Thailand could receive 11 new or expanded international flight routes following discussions with airlines at an aviation conference in Bangkok. The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand said 87 of the 146 carriers attending the IATA Slot Conference expressed interest in operating services connected to the country. Proposed links include new flights involving Bangkok, Phuket and Chiang Mai, with destinations such as London, Copenhagen, Helsinki, Melbourne, Cebu, Shanghai and Hangzhou. Riyadh Air, Virgin Atlantic, SkyUp Nistru and AirBorneo were among the new carriers allocated slots for Thailand. Officials believe the additional connections could strengthen tourism, trade and investment while supporting Thailand’s ambition to become a larger regional aviation hub.

Interest does not equal financial viability of a route.

I want to see a Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai route.

45 minutes ago, JBChiangRai said:

I want to see a Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai route.

CNX-CEI is only 88 nm.

I doubt it would be viable for a jet service, maybe a turbo prop

1 minute ago, ozfarang said:

CNX-CEI is only 88 nm.

I doubt it would be viable for a jet service, maybe a turbo prop

Yes a turbo prop was my thought too.

The road journey by bus is over 3 hours and they depart every hour. I’m sure there would be demand.

5 minutes ago, JBChiangRai said:

Yes a turbo prop was my thought too.

The road journey by bus is over 3 hours and they depart every hour. I’m sure there would be demand.

We had an ATR42 flying some years ago, cheap and fast.

We now have Jetstar direct from Brisbane to Bkk. Jetstar suck,i wish Thai Air was back to doing direct flights the same route,they were very good.

8 minutes ago, JT25 said:

We now have Jetstar direct from Brisbane to Bkk. Jetstar suck,i wish Thai Air was back to doing direct flights the same route,they were very good.

Yes, and would be way more expensive than Jetstar just like the PER-BKK service is with Jetstar and Thai

1 hour ago, JBChiangRai said:

I want to see a Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai route.

they tried that and it failed right? I can think of lots of reasons why.

if you fly to CM to go shopping for whatever then you're going to need to rent a car or use taxi's which could get expensive and not as convenient anyways. Then the wait times at airports would add another 1+ hours to the trip which cuts down the time savings.

People who take the bus do it because they can't afford a car which means they can't afford a plane ticket probably either. If you can afford a car then do you really want to go through the hassle of taxis/car rentals just to save a couple hours driving? Drive takes ~3.5 hours or so and a flight is 1 hour in the airport + 30 minute flight time? + 30 minutes to rent a car.

I'm assuming flying is more expensive than driving but if it's not that's the only benefit I could see.

So yeah, that flight route sounds like a really dumb idea except for tourists. Not surprised it failed. Maybe it could survive during the absolute peak tourist season but I wouldn't take that flight myself when I could just drive.

1 hour ago, NorthernRyland said:

they tried that and it failed right? I can think of lots of reasons why.

if you fly to CM to go shopping for whatever then you're going to need to rent a car or use taxi's which could get expensive and not as convenient anyways. Then the wait times at airports would add another 1+ hours to the trip which cuts down the time savings.

People who take the bus do it because they can't afford a car which means they can't afford a plane ticket probably either. If you can afford a car then do you really want to go through the hassle of taxis/car rentals just to save a couple hours driving? Drive takes ~3.5 hours or so and a flight is 1 hour in the airport + 30 minute flight time? + 30 minutes to rent a car.

I'm assuming flying is more expensive than driving but if it's not that's the only benefit I could see.

So yeah, that flight route sounds like a really dumb idea except for tourists. Not surprised it failed. Maybe it could survive during the absolute peak tourist season but I wouldn't take that flight myself when I could just drive.

I don’t think people would hire a car, they would take a grab.

I would use it for sure, I find the drive very stressful.