NokScoot is banking on China to get its growth plan, stalled by Thailand's aviation safety fiasco, back on track.
The long-haul low-cost carrier has up to six Chinese cities on its radar screen, Patee Sarasin, a member of NokScoot's board, told the Bangkok Post.
He did not name the cities that NokScoot would serve from its Bangkok base at Don Mueang airport but indicated they would be second-tier destinations not served by rival AirAsia Group airlines.
His revelation came as NokScoot on Monday commenced its fourth weekly scheduled flight from Bangkok to Nanjing, the capital of the eastern province of Jiangsu and its first destination in China.
NokScoot, a joint venture between budget carrier Nok Air and Singapore Airlines' no-frills Scoot, also recently began to operate charter services from the southern resort provinces of Krabi and Phuket to Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province.
China appears as a saviour for the struggling NokScoot, whose attempt to take to the skies was beset by restrictions imposed by Japan and South Korea, its main focus.
NokScoot's plans for charter and scheduled flights to Japan and South Korea have largely been aborted after a ban by civil aviation authorities in those two countries.
The Japan Civil Aviation Bureau and the Korea Office of Civil Aviation began restricting new flights by Thai carriers in late March.
Their actions came after the UN's International Civil Aviation Organization expressed "significant safety concerns" (SSCs) over Thailand's aviation safety standards following an earlier audit by the Civil Aviation Department.
Mr Patee said China had no SSC issue with NokScoot or Nok Air, adding: "They have not questioned us."
NokScoot's China focus comes as Tokyo and Seoul have shown no signs of easing restrictions on Thai-registered airlines such as NokScoot. Until now, NokScoot's three Boeing 777-200 wide-body jets, sourced from Scoot, have been underused.
There are only two routes operated by NokScoot on a scheduled basis with limited frequencies, to Singapore and Nanjing, launched in May and June, respectively.