Thai Vietjet Ends Direct Flights from Phuket to Chiang Rai

[webfact]

 

In a sudden move, Thai Vietjet has ceased its direct flights between the northern city of Chiang Rai and the popular Andaman coastal destination, Phuket. The budget airline has not provided any explanation for the abrupt cancellation.

 

The change surfaced in the May flight timetable shared by Mae Fah Luang Chiang Rai International Airport and posted on social media. The last flight reportedly took place on May 12, according to the schedule and flight tracking service FlightAware, which indicated that Thai Vietjet's final flight, VJ400, landed in Chiang Rai at 10:25 am.

 

The direct service, which started in November 2023, was operated using a 180-seat Airbus A320. Thai Vietjet offered four flights a week on this route—Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday—with round-trip fares averaging around $140. 

 

Flight VJ400’s typical schedule had it leaving Phuket at 8:37 am, arriving in Chiang Rai at 10:25 am, and returning from Chiang Rai at 10:55 am to land back in Phuket by 1:05 pm.

 

 

Chiang Rai Airport has struggled since losing international status during the Covid-19 pandemic, with all international flights stopping indefinitely. Before the pandemic, the airport was serviced by several Chinese airlines and had seasonal flights to Singapore with Thai AirAsia, but efforts to restore international connectivity have faced difficulties.

 

The airport's revival efforts are further hampered by ongoing air quality issues, making the region less attractive to airlines. Consequently, flights primarily focus on domestic destinations, with the most competitive fares and services being routes to Bangkok offered by five airlines: Vietjet, Thai Lion, Thai Airways International, Nok Air, and AirAsia.

 

The end of Thai Vietjet's direct Phuket-Chiang Rai service has been attributed to competition from cheaper travel options via Chiang Mai. Tourists often fly to Chiang Mai and then take a bus to Chiang Rai, a cost-effective choice, especially for families.

 

With this latest route suspension, Chiang Rai Airport's flight offerings remain limited compared to the broader and more competitively priced options available from Chiang Mai.

 

File photo: Thai Vietjet Air, HS-VKA, Airbus A320-214. Credit: Wikimedia

 

-- 2024-05-15

 

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[JoseThailand]

Terrible news. I flew this exact route on a weekly basis

[ChaiyaTH]

No wonder, there is barely anyone in Chiang Rai in terms of tourists. Flight routes to the north are getting worse and worse though, except if it is to Bangok. I used to be able and fly almost 2 times daily from Chiang Mai to Surat thani as well. Now it's often only 1 flight which also causes you to have to stay one night in surat thani instead of making it to the islands the same day. I am pretty sure this is all by design, they think they can force tourists to do what they want.

[hotchilli]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

The direct service, which started in November 2023, was operated using a 180-seat Airbus A320. Thai Vietjet offered four flights a week on this route—Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday—with round-trip fares averaging around $140.

Maybe that's your answer... price?

[impulse]

2 hours ago, hotchilli said:

Maybe that's your answer... price?

 

Too low or too high?  I can see where there would be limited demand at $140 per R/T if you exclude tourists, especially foreign tourists.  Most locals would take the train or a bus and lose the day.

 

But a 180 seat aircraft 80% full of $70 per leg passengers is barely $10K USD.  And from that, they have to pay fuel, pilots and flight cutie salaries, airport fees, depreciation, maintenance, ground crew, and on and on.  I can't even imagine putting a $30 million (Guessing...) asset into the air for $10K a throw.  But I know it's done all over.

I suspect the route is one of those that's going to be hard to operate profitably unless tourism comes back screaming, which means cutting the bad (h)air days in CR.

 

Edited May 15 by impulse

[hotchilli]

50 minutes ago, impulse said:

 

Too low or too high?  I can see where there would be limited demand at $140 per R/T if you exclude tourists, especially foreign tourists.  Most locals would take the train or a bus and lose the day.

 

But a 180 seat aircraft 80% full of $70 per leg passengers is barely $10K USD.  And from that, they have to pay fuel, pilots and flight cutie salaries, airport fees, depreciation, maintenance, ground crew, and on and on.  I can't even imagine putting a $30 million (Guessing...) asset into the air for $10K a throw.  But I know it's done all over.

I suspect the route is one of those that's going to be hard to operate profitably unless tourism comes back screaming, which means cutting the bad (h)air days in CR.

 

Exactly why they pulled the plug... the price to make a profit is not one that many tourists are willing to pay, certainly locals would use alternative transport such as an overnight tour bus, yes longer but much more affordable especially if traveling as a family etc.

A business person or on a strict time limit might bear the cost .