BANGKOK Airways’ daily Kuala Lumpur (KL)-Samui flights from March 31, along with its aim to seal Malaysia Airlines (MAS) as its latest codeshare partner by then, sees Firefly flying into action to protect its Samui marketshare.
Both airlines are banking on the medium and longhaul markets. Firefly has announced it is “working closely with the Tourism Authority of Thailand to promote Samui as an upmarket leisure destination as well as a destination for weddings, honeymoons, corporate team-building and incentive travel”.
Firefly’s head of marketing and communications, Angelina C Fernandez, said there was demand for destination weddings and honeymoons from medium and longhaul markets. “These foreigners arrive in KL, spend a few nights…in Malaysia and then continue their holiday to Samui to fulfill their wedding and/or honeymoon plans.”
Bangkok Airways, which is courting the same market, may have the upper hand as it flies from Kuala Lumpur International Airport whereas Firefly operates from Subang. With a planned airfare of “US$170 to US$180 one-way”, its president, Puttipong Prasarttong-Osoth, said he was confident of a load factor of “60 per cent plus” in the first year and “close to 70 per cent” by 2013.
Firefly’s load factor is above 80 per cent since the airline started the service on October 26, 2008. Its only competition now on the route is Berjaya Air, which also operates to Samui from Subang.
Samui is by far Bangkok Airways’ most profitable route, accounting for 40 per cent of total traffic. This year, the airline will also increase its Samui-Hong Kong service from daily to 10 flights a week. Other expansion includes an extra flight from Bangkok to Chiang Mai and Phuket and 12 weekly direct flights from Bangkok to Lampang, all from March 25.
Read the full report in TTG Asia, March 9, 2012
Read the full report in ITB Berlin.
