Adapted from Streats -
Thursday, February 5, 2004 Edition.
$50 to
Bangkok
Budget air travel will arrive in Singapore in less than a
fortnight.
Thai AirAsia has received the go-ahead from Singapore authorities
to start daily flights between Bangkok and Singapore from Feb
16.
The airline, a joint venture of Malaysia's AirAsia and Thailand's
Shin Corp, will fly to Changi Airport.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) said in an
e-mailed response to Streats that it received on Tuesday the
relevant documentation from Thai AirAsia showing that it has been
designated under the bilateral air services agreement.
There is now no regulatory hurdle to Thai AirAsia starting
operations.
"Thai AirAsia should be able to start its services from Bangkok to
Singapore, as per its plans," CAAS said yesterday.
AirAsia director of flight operations Chin Nyok San told Streats
yesterday that Thai AirAsia will launch its Bangkok-Singapore
service on Feb 16, with the flight scheduled to arrive in Singapore
at 10.30 am and depart for Bangkok half an hour later.
He said: "The decision is to start with one flight a day. There has
not been a decision yet on the evening flight."
Captain Chin said that Thai AirAsia has rights to stage two return
flights a day between Bangkok and Singapore.
AirAsia chief executive Tony Fernandes, who was in Laos yesterday
for a tourism conference, could not be reached for comment.
But he is expected to hold a press conference in Singapore tomorrow
to announce details of the Bangkok-Singapore service.
AirAsia's senior executives declined to say how much a one-way
ticket will cost.
But Mr Fernandes told reporters last month that he expected to sell
Bangkok-Singapore flights from $50 upwards, excluding taxes.
AirAsia operates a ladder-type pricing system where tickets are
sold in batches at different price points according to demand. It
says its most expensive ticket is still 20 to 30 percent cheaper
than other airlines operating on the same route.
A check with a travel agent showed that a return ticket to Bangkok
on Thai Airways costs $340, Cathay Pacific charges $260, Singapore
Airlines $350 and Garuda Indonesia $245. All prices before
taxes.
Passengers departing Changi Airport have to pay $21 in taxes and
charges.
Thai AirAsia will utilise aerobridges at Changi Airport, so
passengers will not need to walk on the tarmac to board their
flights.
Added Captain Chin: "Using aerobridges will not compromise our
turnaround time. At most it will add another 5 minutes."
LOw cost carriers such as AirAsia rely on short turnaround times to
squeeze in more flights a day unlike conventional premium
airlines.
Besides benefitting air travellers, Thai AirAsia's impending air
service also puts more pressure on Valuair and Tiger Airways, the
two Singapore-based budget airlines slated to start operations
later this year.
AirAsia has previously tried to lure Singapore residents to make
the two-hour journey to Johor's Senai Airport to take its budget
flights. For instance, it charges upwards of RM99.99 (S$44.58 ) for
a one-way ticket to Bangkok out of Senai.
Changi Airport is also served by 2 other budget airlines flying to
Jakarta and Medan. They are operated by LionAir and Jatayu
Airlines. LionAir plans to start operations to Phnom Penh soon.
