding the acquisition of Nok Air’s shares.
