Low-cost airlines expands to regional markets

BANGKOK, July 25 (TNA) - Budget airlines focus on maintaining their business bases, while further expanding their markets by opening new routes in the region. Atsawin Yangkiratiwon, Chief Executive Office (CEO) of Thai Lion Air, told journalists of the prospect and trend on July 24, noting that budget carriers, including his airliner, are now highly competitive and they have, thus, maintained low fares with appropriate quality and services to attract air travellers. Atsawin explained although fuel prices have dropped, causing airlines and buses to cut their fares, it will not affect no-frills airlines, which are expected to bounce back to gain profits this year. Atsawin said Thai Lion Air plans to increase its aircraft fleet to 24 by the end of this year and will add more six airplanes into its fleet in 2017, projecting that each flight should have passengers about 90 per cent of its cabin factor. The Thai Lion Air CEO pointed out that destinations in the ASEAN Community (AC) remain high potential and Thai Lion Air has just opened a new route from Bangkok to Yangon and vice versa late last week with two fights daily. According to the Thai Lion Air CEO, up to 20,000-30,000 Myanmar people, most of whom are business persons, travel to Thailand daily, while Thai people like to visit Myanmar on their business trips or for their merit makings and holidays, with up to about 85 per cent of them expected to go to Yangon. The Thai Lion Air CEO acknowledged that his budget airliner also plans to open more routes to Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi Cities by October 2016. (TNA)