Thai Airways ends Sydney to Phuket flights

BANGKOK: -- Airways International is suspending direct flight services linking the resort island of Phuket with Sydney and Melbourne from February 1 because of high operating costs and low passenger yields.

Vasing Kittikul, Thai Airways commercial department executive vice president, said while there has been an increase overall in traffic between Thailand and Australia, the three scheduled direct flights to Phuket were unprofitable.

Thai International launched the direct services to Phuket in 2003 and was aimed at promoting tourism directly from Australia.

But the service had achieved a seating yield capacity of just 62 to 65 per cent short of the more than 70 per cent needed to break even, he said.

Vasing also blamed sharply higher costs due to fuel prices for the decision. he said.

Thai Airways currently offers 14 Bangkok-Sydney flights a week and 11 Bangkok-Melbourne flights plus Bangkok-Melbourne flights.

He said there would be no change to the current schedule between Bangkok and Australia but there has been an increase in the number of direct flights between Australia and New Zealand.

On the domestic routes, THAI offers as many as 12 daily flight services between Bangkok and Phuket, with an average over the year of 10 flights a day.

Thai International is relying on its main network routes especially from the Asia region as well as the European Kangaroo Route flights into Australia.

Thailand's Tourism Authority (TAT) is forecasting a 13 per cent increase in international arrivals in 2006 to 15.12 million. In 2005 an estimated 400,000 Australians travelled to Thailand.

-- AAP 2006-01-23

Thai Airways ends Sydney to Phuket flights

...and 11 Bangkok-Melbourne flights plus Bangkok-Melbourne flights.