THAI confronts hot competition with extra flights

The airline's general manager for the UAE and the Middle East, Manan Boonyachai, said new aircraft, such as Airbus A330's, would  be added to the THAI's fleet next year and Dubai was one of the destinations for which additional flights would be scheduled.

THAI currently provides 11 flights per week on the Bangkok-Dubai route and it plans to increase this to two flights per day next year.

Manan said passenger numbers on the route were increasing every year because of tourism, increasing business links and medical services.

Dubai people have a lot of money to spend on travel and the UAE is striving to boost tourism. The number of Thai tourists visiting the UAE is increasing every year.

He said people from the UAE also preferred to go to Thailand for medical services because of reasonable costs and good treatment, compared with that in other countries.

Several Thai hospitals have also been aggressively promoting their services in the region.

In its bid to become an international tourist destination, Dubai also has a lot of construction going on, offering big business opportunities for Thai firms involved in construction or related businesses like furniture manufacturing.

Manan said fierce competition was another reason for THAI to increase the frequency of its services.

While the Thai national carrier previously generated a lot of profit on the Bangkok-Dubai route, this has declined in recent years because of competition from local carriers like Etihad Airways and Emirates.

"The UAE government provides financial support to purchase planes and their fuel costs are lower than THAI's, so the costs of the UAE's carriers are lower. THAI had to adjust its prices down to compete with these rivals and this affected our earnings. This is a disadvantage on this route.

"We have to increase the frequency of our services to survive," he said.

THAI's selling point in the highly competitive environment is Thai-style service.

 The airline aims to attract UAE residents visiting Thailand for medical services and tourism, while its rivals focus on connecting flights from Europe to Asian countries .

"Although we're at a disadvantage in competing with the local airlines, there is a lot of demand on this route, so I believe that if we increase our frequency, we can share in this huge market," Manan said.