Thai AirAsia expands to Japan in anticipation of Southeast Asia tourism rebound
Thai AirAsia is betting that the easing of travel restrictions in Japan and Thailand will translate to strong pent-up demand for flights between the two countries. The airline, along with many others, is adding new routes in the market as the Asian travel recovery picks up. The airline, which is the Thailand-based affiliate of Malaysia’s Capital A, will begin thrice-weekly flights between Bangkok’s Don Mueang airport and Fukuoka with Airbus A320 family aircraft on October 12. It will be Thai AirAsia’s (not to be confused with Thai AirAsia X) first route to Japan. The addition is one new route amid the rapid return of Japan-Thailand flights later this year, which happen to coincide with the easing of travel restrictions in both countries. In addition to Thai AirAsia, Thai AirAsia X resumes flights between Bangkok and Sapporo in September, and Osaka Kansai in October; Tokyo Narita flights resumed in July, Diio by Cirium schedule data show. And Thai Airways returns to Fukuoka in October and Sapporo in December. All in, airlines will fly nearly half of their 2019 Thailand-Japan capacity in the fourth quarter, a 30 point increase from the first quarter and the highest to date since the pandemic nearly grounded all flights in 2020. “Japan is a top leisure favorite destination for Thai travelers, with many intent on visiting the country as soon as it reopens to tourism,” Thai AirAsia CEO Santisuk Klongchaiya said. “Acknowledging this opportunity, [Thai] AirAsia decided to introduce Fukuoka as its first destination in Japan.” But it’s not just pent-up local travelers flying between Japan and Thailand that are taking advantage of flights as they resume. All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines have both shifted flights, including to and from Bangkok, to Tokyo’s Narita airport to take advantage of strong demand for flight connections between North America and Southeast Asia. Both ANA and JAL cited this transfer demand to markets including Thailand for helping lift their financial results in the June quarter.<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2022-08-23/unaligned/thai-airasia-expands-to-japan-in-anticipation-of-southeast-asia-tourism-rebound
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Thai AirAsia expands to Japan in anticipation of Southeast Asia tourism rebound
Thai AirAsia is betting that the easing of travel restrictions in Japan and Thailand will translate to strong pent-up demand for flights between the two countries. The airline, along with many others, is adding new routes in the market as the Asian travel recovery picks up. The airline, which is the Thailand-based affiliate of Malaysia’s Capital A, will begin thrice-weekly flights between Bangkok’s Don Mueang airport and Fukuoka with Airbus A320 family aircraft on October 12. It will be Thai AirAsia’s (not to be confused with Thai AirAsia X) first route to Japan. The addition is one new route amid the rapid return of Japan-Thailand flights later this year, which happen to coincide with the easing of travel restrictions in both countries. In addition to Thai AirAsia, Thai AirAsia X resumes flights between Bangkok and Sapporo in September, and Osaka Kansai in October; Tokyo Narita flights resumed in July, Diio by Cirium schedule data show. And Thai Airways returns to Fukuoka in October and Sapporo in December. All in, airlines will fly nearly half of their 2019 Thailand-Japan capacity in the fourth quarter, a 30 point increase from the first quarter and the highest to date since the pandemic nearly grounded all flights in 2020. “Japan is a top leisure favorite destination for Thai travelers, with many intent on visiting the country as soon as it reopens to tourism,” Thai AirAsia CEO Santisuk Klongchaiya said. “Acknowledging this opportunity, [Thai] AirAsia decided to introduce Fukuoka as its first destination in Japan.” But it’s not just pent-up local travelers flying between Japan and Thailand that are taking advantage of flights as they resume. All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines have both shifted flights, including to and from Bangkok, to Tokyo’s Narita airport to take advantage of strong demand for flight connections between North America and Southeast Asia. Both ANA and JAL cited this transfer demand to markets including Thailand for helping lift their financial results in the June quarter.<br/>
