Landing at new hub: Phuket?

Strategic Airlines To Take Off In Phuket is an article from: Phuket Observer - Phuket lifestyle magazine.

More Indian tourists in paradise

Thai AirAsia plans to start direct flights between Phuket and Kolkata [ formerly Calcutta] by mid-2012.

The Thai airline, part of the rapidly expanding, Malaysian based AirAsia low cost carrier group, has established an office in Kolkata based on figures showing 45 percent of passengers flying from Kolkata to Thailand came to Phuket.

In 2010 there were 24 direct weekly flights between Kolkata and Bangkok. the Thai AirAsia service will substantially increase Indian tourists to the island.

Also in 2010 Phuket hosted several large scale Indian weddings at 5-star hotels. The Tourism Authority of Thailand [TAT] is targeting Indian weddings as a rich source of tourist income as they often attract more than 500 people flown in from Indian for the occasion.

The TAT’s Mumbai [ formerly Bombay] office, for example, teamed with wedding organizer Red Events India Pvt Ltd to organise up to 400 Indian couples to get married in Thailand in 2010.

Indian couples like Thailand to get married in as it is renowned for its sense of grace and style, following customs and ceremonies rich in the Buddhist culture.

Secluded resorts, like those on Phuket and places like Khao Lak, are favoured. Indian weddings are lavish, glittering affairs. Last year the up-market Banyan Tree Phuket hosted the wedding of a Nagpur industrialist with 700 guests flying in for the occasion.

Another wedding, at the JW Marriott, Khao Lak Resort near Phuket was followed by a white wedding a the Laguna Wedding Chapel on Phuket.  When looking for a venue Indian wedding planners only look at the top level of hotels like Banyan Tree, the Sheraton, Le Meridien, JW Marriott and, for that completely different setting, the up-market Indigo Pearl Resort with its quirky, John Underwood sculptures and designs.

In 2009 Thailand had 614,000 Indian visitors, a 14.45 percent increase over the previous year.

In 2010 there were 125 direct weekly flights between Bangkok and major Indian cities, including Kolkata [24], Delhi [41], Mumbai [40], Bangalore [7], Hyderabad [4], Madras/Chennai [7] and Bagdogra [2] on airlines like Thai Airways International, Indian Airlines, Air India, Cathay Pacific Airways, Royal Bhutan Airlines, Jet Airways, Kingfisher Airlines and Air India Express.

Thai AirAsia to start direct Kolkata-Phuket flights next year is an article from: Phuket Observer - Phuket lifestyle magazine.

Watch out for the Tiger!

The February signing of an agreement between Thai Airways International [THAI] and Tiger Airways of Singapore brings the prospect of a new airline called Thai Tiger Airways, flying internally between Bangkok and Phuket, a step closer.

At present Tiger Airways services Phuket with direct flights from Singapore, but the new carrier would have the ability to fly within Thailand once it becomes a reality.

Thai Tiger Airways would become a more direct–and formidable–low cost carrier [LCC] competitor to the ever expanding and somewhat dominant AirAsia and its Thailand subsidiary, Thai AirAsia, which has 19 daily flights between Bangkok and Phuket.

THAI currently operates 13 daily flights, but these are full service flights with higher fares than the competing LCC.

Phuket, in fact, is the lynchpin for the new carrier given its huge tourism importance. Thai Tiger Airways could service the island from Singapore, as it does now, but also from the north. Nok Air, a subsidiary of THAI, and Thai AirAsia would be the main competitors on the Phuket-Bangkok route.

THAI will have a 49% of the paid-up share capital in the new airline. The deal has been subject to considerable political opposition, but THAI President Piyasvasti Amranand is determined that it will go through so THAI can have more flexibility in managing the onslaught from the LCC competition in South East Asia.

Thai Tiger Airways Agreement Should Benefit Phuket is an article from: Phuket Observer - Phuket lifestyle magazine.

Thai Airways fares are coming down

Thai Airways International has reduced domestic air fares to Phuket by 15 percent between 15 March and 30 September “low” season to make it more competitive with low cost carriers [LCC]  like Thai AirAsia and Nok Air.

