THE chief executive officer of Thai AirAsia, a low-cost airline that will start offering service between Yangon and Bangkok August 16, said last week that he expects the flights between the two cities to operate at 80 percent seat capacity.

“Other airlines have charged US$100 and more to fly between these destina-tions, but we are offering the route for much cheaper,” said Mr Tassapon Bijleveld, adding that selling tickets at prices that are beyond the means of people in Myanmar does not make good business sense.

A number of international and regional airlines – including ANA, Lauda Air (Austria), Lauda Air (Italy) and Phuket Air – have flights Yangon only to suspend service or switch to high-season-only flights due to imbalances in the number of people flying in one direction or the other.

“Regardless of what other airlines have done, we will fly daily,” Mr Tassapon said. “There will be no high season or low season for us. Every day is a good day to fly.”

He said Thai AirAsia is launching the route with the aim of boosting tourism in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations region.

“We want to urge many people to fly and travel, to help tourism in the ASEAN region,” Mr Tassapon told The Myanmar Times.

He said tourism in the region would also be boosted by the signing of the ASEAN Framework Agreement on Visa Exemption in Malaysia late last month, which will allow citizens of ASEAN nations to travel to other member countries for up to two weeks without the need to apply for a visa.

“Our company is all for encouraging travel within ASEAN to help the economies of all the countries in the group,” he said.

He said the new route will provide more Thai people with the opportunity to pay their respects at Shwedagon Pagoda, while more Myanmar residents will be able to enjoy shopping in Bangkok.

Mr Tassapon said Thai AirAsia has transported about 4.5 million passengers since it was established in early 2004.

“We are aiming to get three million passengers this year, and from January to June we’ve already had 1.6 million,” he said.

He also said Thai AirAsia is interested in flying between Bangkok and Mandalay, but added that such a route was at least six to eight months away.
“We have to make the Yangon route work first before we move on,” he said.