Bangkok Airways, Thai AirAsia benefit from recovery in tourist arrivals

Thailand’s continued air travel recovery helped Bangkok Airways and Thai AirAsia post first quarter operating profits, although costs were challenging during the period. Bangkok Airways, which focuses on leisure travellers, observes that during the first three months of 2024 tourist arrives in Thailand were back to 87% of the levels seen before the coronavirus pandemic. One highlight of the quarter was the launch of two new direct services from the resort island of Koh Samui to the Chinese cities of Chongqing and Chengdu. Rising travel demand saw the carrier fly 15.5% more seats than in the first quarter a year ago, with the airline attaining 75.6% of its pre-pandemic capacity. Bangkok Airways saw operating profits nearly double to B2.4b ($65m) in the three months to 31 March from a year earlier. Revenues rose 36.3% to B7.8b, as expenses rose 19.9% to B5.4b. Net profits more than doubled to B1.9b. Capacity as measured by ASKs rose 16.5% and RPKs rose 18.4%. Passenger load factors improved 1.3 percentage points to 88.4%. As of 31 March, Bangkok Airways’s cash and cash equivalents stood at B11.7b, down 10% from 31 December 2023.<br/>