Orient Thai set for Sweden, Denmark

Scandinavian and other holidaymakers will be able to fly direct from Phuket to Stockholm and Copenhagen from December now that Orient Thai Airlines and Sweden�s Eastjet Co have finalised flight arrangements, Orient�s CEO Udom Tantiprasongchai said yesterday.

Udom said the airlines would operate a single non-stop flight every Saturday from Bangkok to Stockholm, one of their longest routes. The Stockholm-bound flight will depart from Phuket at 4pm and arrive in Sweden on the same day at 10pm local time.

The return flight is scheduled to leave Stockholm at 10pm on Saturday and arrive in Phuket the following day at 2pm. The Copenhagen route will have the same timetable.

�These are actually charter flights with the aircraft being rented by Eastjet. We will keep running them until April 2005,� Udom said.

Those wishing to travel from Thailand and neighbouring countries to Sweden for Christmas and the New Year can buy discounted tickets at a cost of 275 (Bt12,700), said Eastjet�s commercial director Richard Ryden.

Udom said Orient is now discussing opening new routes from Bangkok to Turkey and Frankfurt next winter to meet rising demand. The airline has just opened its latest service from Bangkok to Macao.

In October, it will add a further flight from Bangkok to Singapore, and is planning in November to offer flights from Bangkok to Beijing, Kuala Lumpur and Shanghai.

�With strong demand on international travel, despite the impact of Sars on travel in East Asia, many major carriers have cut back services and racked up losses, but Orient continues to fill a high percentage of seats on its flights and maintain stable profits,� he said.

For domestic routes, the airline will service five destinations: Surat Thani and Krabi, in September, and Phitsanulok, Khon Kaen and Ubon Ratchathani in the last quarter.

Suchat Sritama

The Nation

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