Thailand: Crowded skies leave airlines bustling

Thailand's domestic air traffic market has nearly reached saturation point, with very little room left for further expansion by airlines, according to the industry. Executives of major budget airlines such as Thai AirAsia, Nok Air and Thai Lion Air said that new routes are getting harder to find and ramping-up flight frequencies is almost impossible. This comes as Thai skies have become overcrowded and main airports -- Suvarnabhumi, Don Mueang, Phuket and Chiang Mai -- are facing critical congestion, largely due to handling capacity constraints. Meanwhile, competition has grown even more intense in recent years as airlines struggle to fill up seats, thus depressing yields and cutting into their profitability. "Thailand's domestic market has almost reached saturation point," said Santisuk Klongchaiya, commercial director at TAA. The only place left for airlines to expand domestic service is through the introduction of inter-regional connections, such as linking U-tapao (Rayong) and Ubon Ratchathani, he said. TLA CE Aswin Yangkirativorn agreed, saying this reality has prompted the airline to focus more on expanding abroad by introducing new international routes and raising frequencies on existing ones. TLA is targeting regional expansion, particularly to China and India, to support its growth plan. <br/>