Bangkok Airways is betting on increased air travel demand in Southeast Asia as Thailand is gearing up to welcome a record 40 million tourists in 2025. The news comes as the Thai "boutique" airline plans its strategic route optimization for the year-end travel season and the upcoming year.
Resuming pre-pandemic routes
The Asia-Pacific region is currently leading global growth in international air travel, with an average increase of 19.7%, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
Photo: Eakwiphan Smitabhindhu | Shutterstock
In light of this, Bangkok Airways will boost flight frequencies and deploy additional aircraft on high-potential short-haul regional routes to meet rising demand during the year-end travel season, which will continue into the first quarter of 2025. The Suvarnabhumi-based carrier already has data indicating a 12% growth in ticket reservations for the final months of 2024 through the first half of 2025 compared to the same period last year.
Thailand, a popular holiday destination, experiences seasonality, which significantly influences tourism. The highest influx of travelers typically occurs between November and March.
Mr Puttipong Prasarttong-Osoth, President of Bangkok Airways, commented on the growth trends, highlighting the expected positive impact on Thailand's tourism sector, which aligns with the regional aviation industry growth.
"Looking ahead, the company is assessing other high-potential routes and plans to gradually resume operations on pre-COVID routes. Notably, bookings on Samui routes have seen the highest growth at 25%."
The regional carrier aims to resume a pre-pandemic route with one daily flight between Thailand's popular island of Samui (USM) and Kuala Lumpur (KUL) in Malaysia in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Photo: Great Circle Mapper
The carrier also resumed flights to Krabi by adding a corridor connecting Thailand's north and south, namely Chiang Mai International Airport (CNX) and Krabi International Airport (KBV). The route operates three times per week.
Meeting demand through wet leasing
Bangkok Airways operates a relatively small but diverse fleet consisting of 23 aircraft, including 11 Airbus A319s, 10 ATR 72-600 turboprops, and two Airbus A320 jets, according to ch-aviation data.
However, to meet the increasing demand for regional air travel, the airline has secured two Airbus aircraft on a wet lease basis. According to ch-aviation, the airline currently operates one A320 and one A319 on an ACMI basis, leased from Whitney Leasing and Deucalion Aviation, respectively. These aircraft have already commenced operations and will fly through April 2025.
Photo: Sudpoth Sirirattanasakul | Shutterstock
Thailand has a relatively robust regional aviation market. In addition to Bangkok Airways, Thai AirAsia , Nok Air, the national carrier Thai Airways , Thai Vietjet Air, and Thai Lion Air all operate in the regional market and compete on select routes.
It is worth noting that Bangkok Airways focuses on regional service (even though it operates some international routes), explicitly catering to business and premium travelers. The carrier is often dubbed as "Asia's boutique airline." The airline has its own airport lounges located at its primary base at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi, Phuket Airport, and Chiang Mai Airport. Looking ahead, the airline aims to strengthen its position as the leading regional airline, according to Mr. Puttipong.
"Bangkok Airways remains steadfast in its commitment to reinforcing its position as the best regional airline in the world and Asia. One of the key initiatives for 2025 is the honour of hosting the 69th AAPA Assembly of Presidents 2025, the annual gathering of the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines."
A new codeshare with British Airways
British Airways has recently resumed its operations to Bangkok after a four-year hiatus. Now, flights take off from London Gatwick (LGW) rather than London Heathrow (LHR), three times per week. The frequencies will increase to five times weekly between January and February 2025 - and then down to four times per week in March 2025.
Notably, the much-anticipated return of British Airways flights to Bangkok Suvarnabhumi International Airport (BKK) has an added bonus through an expanded codeshare deal with Bangkok Airways.
Related British Airways Returns To Bangkok With Expanded Bangkok Airways Codeshare
The much-anticipated return of BA flights to Bangkok has an added bonus through an expanded codeshare deal with Bangkok Airways.
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