Thai airlines' losses widen on weak tourism, strong baht

Bangkok Airways and smaller Thai carriers have reported surging Q2 losses as they reeled from a decline in Chinese tourists and a strengthening baht currency. They follow on the heels of THAI, which reported last week that its losses more than doubled in Q2. Bangkok Airways said late on Tuesday that its Q2 loss amounted to 698m baht, against an 82m baht loss for the same period a year earlier. The airline’s president, Puttipong Prasarttong-Osoth, said on Wednesday that the carrier’s revenue dropped 4.2% due to slow growth in international tourist arrivals and the strengthening of the Thai baht, adding that in H2 of the year the carrier aims to increase online ticket sales via e-commerce platforms like Shopee. Tourist arrivals in Thailand in June rose just 0.89% from a year earlier, with visitors from China, Thailand’s biggest source of tourists, declining 7.1%. State-run THAI reported last Friday a 6.8b baht ($221m) loss for April-June, against 3.1b baht in Q2 of last year, blaming slow growth in tourism and intense price competition. However, Thai Airways said that the government’s decision to waive visa fees until October could attract more visitors during the low season. Low-cost carrier, Nok Air, reported a 796m baht Q2loss due to a fleet reduction and a decrease in Chinese tourists, it said. Rival Asia Aviation, which owns Thai AirAsia, booked on Friday a 879m baht loss for the quarter due to fewer Chinese tourists and a strong baht, which tempered demand from foreign tourists. Asia Aviation said Thai AirAsia will launch flights to Cambodia and expects a recovery of Chinese tourists in H2 2019.<br/>