It is also planning to introduce six new overseas destinations for Orient Thai after the airline relocates to Suvarnabhumi Airport.

The company said yesterday that the surcharge on One Two Go's domestic routes was expected to rise from the beginning of next month, because of continuing rises in oil prices.

Marketing executive Manassanant Tantiprasongchai said increasing the fuel surcharge was easier than raising fares because the increase could be easily reversed if oil prices fell.

However, the move also follows higher operational costs at the new airport, particularly landing fees and parking fees.

Nok Air and AirAsia are also considering increasing fuel surcharges, rather than air fares, after they move to the new airport.

AirAsia's chief executive Tassapon Bejleveld gave the same reason as Orient Thai for lifting the surcharge rather than fares.

Manassanant said One Two Go would launch a sales campaign next week based on what it calls its "CFU Card". The card is aimed at three different markets: C focusing on the corporate sector and particularly large companies, F focusing on families and U on university students and lecturers.

The cards cost Bt17,000 for flights linking Bangkok with Chiang Mai, Phuket, Khon Kaen and Phitsanulok, and Bt19,500 for flights between Bangkok and Hat Yai, Surat Thani, Chiang Rai and Krabi. For that, cardholders are entitled to 11 flights per year.

"We expect to sell between 500 and 1,000 cards in the first month," she said.

One Two Go also plans to add more flights from Bangkok to Phitsanulok, Krabi and

Nakhon Sri Thammarat in the second half of the year. It will also increase its number of flights to Chiang Mai from five to eight per week for the three-month duration of the Royal Ratchaphruek 2006 horticulture exhibition.

Manassanant said Orient Thai Airlines, which currently flies from Bangkok to Korea and Hong Kong, will soon begin services to Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. Four new Boeing 747s will be used on the routes, which are expected to start before the end of next year.

Manassanant, who is the daughter of Orient Thai founder Udom Tantiprasongchai, said the airline's revenue last year was Bt4.2 billion. Sixty per cent of this was from overseas operations and the rest from domestic services. Therefore, the company aims to increase its domestic revenue by serving more destinations.

Thai Airways International Plc is also planning to further increase its fuel surcharges on long-haul routes, including those to the United Sates, Europe and Australia as well as destinations in Asia, because of oil price hikes.

Executive vice president Wallop Bhukkanasut said the national carrier would begin by raising the fuel surcharge next month on the Bangkok-Malaysia and Bangkok-Singapore routes. The current charge is US$15 (Bt560), but Singapore Airlines and Malaysian Airlines have already increased their fuel surcharges, so THAI will follow suit.

Its fuel surcharge on the Bangkok-Singapore route will be $25 (Bt940) and on the Bangkok-Malaysia route, $22 (Bt830).

The airline's fuel surcharge for flights to the US, Europe and Australia is $65 (Bt2,450).

Suchat Sritama

The Nation