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Samui to become international hub
March 2008 -
Property Report Thailand
Following news that Thai Airways will now fly twice
daily from Bangkok to Koh Samui airport, the island´s main
airline, Bangkok Airways, recently announced plans to make
the island Thailand´s second international air hub after
Bangkok´s Suvarnabhumi Airport.
At present, Bangkok Airways carries over half a million
passengers a year through Samui Airport, most of them
domestic, but with a number of scheduled international
flights to places such as Singapore, Malaysia and Hong
Kong.
Samui Airport is still considered a domestic airport by
many Thai people as it caters mostly to foreign tourists
arriving from Bangkok. But in the next two years, Bangkok
Airways plans to launch more direct international flights
under the company´s strategic growth plan, based largely
on investment from the Samui Property Fund, which owns the
500-million-baht passenger terminal completed early last
year.
The new terminal is four times larger than the old one and
can handle 16,000 passengers per day. Bangkok Airways’
plans include new direct flights from Samui to Dubai,
Shanghai, Bali and Kuala Lumpur and this year sees the
arrival of brand new A319s to boost capacity for the
longer flights. The first of the six A319 Airbuses is
already operating, while three more are due for delivery
later in the year and the remainder set to join the fleet
through 2009.
Bangkok Airways vice-president M.L. Nandhika Varavanhe
recently told the press that definite launch dates for new
international routes have yet to be finalised. The flights
seem unlikely to begin in the very near future as M.L
Nandhika also said their initiation depends on the
company´s four-year marketing plan.
According to the Department of Civil Aviation, air traffic
through Samui actually slowed last year with total
passenger numbers down to 1.18 million from 1.40 million
in the previous year.
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