Bangkok - Langkawi Flights Soon

[george]

Bangkok-Langkawi flights soon

LANGKAWI: Thai AirAsia will introduce four times a week Bangkok-Langkawi direct flights from next month, Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid said yesterday.

He said the airline would be making more announcements on this at the end of this month.

“For the Kedah Gover-nment, we support and welcome this direct flight service as it will help to increase tourist arrivals to Langkawi island,” he told reporters after presenting wings to 23 cadet pilots of HM Aerospace Sdn Bhd’s flying course 03/2005 here.

Mahdzir said the airline had requested for a one year landing fee subsidy at the Langkawi International Air-port in Padang Matsirat for introducing the direct flight service.

He said the state government and the Langkawi Development Authority had agreed to bear half the cost of extending the subsidy, and had requested the Tou-rism Ministry to pay the remainder.

“We are still waiting for the ministry's agreement on the subsidy,” he said.

To attract more tourists to Langkawi, airlines like Malaysia Airlines should in-crease their flight frequencies to the island, Mahdzir said, adding that in Thailand, the frequency of flights from Bangkok to Phuket was every hour.

-– Bernama, MY, 2006-12-11

[ovenman]

He said the airline would be making more announcements on this at the end of this month.

Even quicker than that... According to an announcement on the AirAsia website, service on this route commences on 06 January, and the tickets are due to go on sale on 12 December.

I wonder whether there would be a market for Phuket-Langkawi flights, or for somebody like AirAsia to revive the now-defunct Phuket-Penang route?

[Arandora]

He said the airline would be making more announcements on this at the end of this month.

Even quicker than that... According to an announcement on the AirAsia website, service on this route commences on 06 January, and the tickets are due to go on sale on 12 December.

I wonder whether there would be a market for Phuket-Langkawi flights, or for somebody like AirAsia to revive the now-defunct Phuket-Penang route?

I would have thought there was a market for a limited service with aircraft like the small Bangkok Airways ones between the 3 islands. I wanted to split our holiday next year between Bangkok, Khao Lak and Langkawi but transfer arrangements between Phuket (for Khao Lak) and Langkawi were (until this news) a pain. It still is a pain to have to fly back up to Bangkok and then back down to Langkawi, instead of a short hop down the coast. I don't think it is market forces that prevent this, more political forces!

[ovenman]

It still is a pain to have to fly back up to Bangkok and then back down to Langkawi, instead of a short hop down the coast. I don't think it is market forces that prevent this, more political forces!

Politics is often a factor on international routes. I don't believe that Thailand and Malaysia have an Open Skies Agreement (somebody correct me if I 'm wrong).

If anybody is interested in making this trip, AirAsia has zero baht fares available throughout January (you just pay the taxes).