Thai Airways International, the national carrier of Thailand is currently in the process of exploring the potential to connect Mumbai to Phuket, its second destination in Thailand.

The airline currently operates out of seven Indian cities, connecting to Bangkok and aims to add in the flights to the new route in the winter schedule of 2011.

Speaking about the plans, Chris Chantalitanon, Director – BKKSYTG, Central, South, Southeast Asia and Australia Department, Thai Airways International stated, “We are receiving lot of demand from Indian travellers exploring destinations in Thailand like Phuket, Krabi and Chiang Mai. Our aim is to cater to this potential segment, connecting them directly to Phuket. These primarily consist of leisure, FITs, honeymooners, as well as the burgeoning wedding segment.”Commemorating the 50th anniversary of its operations globally, the airline also revealed plans to increase its services within India.

Thai Airways routes — Plans are in the pipeline to increase the frequency to 14 flights per week for Mumbai and Bengaluru and daily flights to Hyderabad by end of 2011.

The airline last month introduced three new services on the Mumbai – Bangkok sector, offering 10 weekly flights between the two destinations. Plans are in the pipeline to increase the frequency to 14 flights per week for Mumbai and Bengaluru and daily flights to Hyderabad by end of 2011.

While it currently aims to consolidate its current operations, the airline is also exploring potential of new destinations like Ahmedabad and Amritsar to be connected over a period of two years, added Chantalitanon. Thai Airways also connects to Bodhgaya and Varanasi in the winter schedule. Owing to an increase in demand, the airline this year increased its services from four flights per week to daily flights.

via Travel Biz Monitor :: Thai Airways International aims to connect Mumbai-Phuket by end of 2011.

Competition is fierce in Thailand’s sky

Thai Air Asia will also launch two new routes to India after the South Asian country’s economy has shown great business prospects.The new routes will be Bangkok-Calcutta, and Bangkok-New Delhi. The flights will commence on December 1st. The Bangkok-Calcutta flights are scheduled to fly daily, while the Bangkok-Delhi flights will take off four times a week. The Thai Air Asia stated that the Indian was among the world’s top markets. With the country’s huge population and enormous economic growth, the Airways believed having more flights to the country would stimulate both nations’ economy, and attract more Indian tourists to Thailand.

Over 600,000 Indian tourists traveled to the Kingdom in 2009, bringing over 16 billion baht income to Thailand. In the first eight months of this year, Indian travelers to Thailand have increased by 20 percent year-on-year

Olivier Languepin