Aviation

SUVARNABHUMI AIRPORT
An efficient Suvarnabhumi Airport vitalto support tourism growth

Suvarnabhumi Airport's first year was a bumpy ride.

Its issues have been well documented; from runway construction faults, to issues with retail vendors in the terminal, signage and ongoing management turmoil.

As a gateway tothe Kingdom, and amonument to "firstimpressions" ofThailand, its secondyear looks set to bea lot smoother withoperational andmanagement issuesslowly but surelybeing overcome,although someairlines may arguethis.

The momentthe airport opened,its facilities werequestioned.

"We areaddressingproblems that haveoccurred since theopening, whetherthey be toilets,lighting, airconditioningandsignage, or illegalguides and taxis.

Although there arestill complaints after10 months, thenumbers have satisfactorily decreased,"Suvarnabhumi Airport general manager SeriratPrasutanond said in early August.

OPINION "I look at Suvarnabhumi as the front door to Thailand and it is not opening and closing efficiently at this point in time. If the country wants to become an aviation hub, the authorities must look for steps to increase capacity. airline operators cannot wait for the government, as they need to grow." Board of Airline Representatives president Brian Sinclair- Thompson.

The airport aims to turn this criticism intocompliments, with an eye on an Airport CouncilInternational (ACI) top-20 ranking in 2009.

Toachieve this, Suvarnabhumi will take the findingsof ACI's initial inspection, the results of which arebeing released in October, and use them as aguideline for making improvements.

Six workingteams have already been established to focus onkey areas to reach this goal.

Another study is determining how manymore flights and passengers need to be shifted to

industry.

the Don Mueang airport to alleviate congestion at Suvarnabhumi.

The report will also recommend when the 48 billion baht second-phase development, including construction of a midfield terminal, should start.

Many speculate that the groundbreaking will take place in 2008 with completion by 2011.

In its first 11 months, Suvarnabhumi Airport served 35 million passengers, and Airports of Thailand (AOT) estimates the annual figure to reach 39 million.

AVIATION ISSUES
Fees and capacity issues irk international airlines

Though the opening of Suvarnabhumi Airport was welcomed by all, a shift in its policies has piqued several airlines.

In July, Board of Airline Representatives (BAR) president Brian Sinclair- Thompson turned up the heat in a debate with Airports of Thailand (AOT) over a 15% jump in landing and parking fees along with limited capacity.

AOT claimed that even with the fee hike, Suvarnabhumi charges less than most other regional airports, but the airlines point to ground service, aerobridge, air-conditioning and other fees imposed by the new airport.

BAR and the International Air Transport Association (IATA) argue that the total turnaround costs are among the highest in the Asia Pacific.

"It is more meaningful to compare Bangkok with Kuala Lumpur and Singapore as these three airports compete for similar traffic, and have similar unit costs," said IATA spokesman Mr Albert Tjoeng.

"The turnaround cost at Bangkok is the most expensive.

" Airlines are also concerned over limited capacity at Suvarnabhumi and the switch of domestic flights to Don Mueang caused by the delay in constructing the midfield terminal.

Mr Sinclair-Thompson said more airlines could join Swiss Air Lines and Lufthansa in decreasing their frequencies, and some might downsize or even withdraw their Thai operations and head to other countries.

"China, India and Vietnam are the places airlines want to go due to greater capacity," he said.

He added that Thailand faced losing its aviation competitiveness because of these factors.

"I look at Suvarnabhumi as the front door to Thailand and it is not opening and closing efficiently at this point in time," he said.

"If the country wants to become an aviation hub, the authorities must look for steps to increase capacity… airline operators cannot wait for the government, as they need to grow."

THAI AIRWAYS DEVELOPMENTS
THAI plans strategic network and aircraft expansion

Thai Airways International (THAI) had been looking forward to a robust 2007, but many route expansion plans to support growth have been indefinitely put into a holding pattern.

This year got off to a good start, as the nation's flagship carrier cut a deal with Airbus to purchase eight A330s at a 10% discount in exchange for not cancelling its A380 order, which was delayed from 2008 until 2011.

THAI had been targeting the next-generation super jumbos at long-range routes, and was considering a variety of new destinations.

Amritsar, Amsterdam, Berlin, Goa, Manchester, Sapporo, Sendai and Wuhan were all on the board, but the A330 order, slated for delivery in late 2008, will most likely replace THAI's aging A300s.

Former THAI executive vice-president – commercial, Wallop Bhukkanasut said one possibility for continuing the route expansion plan would be to delay the phasing-out of the existing A300-600s and launch the Indian cities first with these aircraft, as they had the shortest flight time.

Plans to increase the frequencies of direct Bangkok flights to Los Angeles and New York from five to seven days on the summer schedule went ahead as planned.

Capacity was also expanded to Johannesburg and Australian cities.

LOW-COST CARRIER BOOM
Budget airlines battle for domestic dominance

Thailand's three low-cost carriers strengthened their domestic networks throughout 2007 with new routes and added frequencies, mostly to southern destinations.

Nok Air, which is embroiled in an ownership battle with mother company Thai Airways International, started domestic services between Hat Yai and Phuket on 15 May.

One-Two-Go had previously announced plans to serve the route, but bowed out in favour of Nok.

Niche routes appearing on Nok's schedule, and operated by Siam General Aviation, include three daily Bangkok-Hua Hin flights and one daily flight between Chiang Mai and Pai.

One-Two-Go announced it was eyeing ASEAN, South Asia and even European routes.

On the home front, the budget carrier began serving Nakhon Si Thammarat in May with 12 weekly flights, and could bump that number up to 21.

One-Two-Go also added an extra flight to its daily Bangkok-Surat Thani service, and upped its frequencies to Phuket, Chiang Rai and Hat Yai.

Thai AirAsia increased daily frequencies on its Bangkok-Chiang Rai route to four flights, Chiang Mai to five and Phuket to six, and, on 1 August, it added flights to Khon Kaen and Nakhon Si Thammarat.

With the new Airbus A320s it will begin receiving in October, Thai AirAsia plans to start covering southern China, beginning with service to Kunming later this year and possibly adding Chengdu, Chongqing, Guangzhou and Hainan in 2008.

The airline already flies to Shenzen and Xiamen as well as Macau.

BANGKOK AIRWAYS
Boutique carrier boosts route network

Bangkok Airways continued bolstering its position as a leisure carrier throughout 2007, building on its network and adding to its mid-range fleet to carry it into next year and beyond.

In March, the carrier – which labels itself as a "boutique airline" – started operating three-weekly flights between Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City on its 120-seat Boeing 717-200.

This was followed by the launch of a service to its second Lao destination, Pakse, in April with connecting flights to Siem Reap via sister airline, Siem Reap Airways.

The airline's Samui terminal was upgraded in early June under the concept of a resort airport, with plans to build a shopping street, new departure areas and an expanded restaurant area.

Later that month, Bangkok Airways increased its 15-aircraft fleet when it took delivery of the first of seven A319s, with more expected to stream in next year and into 2009.

The 144-seat aircraft, configured in a single class, began serving the Bangkok-Phuket and Bangkok-Siem Reap routes during the summer.

Bangkok Airways is set to debut a slew of new routes on its winter schedule, which kicks off on 29 October and features a cross-peninsular Krabi-Samui service.