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Published on January 5, 2008

Sehapan Chumsai, executive vice president for marketing, yesterday said there were not enough passengers to continue the service, which began last June 6 using

150-seat Boeing 737-400 aircraft.

The service was terminated last November 15 after it became clear it was not profitable even after the start of the tourist high season, he said.

Flights were typically only half-full, and the service showed no increase in passenger traffic during its initial six months, which persuaded the airline to discontinue it, he said.

"About 80 per cent of passengers were local Thais. Even after the start of high season, there was no increase in the number of foreign tourists [using the service]," he said.

Rival carrier One-Two-Go did not book any passengers on the flight despite a code-sharing agreement between the two airlines after they were both granted approval to launch the service about the same time last year, he said.

An aeroplane of about 70 seats is suitable for the route, but Nok Air has no plans to buy smaller aircraft to service it, he said.

Before Nok Air, Phuket

Air serviced the route with a 64-seat Japanese-built NAMC YS-11 turboprop aircraft.

Phuket Gazette

PHUKET

The Nation