No-frills Airasia To Fly Macau-bangkok For $25

[george]

No-frills AirAsia to fly Macau-Bangkok for $25

HONG KONG: -- Malaysian low-fare carrier AirAsia said on Wednesday it would offer air tickets to Macau from Bangkok for as little as US$25 from June 15, in the airline's first foray into North Asia.

Chief Executive Tony Fernandes also said the airline may issue shares in the United States as well as listing on the Kuala Lumpur stock exchange as part of a US$200 million initial public offering slated for September or October this year.

"People can stay in Macau and go to Hong Kong for a day trip," Fernandes told reporters.

"Nasdaq has talked to us and we may look at ADRs," he said, referring to American Depositary Receipts that allow foreign companies to list in the United States.

AirAsia is an aggressive player in Asia's budding no-frills market where competition is heating up with entrants such as Singapore-based Valuair and Tiger Airways, a venture between Singapore Airlines and the founder of Irish no-frills airline Ryanair <RYA.I>.

Fernandes said that it would also begin daily flights to Macau, known for its casinos, from Kuala Lumpur in June and did not rule out cooperating with Air Macau on routes into China.

Fernandes said the carrier had ruled out direct flights to Hong Kong, which is a one hour ferry ride from Macau, due to higher airport costs.

"We haven't seen much interest from the airport," Fernandes said. "Macau was hungry for us," he added.

Only 12 airlines fly to Macau but visitors to the former Portuguese territory are expected to increase dramatically as the city undergoes a Las Vegas-style makeover.

At least five casinos are due to open over the next few years.

Fernandes said it was in talks with Shun Tak Holdings Ltd <0242.HK>, which runs the Hong Kong to Macau ferry, to provide a straight-through service to Hong Kong, skipping Macau customs.

Singapore's Valuair Ltd will begin flying from Hong Kong in May, prompting incumbent carriers Cathay Pacific Airways <0293.HK> and Singapore Airlines Ltd <SIAL.SI> to slash ticket prices on that route.

Last year, AirAsia made a profit of 20 million ringgit and expects to do "substantially better than that this year." It expects to carry four million passengers in 2004, double the number carried last year.

--Reuters 2004-04-28

[Thailand]

Hi George,

Any more on this? I would love to be one of the first on this flight

Many friends in Macau and a lot of my once fortune has been passed across the green baize- mainly one way

[Guest chingy]

is there a Thai Consulate in Macau? can i get a visa there?

[Rinrada]

Cant find anything regarding consul in Mac however ...

bit of info worth checking out.

IV. List of Countries which have concluded agreement on the

exemption of visa requirement for holders of national

passport with Thailand and permitted to stay for 30 and

90 days

30 DAYS

1. Hong Kong SAR

2. Socialist Republic of Vietnam

3. Macao Special Administrative Region

also

Message from

Mr. Tharit Charungvat

Consul - General of Thailand to Hong Kong SAR and Macau SAR

The bilateral relationships between Thailand and Hong Kong have always been progressing well in all aspects of their relationships, namely economic, trade, cultural, and tourism. The interactions between government to government and people to people have always been strong as evidenced by the volume of trade, number of tourists and exchanges of government officials and businessmen each year. Having realized such matured relationships, I am strongly determined to expand and deepen the overall relations of Thailand and Hong Kong into an even wider scope within the context of the Thailand - Hong Kong bilateral relationships itself and with Hong Kong as a gateway to China particularly in the Pearl River Delta region.

Among many projects which shall be in the pipeline to further foster mutual gain on economic front, I shall also render full support to the current and future activities and initiatives of the recently established Hong Kong - Thai Business Council which I believe would be one of the main catalysts for enlarging and deepening the cooperation of business peoples from both sides. The "Two Gateway" concept, which was put forth by His Excellency Mr. Thaksin Shinawatra, Prime Minister of Thailand and agreed upon by His Excellency Mr. Tung Chee-hwa, Chief Executive of Hong Kong during their meeting in May 2001 will be one of the key policies that I am committed to bringing it into action. In essence, the "Two Gateway" concept captures the direction of future economic ties between Thailand and Hong Kong, which will go beyond the confines of our respective geographical boundaries. Thailand can serve as a gateway for Hong Kong to the economies of Southeast Asia, which Hong Kong can be Thailand's gateway to China, particularly the Pearl River Delta area.

In terms of tourism, Thailand and Hong Kong have always enjoyed steady growth of a number of tourists with about 500,000 Hong Kong tourists going to visit Thailand while about 200,000 Thais tourists coming to visit Hong Kong each year. In this respect, I will continue to promote for greater exchange of peoples of Thailand and Hong Kong both in terms of volume and activities. Furthermore, in terms of cultural cooperation, I wish to introduce new varieties of cultural exchanges by building upon the strong foundation that the two sides have already had and exploring ways to expand it into the wider scope of cooperation.

The consular affairs will also be the most important task for my tenure as the Thai Consul-General to Hong Kong SAR. I shall discharge my responsibility by serving and looking after the well-being of the Thai nationals living in Hong Kong and Macau with my utmost ability.

I would like to thank you for visiting our website. I always welcome comments and suggestions on how the homepage should be improved to better serve to the needs and interests of the public.

Thank you,

Tharit Charungvat

Consul-General of Thailand to

Hong Kong SAR and Macau SAR

http://www.thai-consulate.org.hk/2About_Ro...-General_HK.htm

also.

http://www.thaiembassy.org/

and some pics and info on the airport

http://www.macau-airport.gov.mo/index.phtml

[ovenman]

Air Asia now has an announcement about this route on their website. They start flying Bangkok-Macau in July and the starting price will indeed be 999 baht (plus taxes).

[Isabellla]

Hey my friend

WHere did you find the announcement of BKK-Macau flight?

COuldn't find it and what about the return flight?

Schedule???

[ovenman]

WHere did you find the announcement of BKK-Macau flight?

Try this link: Travel International! Travel AirAsia!

[Isabellla]

Thanks ovenman

I had understood that the departure must be from Bangkok.

IS it right?This is a question for all experts in travel airwise.

[bartender100]

Thanks ovenman

I had understood that the departure must be from Bangkok.

IS it right?This is a question for all experts in travel airwise.

Where did you want to fly from?

[konangrit]

By the process of elimination I would hazard a guess at Macau.

[Thailand]

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=11540