Nok Air to cut Chinese flights amid moribund market

To offset sluggish growth in the Chinese market this year, Nok Air plans to reduce traffic to the mainland and compensate with flights to India as well as new destinations such as Japan, Taiwan and Singapore. Wutthiphum Jurangkool, CE of Nok Air, said there are several factors affecting tourism and aviation this year, particularly the changing behaviour of Chinese travellers. He said Chinese tourists now favour Japan over Thailand, while the Chinese government is not enthusiastic about supporting outbound trips. Thai airlines continue to be stymied by declining confidence over safety in Thailand among Chinese travellers, attributed to scammers and human trafficking issues, said Wutthiphum. Nok Air already scaled down its Chinese flights from 16 a week in December last year to 12 a week since January across three cities: Nanning, Zhengzhou and Nanjing. The number of flight connections to China could change in the future, he said. The airline has not estimated a passenger target for this year given the sluggish Chinese market in January, said Wutthiphum.<br/>