Bangkok Airways Announces Direction And Strategy For 2011

[webfact]

PRESS RELEASE

Bangkok Airways announces direction and strategy for 2011

Paralleling the announcement of its new frontier in Mumbai and Dhaka

Bangkok 16 February 2011 – Puttipong Prasarttong-Osoth, Bangkok Airways’ President joined by M.L. Nandhika Varavarn Vice President, Corporate Communications and Ms. Ariya Prasarttong-Osoth, Vice President, Sales announced the airline’s direction and strategy for 2011 at a press conference today at President Room 1-2, Intercontinental Hotel.

Puttipong Prasarttong-Osoth said, “The country’s performance in tourism is now on the right track and is improving to where we should see around 5-8% in terms of economic growth. Bangkok Airways is expecting a productive year with some 27% business expansion with a total revenue of 10.5 billion baht plus a 19% increase over the 2.6 million passengers achieved in 2010. This reflects Thailand position as Asia’s most popular destination. We will also benefit from the growth of the neighbouring countries since Thailand is widely used by tourists a gateway and stopover for other SEA countries. Serving ‘new exotic routes’ exemplified by the opening of Bangkok-Mumbai on 02 March and Bangkok-Dhaka on 27 March is part of our 2011 expansion strategy. We are confident of achieving a 60% overall load factor for both routes. Mumbai and Dhaka are large-financial centres with some 700,000 Indian nationals flying to Thailand in 2010 and over 60,000 passengers from Dhaka. A 15-20% increase on these numbers is expected this year. The fare will be competitive and services in ‘Asia’s boutique Airline’ style will be as provided on all Bangkok Airways routes. Bangkok Airways will provide 6 flights/week by Airbus A319 to Mumbai with 12 business class seats and 108 economy seats and 7 flights/week to Dhaka by Airbus A320 with 162 economy seats.

“A new Airbus A319 or A320 will be delivered at the end of the year to boost flight frequency. The overall flight frequency in 2011 will be increased to 20%. The additional Trat-Samui-Phuket route introduced in 2010 for instance, was very successful, generating a 30% increase in passengers. Last year, extra flights were also added on Bangkok-Phuket (from 5 to 6 flights/day), Bangkok-Phnom Penh (from 3 to 4 flights/day), and Bangkok-Yangon (from 1 to 2 flights/day). Currently, we plan to add more flights for high-demand routes starting with Bangkok-Chiang Mai from 4 to 5 flights/day,” added Puttipong.

At present, Bangkok Airways has codeshare agreements with Thai Airways International, EVA Air, Etihad Airways, Air Berlin, Air France and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. The company is currently in talks with Finnair, Malaysian Airlines and King Fisher Airlines to cooperate with more codeshare partners to provide additional convenience for foreign travellers and to work with each partner in the promotion of Thailand tourism.

Ms. Ariya Prasarttong-Osoth, Vice President, Sales commented, “To celebrate the launch of the new routes we will offer a promotion for roundtrip airfare for Bangkok-Mumbai and Bangkok-Dhaka, both at a starting fare of 5,590 baht to travel within 31 March for Mumbai and 30 April for Dhaka. This year we will introduce more promotional fares and cooperate with new partners to launch promotional campaigns similar to those we launched with our partners last year like VISA card, KTC credit card and AIS which were very well-received. We have also redesigned our website www.bangkokair.com to provide a more user- friendly experience. The site is currently visited by some 16,000 users per day – a number which is steadily growing and which reflects our goal of achieving an increase of 35% on Internet sales alone this year or around 2.8 billion baht of total revenue. Bangkok Airways’ Facebook and Twitter sites are very active with real-time news and promotions, supporting our confidence in the power of social media in allowing us to keep connected with our customers. At present our Facebook page has some 30,000 members.

M.L. Nandhika Varavarn Vice President, Corporate Communications said, “The launch of Bangkok-Mumbai on 02 March is truly a historic move for Bangkok Airways as it is our first step in the Indian market. India has a long history and fascinating culture, especially Mumbai. The city is the heart of the Indian financial and entertainment industries, home of the Stock Exchange of India and Bollywood. Mumbai is also known as the symbol of India with important landmarks such as the ‘Gateway of India’ built to commemorate India’s Independence Day.

“The airline’s service development for 2011 will be consistent and continuous from our re-branding campaign launched last year especially for the Thai market to create better awareness and perception. This year, we will change the uniform of all frontline staff including flight attendants, ground staff and reservation staff to something more modern and individual. The new uniform is being designed exclusively by Moo-Polpat Asavaprapha, the brand master of ‘Asava’ with a budget of 15 million baht. We are also working with a top fusion restaurant and a top chef to create exclusive dishes for in-flight menus which will be launched around mid year. Plus, the second series of ‘Love at First Flight’ television commercial is in progress and will also be launched this year,” M.L. Nandhika added.

