Festive season helps THAI fill more seats
- By: BOONSONG KOSITCHOTETHANA
- Published: 29/12/2008 at 12:00 AM
- Newspaper section: Business
Bigger test will come after holidays
Air travel demand in the festive season has temporarily eased Thai Airways International's worries about filling aircraft seats by bringing a moderate-to-high cabin factor.
But the national carrier remains concerned about demand in the period after Christmas and New Year, given the double impact of worsening global economic turmoil and the crisis in travel confidence in Thailand sparked by anti-government protesters' occupation of Bangkok's two airports.
THAI's international traffic has slowly come back from a near shutdown of operations between Nov 26 and Dec 5, when Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang airports were seized by the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD).
The cabin factor on international routes during the holidays season is more than 60%, close to the 70% recorded in the same period last year, as the airline has recovered most bookings, mainly from long-haul travellers, suspended during the airport shutdowns.
"It [international passenger traffic] could be worse. It is much better than we feared," said a senior THAI executive.
Demand for domestic routes in the holidays has clearly bounced back from the airport shutdown aftermath with THAI's cabin factor of 75% being "just as good" as last year.
The recovery of the airline's international traffic has been helped by a campaign to boost image and confidence and by fare incentives launched in the international market.
Domestic passenger demand, especially during the holidays, is easier to revive as most travellers are Thais, who understand the political situation and want to spend holidays in the provinces as they traditionally have done.
THAI's " Follow Your Dreams" fare promotion, launched in October and specifically targeting outbound travellers, has helped it buck the market downturn.
But the true test will come after the festive season ends in the second week of January. A slump has been anticipated as the worst of the worldwide economic crisis begins to be felt.
THAI is preparing to counter the threatened traffic slowdown by following up in January with a further promotion campaign, known as "Loving Thailand", featuring reduced fares, according to the airline.
Net fares in the campaign, lasting from January to March 2009, are about 15% lower than the current promotion, or 30% below regular net fares.
For instance, a round-trip from Bangkok to Hong Kong will cost just 5,265 baht, excluding airport taxes and fuel surcharge. A Bangkok-Singapore flight would be 3,545 baht, while flights to Europe start from 24,730 baht.
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