Thai Airways International (THAI) is seeking more business partners to boost passenger numbers and add value for travellers.
Siriphong Mangkalee, director of the Asean sales department, said the carrier on Thursday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Hilton hotels.
The MoU enables both international and domestic travellers showing THAI boarding passes on all routes to enjoy a discount for dining and spas at Hilton hotels in Thailand, including Hilton Sukhumvit Bangkok, DoubleTree by Hilton Sukhumvit, Millennium Hilton Bangkok and Conrad Koh Samui. The offer is good through the end of this year.
Heidi Kleine-Moeller, general manager of Millennium Hilton Bangkok, said Thailand is one of the most important markets for Hilton.
"This partnership is the first step in our long-term cooperation to enhance the tourism experience for both business and leisure groups," she said.
Mr Siriphong said THAI's performance in Asean routes remains healthy with support from European inbound to Asean countries. In the past six months, average load factor in the Asean region was 70-80%. Singapore was tops with a factor of 85%.
Mr Siriphong expects growth in Asean to reach 2-3% this year, even in the light of fierce competition among airlines, especially from low-cost carriers.
Visitors from Asean countries rose by 5.4% in the first six months of this year to 5.04 million, according to the Tourism and Sports Ministry.
To promote Asean routes, THAI has teamed up with the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau to run the Asean MaxiMICE campaign offering special airfares and services to facilitate Mice travellers from Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines.
Extending the campaign to cover all countries in Asia is under discussion, Mr Siriphong said.
THAI and sister airline THAI Smile have also joined the Tourism Authority of Thailand for the Give Me Five campaign, offering a free five kilogrammes of baggage weight for outbound flights to passengers in Asean and India who shop in Thailand.
