BANGKOK Airways intends to widen its codeshare partnerships, a move that is expected to bring an additional 1.2 million seats through the three key gateways of Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.
Jirapon Hirunrat, vice president-network management at Bangkok Airways, told TTG Asia the plan was “to cover the most of the EU zone and utilise (partner carriers’) marketing tools”.
Another key strategy is “to focus on interline traffic through all international gateways to Thailand”.
In the pipeline are codeshare partnerships with one European and seven Asian airlines.
The smallest but best-performing carrier among Thailand’s publicly traded airlines, Bangkok Airways, has been swiftly expanding its portfolio of codeshare partners in its bid to grow European outbound and longhaul traffic to its Bangkok hub.
“Airline partnerships, either codesharing or other cooperative arrangements, have become powerful tools for expanding networks, enhancing revenue and reducing costs,” said Jirapon.
The use of codeshare partnerships had yielded a growth of nearly 13-17 per cent annually for the past three years for Bangkok Airways, he added.
Among its codesharing agreements with 20 airlines, British Airways is showing “significant traffic growth” while Emirates generates “significant revenue proportion”.
The independent full-service regional carrier is also planning further expansion, as it expects to receive three ATR72-600s and three to four Airbus A319s, bringing its total inventory to 36 aircraft this year.
This year, the company will introduce three new routes, namely, Chiang Mai-Mae Hong Son, Bangkok-Danang (Vietnam) and Samui-Guangzhou (China).
It will also upgrade frequencies on popular sectors. On the cards are Bangkok-Phnom Penh (five to six daily flights), Bangkok-Chiang Mai (seven to eight daily flights), Chiang Mai-Samui (once to twice daily during high season) and Samui-Singapore (double daily).
