Thailand: Low-cost flights may get cheaper

Low-cost carriers are ready to lower domestic airfares after the cabinet approved the extension of jet fuel tax reduction. Santisuk Klongchaiya, CE of Thai AirAsia (TAA), Thailand's largest low-cost carrier, said the decision from the government is good news that will help airlines save operation costs and allow them to maintain average airfare prices. If the government asks carriers to keep lowering airfares in exchange for the extension, TAA will discuss seeking practical solutions with the Transport Ministry. Santisuk said the average ticket price is quite cheap. The rate per flight is around 900-1,000 baht depending on the destination and booking period. While TAA can carry on with providing domestic flights by flying 30-40 of 63 jets in its fleet and expects better performance in the last quarter of the year, the carrier still needs the soft loans, which domestic airlines have been requesting for months, he said. PM Prayut Chan-o-cha has met airline executives and agreed to allocate 24b baht in soft loans to mitigate the impact of the pandemic. The request has yet to be granted. "We still have weak demand for weekday flights because of the lack of international tourists who would normally fill this void," said Santisuk. Nuntaporn Komonsittivate, head of commercial operations at Thai Lion Air, said the extension of the excise tax reduction definitely helps lift the cost burden as jet fuel normally takes up 30% of total operations.<br/>