Thai AirAsia (TAA) is breaking into Bangkok Airways' long-held monopoly on Bangkok-Maldives air services, knocking down the high fare barrier in the process.
TAA, Thailand's largest low-cost carrier, is to launch a daily non-stop service on Aug 11 with an introductory fare that is a fraction of what is charged by Bangkok Airways.
TAA's introductory one-way fare inclusive of taxes and fees, will be 1,990 baht, compared with the reduced 20,400 baht round-trip fare quoted by Bangkok Airways yesterday.
Bangkok Airways' normal round-trip goes for around 33,000 baht for flights that take slightly over four hours each way.
TAA is set to change the face of air travel to the Maldives, which has long been regarded as a highly expensive and luxurious destination.
TAA's arrival in the Maldives appears to support the island nation's move to open up an economy travel segment to boost its tourism.
"The Maldives is indeed a luxurious brand, but it is for all, not only for ultra high-end travellers," said Haris Mohamed, acting managing director of Maldives Marketing and PR Corporation, a Maldives state-owned firm whose role is akin to the national tourism board.
Speaking to the Bangkok Post at TAA's Maldives service launch in Bangkok yesterday, Mr Mohamed said the arrival of TAA is welcome as it would help create a competitive environment as well offer more travel options to the Maldives.
Santisuk Klongchaiya, TAA's commercial director, was confident the carrier's latest international route would show early success with a high load factor of 85% because of the Maldive's reputation as a world-class destination.
TAA has successfully secured time slots for arrival and departure at Male airport that are much sought after by other airlines because it suits travellers' preference.
The time slots -- arriving in Male at 11.40m and departing at 12.30pm -- granted to TAA are broadly similar to Bangkok Airways, which has been the sole operator on this route for more than a decade.
TAA will use 180-seat Airbus A320 single-aisle jets and only offer economy class for the route, while Bangkok Airways deploys A319s with 12 seats for business class passengers and 108 for economy.
The provision of attractive time slots at the congested Male airport to TAA reflects the Maldives' belief that the Thai budget airline would boost international arrivals to the republic.
Mr Mohamed said TAA would not only bring more Thai tourists to the Maldives but also others from Southeast Asia.
Last year, Maldives attracted 1.3 million foreign visitors with about 16,000 from Thailand. This year, the country expects to ramp up that number to 1.5 million with TAA being instrumental in achieving that target, Mr Mohamed said.
Arrival growth has been restricted by limited capacity at Male airport, which is building a second runway which has caused part of the existing airport facility to close.
TAA will become only the third low-cost carrier flying to the Maldives. The others are Malaysia AirAsia flying from Kuala Lumpur and Tigerair from Singapore.