BANGKOK – WEBWIRE – Friday, April 7, 2023
Aimed at further boosting tourist arrivals to the Kingdom, AirAsia continues with its international expansion by adding four direct routes between Thailand and China, namely Don Mueang-Chengdu (7 flights a week), Chiang Mai-Beijing (7 flights a week), Chiang Mai-Hangzhou (4 flights a week) and Chiang Mai-Changsha (5 flights a week). The routes are set to take off from 30 April 2023 onward.
Mr. Santisuk Klongchaiya, Chief Executive Officer of Thai AirAsia, pointed out: This is a crucial time for us to focus on international route expansion as more nations are welcoming travelers with eased restrictions and greater convenience, especially in China, which was a major market for AirAsia prior to COVID-19. Set to re-establish its presence in China in a big way, Thai AirAsia expects to resume 75% of its network to China pre-COVID-19 within the second quarter of this year.
Thai AirAsia has successfully recommenced XX direct routes between Thailand and China early this year, receiving a highly positive response from travelers as evidenced by healthy load factors that averages around 90%. With three out of the four new routes originating from its Chiang Mai hub, AirAsia is giving new opportunities for travel with direct flights between China and the popular northern city. The northern province has always been a top destination for Chinese travelers, and the newly reinstated routes will help the regions economy to rebound.
For China, we are aiming to reinstate all of our routes this year. At the same time in other markets, such as Asean and South Asia, we are always looking out for new opportunities and will be introducing an interesting route very soon Mr. Santisuk said.
Thai AirAsia currently serves international flights to 13 countries in 39 destinations on a total 49 routes, supported by clear signs of recovery in the tourism industry. The airline forecasts it will serve 20 million passengers in 2023, up by 9.95 million in 2022.