Bangkok Airways is also cooperating with government agencies such as the TAT, the Sport Authority of Thailand to launch a series of major annual sporting events including Queen’s Cup Samui Golf Tournament Asian Tour and Samui Island Marathon. Both events are held annually in Koh Samui Suratthani

--BANGKOK AIRWAYS 2011-2-22

[SantiSuk]

I would have thought that their strategy should be to build new airports in ASEAN (which they can then operate as bloated monopolies for their flights).

[smokie36]

"How can we make Samui a major international hub.....!"

[Ricardo]

Oh no, surely most people fly Bangkok Airways to Koh Samui, because they love the airline ? Just look at all the alternatives they might otherwise use !

On the other hand, using their planes overnight for longer (3-4 hour) sectors to India, or other regional sources of inbound-tourism (Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan ?), does make more sense than leaving their planes sat on-the-ground overnight. Nok-Air & Air-Asia might follow this example ! Thai Airways won't because making a profit remains unimportant to them !

Using their 'cash-cow', to support the slow growth of the rest of their network, does make sense for Bangkok Airways. But imagine the effect on the company, of a serious crash or a landslide/earthquake damaging the runway at Samui, could they survive without the profits made there, and is that profit being invested wisely in the rest of the business, somehow I don't think that question was posed to the management at this P.R. presentation.

[bkkjames]

Who wrote this release...

“A new Airbus A319 or A320 will be delivered at the end of the year to boost flight frequency. The overall flight frequency in 2011 will be increased to 20%. The additional Trat-Samui-Phuket route introduced in 2010 for instance, was very successful, generating a 30% increase in passengers. Last year, extra flights were also added on Bangkok-Phuket (from 5 to 6 flights/day), Bangkok-Phnom Penh (from 3 to 4 flights/day), and Bangkok-Yangon (from 1 to 2 flights/day). Currently, we plan to add more flights for high-demand routes starting with Bangkok-Chiang Mai from 4 to 5 flights/day,” added Puttipong.

Regarding the A319 or A320, are they going to leave it to the last minute - spur of the moment decision? Got out of bed and said, let's make it an A320 today - I feel lucky

The overall flight frequency in 2011 will be increased to 20%?

I gave up reading the rest.

[smokie36]

Oh no, surely most people fly Bangkok Airways to Koh Samui, because they love the airline ? Just look at all the alternatives they might otherwise use !

On the other hand, using their planes overnight for longer (3-4 hour) sectors to India, or other regional sources of inbound-tourism (Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan ?), does make more sense than leaving their planes sat on-the-ground overnight. Nok-Air & Air-Asia might follow this example ! Thai Airways won't because making a profit remains unimportant to them !

Using their 'cash-cow', to support the slow growth of the rest of their network, does make sense for Bangkok Airways. But imagine the effect on the company, of a serious crash or a landslide/earthquake damaging the runway at Samui, could they survive without the profits made there, and is that profit being invested wisely in the rest of the business, somehow I don't think that question was posed to the management at this P.R. presentation.

The cash cow is running out of milk mate....prices are now more than double comparable services....in fact one poster recently reported a standby fare of 6000 Baht economy one way.

We've had enough now.

[bkkjames]

Oh no, surely most people fly Bangkok Airways to Koh Samui, because they love the airline ? Just look at all the alternatives they might otherwise use !

On the other hand, using their planes overnight for longer (3-4 hour) sectors to India, or other regional sources of inbound-tourism (Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan ?), does make more sense than leaving their planes sat on-the-ground overnight. Nok-Air & Air-Asia might follow this example ! Thai Airways won't because making a profit remains unimportant to them !

Using their 'cash-cow', to support the slow growth of the rest of their network, does make sense for Bangkok Airways. But imagine the effect on the company, of a serious crash or a landslide/earthquake damaging the runway at Samui, could they survive without the profits made there, and is that profit being invested wisely in the rest of the business, somehow I don't think that question was posed to the management at this P.R. presentation.

The cash cow is running out of milk mate....prices are now more than double comparable services....in fact one poster recently reported a standby fare of 6000 Baht economy one way.

We've had enough now.

Smokes as long as they keep building hotels on that island there will be more than enough fools to dish out the dough on a constant basis....and you wonder why I have never been to Siem Riep - worse than Samui flight costs!

[Bobr]

I used to like their flight to Hiroshima, Japan, too bad it appears permanently discontinued. I cannot understand Bangkok Airways, their prices are just as high as the big full service airlines. Last time I flew to Singapore, they were something like 4 times as high as Asia Air, and just as much as Singapore and Thai Airways.

[spidermike007]

Oh no, surely most people fly Bangkok Airways to Koh Samui, because they love the airline ? Just look at all the alternatives they might otherwise use !

