Bangkok Airways believes the worst of the economic and travel decline is over and is gradually restoring some of the flights and routes it had cut in recent months.
The privately owned airline will increase flights on its Bangkok-Rangoon route to 11 per week by the end of this month, from seven currently, and will add Lampang to its domestic network next month.
It is also looking at resuming services to Ho Chi Minh City in the more immediate future and over the longer term restoring flights to Hiroshima, Xian and Guilin, according to president Puttipong Prasarttong-Osoth.
It suspended the four international flights in October because of weakened travel demand. Earlier it had cut services to Shenzhen, Fukuoka, Macau and Krabi.
“We have to remain cautious and be conservative in order to heal the wound,” said Mr Puttipong, noting the main challenge was for the airline to return its operation to the pre-crisis level.
He sees yields remaining depressed this year because fares had fallen 30-40% as the airline, like others, had to slash ticket prices to attract travellers.
Mr Puttipong also expects an improvement in the airline’s 2010 balance sheet as preliminary figures showed losses would not be as large as projected. He did not provide figures.
When 2009 results are reported, they will be enhanced by robust business in the last two months of the year with “extremely good” travel demand, especially among European holidaymakers who flocked to Samui, the resort island where the airline built its fortune.
Bangkok Airways had said earlier that it lost 1.05 billion baht in the 18 months to June 2009.
Asked whether the airline would resort to further cost reductions, he said, “There is nothing left for us to cut.”
A commercial pilot and the son of Bangkok Airways’ founder Prasert, Mr Puttipong said there would be a freeze in its fleet, now consisting of two A320s, six A319 and eight ATR-72 propellers, at least until 2011, when more aircraft may be needed if traffic demand improves.
Bangkok Airways remains on course to take delivery of the four new-generation A350-800 XWBs from Airbus - two in 2015 and two in 2016.
The wide-body jets were originally planned to help the airline to launch its first long-haul flights to Europe, but Mr Puttipong said they could also be used for medium-haul operations.
Bron: Bangkok Post
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