AIRLINES

Rak Airways to fly to Bangkok

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Another UAE national carrier, Rak Airways, will turn Bangkok into its12th route with the plan to offer four weekly non-stop flights on June 1.

RAK Airways to penetrate Thailand

"With the introduction of our first long haul route to Bangkok, Rak Airways has cemented its unique market position between the well-established full service carriers and the low-cost carriers. Our value offering and route network is now markedly different to other carriers in the region; as one of the world's most popular tourist destinations we are confident our Bangkok route will be extremely successful," CEO Omar Jahameh said in a statement.

According to the Tourism Authority of Thailand 110,000 tourists from the emirates visited the country in 2011, when Thailand welcomed a total of 19.1 million visitors. The visitor arrivals this year are estimated to grow to 20.5-20.8 million. The growth encouraged the airline to provide more services, to tap into the country's growth and tourism potential.

The airline relaunched operations in 2010 with two routes to Jeddah, KSA and Calicut, India. Since then, the airline has focused on extending its route network across the GCC, Indian subcontinent and North Africa. The introduction of its' Bangkok route marks the carrier's entry into Far East Asia.

-- The Nation 2012-01-31

With their hub in Ras Al-Kaimah (with bus services to the other centers of excellence in the Emirates except Abu Dhabi), I can't see this one 'taking off' anytime soon.