Phuket Air wants more UK visas issued

Published on Jul 17, 2004

Phuket Air plans to ask the British Embassy to approve more visas to meet demand for its flights to London.

The airline recently started offering round-trip tickets to London for Bt19,999, and a tour package priced at Bt39,999. The flights have been popular and almost full. The promotion started this month and lasts through to September, which is the high tourist season in the UK.

The British Embassy in Bangkok, citing unprecedented demand for visas, on July 5 encouraged applicants to submit applications by mail, rather than queuing up outside the embassy. An Embassy officer said more than 200 applicants show up at the visa section everyday, but it could only process 80 applications per day.

Group captain Pattana Tareekes, vice president of the airline, said the airline expected the embassy’s new visa policy to have repercussions on its business, but the picture would not be clear for a couple of months.

“Right now, we have seen no impact from this. But we’ll see in the near future,” Pattana said.

Besides tourists, many Thai students fly to the UK during the summer for short courses.

Phuket Air has successfully attracted passengers with its cheap tickets. Its 466-seat Boeing 747s fly Bangkok to London three times a week.

“Since we started operating this route, we have reached the target of 300 customers a day and the load factor is over 60 per cent,” Pattana said. The promotion was launched when Phuket Air made London its third international destination after Chittagong and Dubai.

The airline’s fare to London is among the lowest in Thailand. The current promotion is discounted from the normal price of Bt24,610. Each ticket must be used after 30 days of issuance.

Manus Pipatananant, managing director of Rungsap Grand Tour Co Ltd said many Thai tourists are travelling to Europe due to low airfares.

Suchat Sritama

The Nation

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the changes may be due to the fact that large numbers of thais dont return home when their visa expires .

they vanish into the woodwork ...

and look for work ..

the changes may be due to the fact that large numbers of thais dont return home when their visa expires .

they vanish into the woodwork ...

and look for work ..

they vanish into the woodwork ...

and look for work ..

Surprise, surprise!

And what line of work do the majority seek?

the changes may be due to the fact that large numbers of thais dont return home when their visa expires .

they vanish into the woodwork ...

and look for work ..

they vanish into the woodwork ...

and look for work ..

Surprise, surprise!

And what line of work do the majority seek?

Unskilled, of course!

Things may have changed since employing people in the UK without the right to work became illegal, but what I've heard of over the years is:

1) Contract work through labour agencies

2) Working in Thai restaurants

I've also known of a Thai working illegally as a builder.

They might get more visa's issued if they could guarentee that the second half of the ticket would be used.