THAI will, however, remain more expensive than such competitors. For example, its economy saver fare will be B6560 compared to B4877 for Thai AirAsia and B5344 for Nok Air but cheaper than boutique airline Bangkok Airways at B6590.

These air fares are the basic economy fares and include taxes and fees. The difference in price will vary according to the type of fare.

The fare reduction is in marked contrast to a 59 percent increase in fares in April, 2010 when THAI was experiencing considerable economic turbulence. The huge increase was also severely criticized by people in Phuket.

The change is recognition of the impact LCCs like Thai AirAsia have had on THAI, which is seeking to revamp its entire fleet and service with the goal of regaining its long lost position as one of the world’s top airlines.

THAI has an advantage over the other airlines because of its frequency. It flies 10 daily Bangkok-Phuket and 13 Phuket-Bangkok flights compared to Thai AirAsia’s eight daily flights and two for Nok Air. It also flies larger aircraft, often a four engined Boeing 747 Jumbo jet, which is an onward flight picking up transit passengers at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok. The other carriers fly smaller B737 or Airbus A320 aircraft.

At the same time as THAI is attacking it, Thai AirAsia has also announced plans to buy 20 new aircraft and develop Phuket as a domestic and international hub. The airline plans to expand its network to Laos, the Philippines and India.

Phuket is already Thai AirAsia’s second hub after Bangkok.

Thai Airways to reduce Phuket airfares is an article from: Phuket Observer - Phuket lifestyle magazine.

Tea or coffee?

The Thailand airline industry is about to expand with four new start-up airlines, one of them to service Phuket, and possibly others.

Crystal Thai Airlines, a Thai-Korean joint venture, plans to fly to Phuket using a 174 seat, Airbus A320 aircraft, as well as international destinations like Dubai, Mubai, India, Bhutan and Incheon, South Korean and Clark Airport in the Philippines.

The other three airlines are all charter flights. While they have not specifically announced flights to Phuket yet, they could well in the future, given the importance of the island’s to Thailand tourism.

They are: Kan Air, a small domestic carrier flying a 12-seat Cessna turbo prop 208 Grand Caravan out of Chiang Mai; PC Air, which will fly a 228 seat A310 aircraft to ports in Japan and Korea; and Sunny Airways, which will fly a 200-224 seat Boeing B767-200ER on charter flights from Europe and Russia and around Asia to Thailand.

The start-ups signal a healthy increase in Thailand’s airline competition, particularly in the charter section. Charter’s comprised 16 percent of international flights to Phuket in 2010, with that year having a 64 percent increase over 2009.

The interesting aspect of the new carriers, is that they are boldly targeting international destinations around Asia, in particular.

With  visitors to Phuket out of China, South Korea and the Middle East increasing 44 percent in 2010, this indicates extreme confidence that this type of charter passenger traffic will continue to grow.

And, in that inevitable offbeat Thai touch, one of the airlines, PC Air, has already made international headlines by announcing it will hire the world’s first ladyboy flight attendants.

Four New Thai Airlines, At Least One To Phuket is an article from: Phuket Observer - Phuket lifestyle magazine.

Charter flights, particularly from Russia, were also up–by 64%–compared to 2009. Russian flights jumped 128%.

Overall passenger arrivals were 7.05 million in 2010, putting strain on the airport and underlining the urgent need for the B5 billion revamp under way to be completed so the airport can meet its target of 12.5 million visitors by 2014.

The direct flights, and continued rise and rise of low cost carriers like AirAsia opening up new routes, such as between Phuket and Bali, are the main reasons for the surge in numbers.

Runway to more and more Phuket visitor arrivals

In 2010 direct flights were started by Hainan Airlines of China and Qatar Airways from Doha, while Mehan Air from Iran and Strategic Airlines from Australia announced the opening of new routes in 2011.

And the Russians keep on coming. Pega Touristik, a tour operator, increased charter flights from eight Russian cities and Rossiya Russian Airlines, based in St Petersburg announced it would scheduled flights connecting with Thai Airways International through Bangkok.

