AirAsia bids to fill empty seats
Thai AirAsia's advanced ticket bookings are off 5 per cent this month from last October, as European tourists avoid the Kingdom, fearing the political chaos.
Many of the airline's attractive routes including Bangkok to Phuket, Chiang Mai and Phnom Penh in Cambodia have been the biggest losers.
The airline is dealing out promotions to lure local and intraregional travellers to fill up the empty seats.
CEO Tassapon Bijleveld said yesterday the budget carrier expects its fullyear cabin factor to reach 80 per cent, as projected, by serving 4.6 million passen¬gers.
The airline plans to connect Bangkok to Hong Kong at the end this month with seven flights a week and add more routes to southern China and Bali in Indonesia by yearend.
It has no plan to lower its fuel surcharge from Bt550 per domes¬tic sector and Bt700 per interna¬tional sector, despite the fall in jet fuel prices.
It hopes to increase its indirect revenue mostly from onboard services such as food and drink, advertising and other services, from 8 per cent currently to 20 per cent over the next few years, Tassapon added.
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