Bangkok-Korat flights deemed unworkable

Bangkok-Korat flights deemed unworkable

The debut of Thailand's first high-speed train section, from Bangkok to Nakhon Ratchasima, will further reduce the chance of commercial air connectivity on the city-pair.

State-run Nakhon Ratchasima airport is still waiting to be served by commercial airlines.

Airport officials and airline executives are in consensus that there is insufficient demand for regular air services for the route in the first place.

The launch of the 260-kilometre railway over the next four years, based on Chinese technology, could be the final nail in the coffin for the theoretical Bangkok-Nakhon Ratchasima air link.

The relative proximity between the two cities makes road transport more convenient, less time-consuming and more economical, and thus not a good business proposition for offering commercial flights.

A ride on the 179-billion-baht high-speed train from Bangkok to Nakhon Ratchasima is expected to take 1 hour and 17 minutes and cost 535 baht one-way, according to Kobsak Pootrakool, vice-minister to the Prime Minister's Office.

Travelling the same distance on a provincial bus takes 4-5 hours, while the drive in a private car can be made in three hours under good traffic conditions.

Airlines will never beat the train or other road transport in any respect, thus explaining why airlines have long shunned the idea of regular flights between the two cities.

"Imagine you have to drive all the way up to either Don Mueang or Suvarnabhumi airport, then spend another hour for check-in and security checks before taking the flight, which could take 30 minutes," Mr Kobsak said.

Upon arrival at Nakhon Ratchasima airport, the wait is another 15 minutes or so for baggage, then local transport must be secured to get to the city centre 26km away.

The airfare expense on the route would be discouraging commuters, said a senior executive of a long-established Thai airline who asked not to be named, adding that it makes more sense to drive than to fly the relatively short distance.

Nakhon Ratchasima airport director Prawat Duangkanya agreed that operating commercial flights between Bangkok and Nakhon Ratchasima is not feasible for any airline.

But there are prospects for linking Nakhon Ratchasima airport to cities such as Chiang Mai, Surat Thani, Phuket and Hat Yai, as these routes make more sense, Mr Prawat told the Bangkok Post.

Budget carriers Nok Air and Thai AirAsia are studying those possibilities, though no-frills Thai Lion Air, which expressed interest about two years ago in operating at Nakhon Ratchasima, said recently that it was not ready to do so, according to Mr Prawat.

Airlines are clearly unenthusiastic about serving Nakhon Ratchasima until traffic demand is seen.

Though Nakhon Ratchasima, commonly known as Korat, is a big province and a gateway to the northeastern region, it is unclear who would want to fly there.

"The province is not clear about whether it offers leisure or business travel," the airline executive said.

Mr Prawat reckoned that Nakhon Ratchasima will need to create activities or attractions to spur air travel demand to the province.

On the authority's part, plans are afoot for the Nakhon Ratchasima airport to extend incentives such as landing- and parking-fee waivers to attract airlines to the airport.

These incentives are expected to be announced in the next few weeks, along with measures by other inactive airports operated by the Department of Airports, including Petchabun airport.

Nakhon Ratchasima airport has been struggling in vain to host scheduled airlines with regular services, rather than small charter flight operators with irregular or training flights.

The last time Nakhon Ratchasima had regular flights was during February-June 2015 by Kan Air, a Thai commuter airline.

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