Aeroflot, the Russian national carrier, started three weekly flights directly from Moscow to Phuket and Transero, a scheduled and charter carrier, started charters from St Petersburg and other Russian cities.

From Germany, TUIFLY, a charter group, started direct high season Berlin-Phuket flights and Blu-Express, from Rome, Italy, also flies to Phuket via Bangkok.

All of these flights translated in visitor arrivals [January-September, 2010-Source: C9 2010 Hotel Market Update, January 2011] from Asian countries being up 44%, but overall European visitor arrivals dropped 1%.

Top source markets for January-September, 2010, in order of numbers were Australia, China, United Kingdom, Sweden and Russia. Top growth markets were China, Middle East, Denmark, South Korea and Australia and the top Asian markets were China, Middle East, South Korea, Malaysia and Japan.

Out in 2011 will go V Australia, replaced by Strategic Airlines.

Phuket Visitor Arrivals Soar Skyward in 2010 is an article from: Phuket Observer - Phuket lifestyle magazine.

V Australia leaves on 25 February

Australia full service carrier, Strategic Airlines, starts its twice-weekly service between Melbourne and Phuket on February 22, three days before another Australia carrier, V Australia, comes off the same route on 25 February.

Strategic’s two class, full service, 274 seat Airbus A330-200 aircraft will depart Melbourne at 11am and arrive at Phuket International Airport at 3.50pm local time. Returning it will depart at 6.50pm and land at Melbourne at 7.25am local time the following morning.

The airline is offering luanch fares of A$598 round-trip, inclusive of taxes and fees. Fares went on sale on November 24 through its website www.flystrategic.com and travel agents.

Fares are available for travel from Melbourne to Phuket from February 22.

V Australia launched  twice weekly full service flights from Brisbane in November, 2009 and one a week from Melbourne in December, 2009 using a 361 seat Boeing 777-300 aircraft but announced last yea,r in a major shake-up of its route structure, that the route was uneconomical.

Strategic is a very new airline, launched in September 2009 but has steadily expanded its network to include niche domestic and international routes, such as Perth-Derby-Denpasar in Bali and Brisbane-Port Hedland-Denpasar.

Strategic’s entry onto the Phuket route fills a large gap left by the popular V Australia, part of Richard Branson’s ever expanding Virgin Group, but Virgin still services Phuket direct through its low cost carrier, Pacific Blue, which started weekly flights in November, 2009.

With Perth only six and a half hours from Phuket this is a popular route for Australians coming here, particularly during the Phuket low season when thousands of Aussies escape their winter to Phuket and Bali.

Meanwhile another carrier directly servicing Phuket, Singapore based Tiger Airways, has struck political and bureaucratic turbulence in its bid to form a partnership with Thai Airways International.

This is a pity as Tiger offers a good range of alternative low cost routes for people on Phuket compared to the full service carriers, and even some of its LCC competitors.

It flies from Phuket, via Singapore to both Darwin and Perth in Australia; from Phuket to Padang in Indonesia, via Singapore and direct flights to Singapore. Under the proposed deal it would also be able to fly domestically. This would add to the number of flights to Phuket from Bangkok.

Tiger Airways is prepared to wait out the hiccups to forming the THAI partnership, which are focused on its ownership by Temasek, the Singapore government investment arm, and the right to fly domestically, which is still reserved for Thai carriers.

Strategic lands here on 22 February.

Strategic Airlines Arrives in Phuket on 22 February is an article from: Phuket Observer - Phuket lifestyle magazine.

Montigne under sail - 100 tons doing nine knots.

Who said the days of the tall ships were over? Granted, there are no more tea clippers, just a sprinkling of square riggers – mostly used for sail training – but if you have the money, you can still sail in real style.

The Observer was recently invited aboard the Montigne (pronounced Mon-tig-nee) when she moored at the outer edge of Yacht Haven marina.

