Thailand's Nok Air eyes China expansion, renewed profitability
Faced with intense competition and maturation of the local market, Nok Air has decided to pursue international expansion, first into China, as it seeks to diversify its portfolio and return to profitability. While Nok has managed to carve out a meaningful presence on its existing domestic and regional routes, the airline has plunged into losses amid market overcapacity and low utilisation of its aircraft due to a pilot shortage. Last year the carrier reported a net loss of US$20.37m. CE Patee Sarasin said that Nok Air will launch 3 weekly flights from Bangkok to Kunming in November, followed by service to Quanzhou by the end of this year. “It’s perfect timing to go to China,” Sarasin said. “The country is opening up but it has restricted certain Thai airlines from going in. For now, the market isn’t saturated.” <br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2016-07-20/unaligned/thailands-nok-air-eyes-china-expansion-renewed-profitability
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Thailand's Nok Air eyes China expansion, renewed profitability
Faced with intense competition and maturation of the local market, Nok Air has decided to pursue international expansion, first into China, as it seeks to diversify its portfolio and return to profitability. While Nok has managed to carve out a meaningful presence on its existing domestic and regional routes, the airline has plunged into losses amid market overcapacity and low utilisation of its aircraft due to a pilot shortage. Last year the carrier reported a net loss of US$20.37m. CE Patee Sarasin said that Nok Air will launch 3 weekly flights from Bangkok to Kunming in November, followed by service to Quanzhou by the end of this year. “It’s perfect timing to go to China,” Sarasin said. “The country is opening up but it has restricted certain Thai airlines from going in. For now, the market isn’t saturated.” <br/>
