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Baht/$ 33.64/67
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AVIATION
BOONSONG KOSITCHOTETHANA
The slowing global economy caused by high oil prices is stalling Bangkok Airways' plan to open new international routes from its second hub on Koh Samui.
The country's largest privately owned carrier now plans to wait and see how the oil prices behave in the rest of this year before deciding on new routes.
Jet fuel prices have topped $170 a barrel, adding significant cost pressure on airlines, with fuel bills accounting for 40% of total operating costs for many full-service airlines such as Bangkok Airways, against 30% normally, and as much as 70% for budget carriers.
''Within this year, we should have a fairer idea on the trend of fuel prices and make decisions [on new routes] accordingly,'' said Bangkok Airways vice-president Komkrich Sriyabhandha.
Tha airline had been planning to offer scheduled flights from Samui to four cities _ Kuala Lumpur, Bali, Macau and Shanghai. It also intended to link Samui with Trat and Hua Hin, though there was no timeline for the launch.
Opening new routes is part of the airline's plan to make Samui a fully fledged second international air hub after Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport in the next one or two years.
The hub plan also follows the mandate of the SET-listed Samui Airport Property Fund (SPF), which owns the airport that was built by Bangkok Airways.
Bangkok Airways operates two regional routes out of the southern resort island _ Hong Kong and Singapore _ on which it operates daily services, using Airbus 319 jetliner. It also operates 20 flights day between Samui and Bangkok.
Mr Komkrich said passenger traffic through Samui this year was expected to be stagnant at last year's level of 1.35 million due to sluggish tourist flows.
However, the carrier intends to ramp up its services through Samui to 34 flights a day next month to meet the surge in traffic demand during the island's peak season _ August and September.
Its plan to increase traffic through Samui is partly hampered by environmental restrictions on the number of flights and operating hours, with a total of 36 flights per day currently allowed.
Bangkok Airways is eager to make Samui its second base to support the new 500-million-baht passenger terminal that was completed early last year.
Following the expansion, the airport is capable of handling six million passengers a year, four times larger than previously.
SPF units closed yesterday on the SET at 8.40 baht, down 10 satang, in trade worth 2.21 million baht.
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