Thai Vietjet sticks to domestic tactics

Thai Vietjet sticks to domestic tactics

Thai Vietjet Air will fly only seven of 11 jets in its fleet this year.
Thai Vietjet Air will fly only seven of 11 jets in its fleet this year.

Thai Vietjet hopes to spur the domestic market by adding five new domestic routes in the second half of the year, but is halting fleet expansion this year because of uncertainty from the outbreak.

Nguyen Thi Thuy Binh, Thai Vietjet chairwoman, said while the airline is waiting to resume international flights once the government announces the next open stage for inbound and outbound travellers in the wake of the pandemic, it has to streamline fleet operations by flying just seven jets this year.

The airline has a total fleet of 11 jets, made up of Airbus A320 and Airbus A321 models.

While Thai Vietjet services only domestic routes, she said the number of passengers in July increased about 10% compared with the last two weeks in June.

"A growth trend is possible in July, thanks to government support to stimulate domestic tourism," said Ms Binh.

The airline resumed all seven domestic routes, from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Krabi and Udon Thani, as well as flights from Phuket and Udon Thani to Chiang Rai, totalling 336 flights per week.

The five new routes Thai Vietjet plans to introduce are flights from Bangkok to Hat Yai, Khon Kaen, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Ubon Ratchathani and Surat Thani.

With the industry hit hard by the pandemic, Thai Vietjet is one of several local airlines requesting long-overdue soft loans from the government.

She said all possible loans from the government and shareholders, as well as support of credit terms from partners, is critical to keep the airline aloft amid the pandemic.

"Vietjet, the parent firm in Vietnam, generally supports us and shares valuable operational experience and efficient cost management practice," Ms Binh said.

"Other than that we have to try and survive by ourselves."

She said the airline is trying to cooperate with the Tourism Authority of Thailand and other authorities to prepare a plan to serve inbound travellers returning to the country.

In May, Thai Vietjet carried more than 20,000 passengers and the airline aims to have 3 million passengers this year.

Puttipong Prasarttong-Osoth, president of Bangkok Airways, said the airline has resumed operations on some routes such as Bangkok-Samui, Bangkok-Phuket and Samui-Phuket.

There are plans to reopen and add more frequencies to domestic routes with growing demand in the second half this year, although he wants to monitor the situation.

Mr Puttipong said the airline has implemented cost reduction strategies in terms of employees and flights.

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