Three masts as tall as the Eiffel Tower, floor to ceiling marble in the bathrooms (it would seem ungracious to refer to them as “heads”), a sundeck with Jacuzzi, a huge aft deck with a table equipped with the biggest lazy susan we’ve ever seen and, in the lounge below, grand dining to the accompaniment of music played on a baby grand piano.

Let’s not forget the house wine (Yacht wine? Boat wine?): Chateauneuf du Pape, one of the most delicious wines ever invented, which – for a good year – will set you back B10,000+ a bottle.

This is definitely the life.

Launched in 2009 from the the Aegean Yachts yard in Turkey, she’s owned by an Asian gent, about whom we are allowed to say no more, though he does use the boat regularly – in fact, more regularly than your average $8-million Phuket villa owner does. But then, villas can’t hoist sail and head off down to Bali or up into Burmese waters.

There’s a crew of 10, including a chef who is genuinely worthy of the title, and headed by skipper Richard Felton, who’s been all at sea since the ’80s. “She’s quite impressive when she’s got all the sails up,” Richard says. With all seven sails set, “we can do nine knots which, for 400-odd tons of what is basically a motor yacht, is not bad.” For all you landlubbers nine knots is just under 17 kmh.

A wicked thought: If you stripped out all the marble and chucked the baby grand overboard, how much faster would she go? We’d keep the wine. We’d need the sustenance.

When the owner’s not on board, the Montigne is available for charter. Usually she spends six months along the cost from Burma to Malaysia, with the other six island hopping along Indonesia or the Philippines or even as far south as Australia. All the gear is on board for fun when Montigne drops the hook – diving kit, kayaks, speedboats.

Tempted to charter? Start here. Just for you, B4.8 million a week – that’s for 10 people.

Here are some more pix, each worth a thousand words.

The owner's cabin. Well, half of it, anyway.

More marble than Lord Elgin could shake a stick at.

Tinkling ivories, anyone? The formal dining table and the baby grand.

The aft deck, says skipper Richard Felton, is everyone's favourite part of the boat. You can see why.

Living the life as the yacht Montigne visits Phuket is an article from: Phuket Observer - Phuket lifestyle magazine.

Thai is now offering cheap weekend flights for provincials to visit the capital.

Thai Airways International has launched two domestic fare promotions — “Travel with Dad” and “Visit Bangkok Special Fare”.

Travel with Dad – to celebrate the birthday of HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej on December 5, which is also Father’s Day in Thailand – is valid for bookings made anytime in December through THAI’s contact centre, for flights in Decfember and January. The deals are for at least two people travelling together on both sectors. The Bangkok-Phuket round-trip fare will be B4,700.

The other campaign, Visit Bangkok, is aimed at attracting people living in the provinces to fly to the capital on Friday or Saturday, returning on Sunday. The offer expires March 31, 2011. The round-trip Phuket-Bangkok fare for this promotion is B4,900.

For more information call the Thai Contact Centre at +66 (0) 2356 1111 or visit www.thaiairways.com

Thai Airways offers domestic fare promotions in December is an article from: Phuket Observer - Phuket lifestyle magazine.

Mahan Air Airbus A300-600. Photo by Arpingstone.

Iranian airline Mahan Air will begin a non-stop service from Tehran to Phuket from December 6. Initially, the service will be weekly but Mahan Air says it will increase flights to twice weekly as soon as the required government permits are obtained. Mahan already operates six flights a week to Bangkok.

The carrier will fly the route using a 243-seat Airbus A300-600 in a two-class configuration. Initially, flights will leave Tehran at 21:30 on Monday and arriving in Phuket the following morning at 09:00. The return flight will leave Phuket at 22:40 on Tuesday, arriving back in Tehran at 03:10 Wednesday.

Iran is a rapidly growing source of visitors to Thailand. Immigration statistics show that from  January to September this year, 136,576 Iranians entered Thailand, an increase of 72.7% over the same period in 2009. About 114,100 were identified as tourists, an increase of 63.3%.

Mahan Air to start direct Tehran-Phuket flights in December is an article from: Phuket Observer - Phuket lifestyle magazine.