On the other hand, using their planes overnight for longer (3-4 hour) sectors to India, or other regional sources of inbound-tourism (Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan ?), does make more sense than leaving their planes sat on-the-ground overnight. Nok-Air & Air-Asia might follow this example ! Thai Airways won't because making a profit remains unimportant to them !

Using their 'cash-cow', to support the slow growth of the rest of their network, does make sense for Bangkok Airways. But imagine the effect on the company, of a serious crash or a landslide/earthquake damaging the runway at Samui, could they survive without the profits made there, and is that profit being invested wisely in the rest of the business, somehow I don't think that question was posed to the management at this P.R. presentation.

The cash cow is running out of milk mate....prices are now more than double comparable services....in fact one poster recently reported a standby fare of 6000 Baht economy one way.

We've had enough now.

Smokes as long as they keep building hotels on that island there will be more than enough fools to dish out the dough on a constant basis....and you wonder why I have never been to Siem Riep - worse than Samui flight costs!

Bangkok Air has been trying to mold themselves into an airline for millionaires, and the fact that there are so few flights available, is allowing them to do exactly that. The prices continue to climb to the point where the average person cannot afford them. Though many hotels on Samui have opened up in the past few years, that cater to wealthy travelers, the fact remains that the average traveler to Samui is anything but. The average room in Samui caters to mid level travelers, who are finding it increasingly harder to justify a ticket cost that is more comparable to Bangkok-Hong Kong, than Bangkok- Samui. In the US, I can fly 2,500 kilometers, for the typical cost of a Bangkok-Samui ticket. A friend of mine just priced New Delhi- Bangkok, and Bangkok- Samui, for mid March, which is purchasing over three weeks in advance. Guess which ticket was more expensive? I will give you a hint. It was the 477 km. route, and not the 2,9712 km. route that was more expensive!

Why is the central government, and the Samui Mayor's office allowing this practice to continue? Some time ago, there was talk of a second airport on Samui. Many of us, including many hotel GM's that I have spoken with, think the time is right for this proposal to come to fruition. I fly out of Surat Thani most of the time. \It is not that I cannot afford to fly out of Samui. I prefer to deny Bangkok Air the revenue. I resent their unwillingness to even offer residents of Samui good deals. Do not even mention the Samui Resident card. That is a scam, as it offers only a 20% discount on the highest published airfare! Something needs to be done, and it needs to be done urgently. Someone in a position of power has to take an interest in this, and make it happen. I am not talking about a bandaid concession, like getting Bangkok Air to allow Thai another flight or two, at equal or higher prices. I am speaking of a real solution, that will allow Samui to continue to develop into a world class tourist destination. Perhaps allowing Bangkok Air a monopoly on the airport made sense back in the late 80's. But, not in 2011. Somebody, anybody, please do something about this unreasonable situation, and allow Samui to offer reasonable air travel. I suspect as long as Bangkok Air, which is a fine airline (albeit one with very, very high airfares), maintains control over this airport, nothing will ever change. This airline will continue to cater to increasingly richer and richer travelers, and who will eventually suffer? The hard working Thai people, who are operating, and working for the mid level restaurants, and resorts which represent the majority of establishments on this island. The visitors, residents, hotel owners (who continue to invest a fortune, hoping the Thai government will back them up, and do the right thing with regard to the tourism industry), and the hard working Thai people who run the tourist establishment on this island. We hereby issue a challenge to a Thai politician who represents Samui, and who has the courage, will, conviction, and integrity to find a solution to this problem.

Another solution would be for the government to buy out Bangkok Air ownership stake in the airport. But, if the airport capacity is really as limited as we hear, that would not be much of a solution, though it might encourage more reasonable flights than the "super boutique", and super expensive, Bangkok Airways.

[JoePai]

I used to like their flight to Hiroshima, Japan, too bad it appears permanently discontinued. I cannot understand Bangkok Airways, their prices are just as high as the big full service airlines. Last time I flew to Singapore, they were something like 4 times as high as Asia Air, and just as much as Singapore and Thai Airways.

Errr maybe that's because they are a 'full service' airline - and from a lounge (for the cattle class) viewpoint they are better than any of your so called 'full service' airlines

[SantiSuk]

From a distance (only been once) a strategy for the island of going for the higher end of the market would seem to be appropriate for a small island? You can't surely keep expanding on a budget traveler basis? I thought that the mass market end of the island (Chaweng?) was pretty awful and needed dragging up-market.

Just one viewpoint with apologies if it offends residents.

The only problem with the strategy is that most places in Thailand (even Pats) seem to be adopting it. There must be a niche for some undeveloped coastal area to build an airport for direct inward jumbos from Dubai, Moscow and Beijing, together with mass market beach and accommodation facilities - a sort of exotic Benidorm. Perish the thought of ever having to visit it.