Nok Air Competes With AirAsia on Bangkok – Narathiwat

Posted 07/06/2011

Thai budget carrier Nok Air has inaugurated flights to the southern province of Narathiwat, ending the monopoly of low-cost carrier Thai AirAsia on the route.  The airline inaugurated flights on June 3 and is not just targeting passengers from Narathiwat but the neighbouring provinces of Pattani and Yala and as far afield as the Malaysian border city of Kota Baru. 

At the moment most travellers in the reason have to travel to Hat Yai in Songkhla in connect to the capital and other destinations, but Nok Air’s Chief Executive Patee Sarasin believes that Narathiwat can become an alternative gateway to the region.  An estimated 61,000 O&D passengers travelled on the route in the past year, up 7.0 per cent on the previous year.

Nok Air’s flights are operating just 20 minutes before Thai Air Asia’s departures but are serving Don Mueang Airport in the Thai capital rather than Suvarnabhumi.  The airline is understood to be evaluating a second daily flight subject to demand, allowing greater flexibility for business travellers.  Alongside regular business and leisure travellers many Thai Muslims live in the country’s southernmost provinces and could also use the new services for their pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia for the Hajj.

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