Nok Air Plans to Fly High This Year: New Destinations Added, Capacity Raised
By Boonsong Kositchotethana, Bangkok Post, Thailand
Mar. 21–Nok Airlines, the budget carrier partly owned by Thai Airways International, will be expanding its operation more aggressively this year both in terms of capacity and network.
It will inaugurate its first overseas services, fly to more domestic destinations, enlarge its fleet and possibly expand an operating alliance with the local commuter carrier SGA Airlines to tap growing air travel demand.
Chief executive Patee Sarasin yesterday outlined the carrier’s strategy which would be instrumental in achieving the targeted passenger volume of nearly three million and a net profit of at least 130 million baht.
In June, the low-cost carrier will start offering daily flights from Bangkok to Bangalore, the Silicon Valley of India, which was delayed from last October due partly to time-slot constraints at the Bangalore airport.
Nok will compete with THAI, the only Thai airline that operates on the Bangkok-Bangalore route.
The budget airline also intends to expand its overseas network to cover Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Macao in the second half of this year.
Mr Patee along with members of Thai travel industry will hold talks today with Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung to seek approval for the Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City routes.
At home, it is eyeing to add Chiang Rai, Ubon Ratchathani and Surat Thani to its domestic network to substitute for services now being offered by THAI.
Established in July 2004, Nok Air currently operates flights from Bangkok to eight cities: Chiang Mai, Udon Thani, Hat Yai, Phuket, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Trang, Loei and Krabi.
In addition, Nok Air offers three inter-provincial routes: Chiang Mai-Udon Thani, Chiang Mai-Mae Hong Son, and Udon Thani.
Mr Patee said Nok Air intended to expand its fleet to 10 or 11 aircraft this year in order to provide the capacity needed for new routes. This year’s capacity would represent a 15 percent increase from last year.
The airline has leased two Boeing B737-400 jetliners from Malaysia Airlines, to add to a fleet of six B737-400s and one 66-seat ATR-72 propeller plane, sometime within this year.
Nok Air is in talks to add two more B737-400s to support its growth plan, according to Mr Patee.
Yesterday, the no-frills carrier announced an operating alliance with Bangkok-based SGA Airlines which will integrate its network, covering small remote airfields not served by larger airlines such as Pai and Phrae in the North, with Nok Air’s.
SGA Airlines’ two Cessna 208B Grand Caravan propeller planes, each capable of carrying 12 passengers for 1,600 km, were painted in Nok Air’s avian motif under a co-branding arrangement.
But both airlines will continue to operate independently with no share swap or cross-shareholding, though the only active relationship is commercial — for ticket reservations and distribution, as well as route connections.
This year, Nok Air expects to carry nearly three million passengers, up from slightly over two million last year.
Mr Patee said the airline hoped to become more profitable this year than last year when it earned 130 million baht, compared to 40 million baht in 2005.
Nok Air expects to achieve a minimum cabin factor of 75 percent this year. Last year it claimed an average of 79 percent.
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