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Orient Thai's Macau plans hit
roadblock [ Boonsong kositchotethana , Bangkok Post : 4 August 2004 ] Macau _ Thai budget carrier Orient Thai Airlines' bid to wrest market share on the Bangkok-Macau route from rival Thai AirAsia _ a crucial destination seen as a gateway to the lucrative mainland _ has hit a snag over the issue of air traffic rights from the Macau government. Macau aviation authorities recently informed Orient Thai that it could not start scheduled flights this month as planned because operating rights in the sector have already been extended to Thai AirAsia, a Thai-Malay joint venture. The direction given by the Macau government came as a surprise to the privately owned airline, better known as One-Two-Go, which had understood that the former Portuguese colony was seeking to have as many airlines flying in and out of the enclave as possible. Orient Thai learned about the restriction just as it was gearing up to launch three flights a week on the Bangkok-Macau route to directly compete with Thai AirAsia, which started operating scheduled daily flights on the route on July 5 with a single 148-seat Boeing 737-400. Thai AirAsia, the local affiliate of the Malaysian no-frills carrier AirAsia, has been keen to expand service to China in order to tap booming out-bound tourist traffic, especially to such destinations as Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. Given the carrier's ambitions, Macau stands as a highly prized stepping stone in Southeast Asia for AirAsia. Orient Thai, on the other hand, has wanted to use Macau as a link to the Pearl River Delta region _ which includes the southern Chinese province of Guangdong, along with Hong Kong and Macau. Regarding the sector applied for by Orient Thai, the Macau aviation authorities explained that they are only able to grant scheduled traffic rights to one carrier per country. In other words, only to Thai AirAsia. Thai AirAsia, partly owned by Shin Corporation, the conglomerate controlled by Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's family, also received the privilege of free landing and parking for a year. The exclusive rights accorded to Thai AirAsia are no cause for concern, as the Macau authorities have not completely slammed the door shut on Orient Thai's chances for competing in the Macau market, according to Udom Tantiprasongchai, the chief executive and owner of Orient Thai. He said the airline can still fly to Macau on a ''charter'' basis, but to satisfy the enclave's authorities, the serving point in Thailand must not duplicate that of Thai AirAsia _ Bangkok. As a result, Orient Thai has decided to serve Macau from Navy-operated U-Tapao airport in Chon Buri. Macau aviation authorities have also indicated that pending further negotiations with their Thai counterparts, they may allow Orient Thai to operate scheduled services on the Bangkok-Macau route in September, as part of the island's open-sky policy, as well as grant a 30% discount for landing and parking fees. In the meantime, Mr Udom said Orient Thai was in a good position to sell 10 chartered flights on a 450-seat Boeing 747 on the U-Tapao-Macau route between now and then. Travel agents in Chon Buri have welcomed the new route as it brings Chinese tourists closer to their favourite Thai destination _ Pattaya, which lies within a half-hour drive from U-Tapao airport, said Mr Udom. ''So between now and September, we should be all right as we still can carry passengers from Macau,'' he said. Orient Thai's business has been geared toward carrying passengers from China via its operational hub in Hong Kong, to Thailand, rather than vice versa, he said. The domestic market is already served by no-frills carrier One-Two-Go, which is actively planning to expand its operations. Orient Thai's plans for aggressive expansion in mainland China mirror those already on the drawing board of Thai AirAsia. By the end of this year, Orient Thai aims to be serving Chengdu, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou. Orient Thai is also planning a direct, scheduled service between Macau and Phuket. Fewer than 20% of Orient Thai's passengers are Thai, with the majority being mainland or Hong Kong Chinese. A good portion of its flights are charters, though it offers only three routes on a scheduled basis _ Bangkok-Hong Kong, Phuket-Hong Kong and Bangkok-Seoul. The fleet of Orient Thai and its One-Two-Go operation now consists of eight Boeing 747s and four Boeing 757s. It is looking at acquiring two more 747s and four 100-plus-seat aircraft, likely to be purchased from Fokker, to support its burgeoning flight schedules. |
