Low-cost carriers eye southern China

TR Weekly 14-20 july 2004

LOW-COST airline are eyeing expansion into the chinese market by using Hong Kong ans Macao as gateways to draw traffic from China's southern border provinces.

Despite Thai Air Asia's new services to Macau, Orient Thai Airlines announed its latest plans for a join venture with a Hong Kong public company partner to based in Hong Kong, to fly to China.

Orient Thai Airlines CEO Udom Tantiprasongchai said that the airline is finalising the formation of an alliance partnership with a Hong Kong real-estate company to take a 25% shareholding in each company.

Mr Udom has yet to announce further setails on the new airline;s operation but said it will check out small rural provinces in China including Tianjun and Jinghong in the south.

He added that Orient Thai plans to offer new shares worth of up tp 30% of its capital to the pubilc early next year.
"It would be used to in crease our funds to acquire new aircraft as well as support domatic ans regional route expansion in the future, " said Mr Udom.

Meanwhile, in response to Thai Air Asia's new service link between Bang-kok and Macau, Mr Udom said that Oriet Thai would start flights from Bangkok to Macau 31 july.

Three weekly service willdepart from Bangkok on saturday, Monday and Wednesday, using 450-seat Boeing 747 aircraft. One-way fare will be B1700 oer oerson excluding tax ans insurance.

Mr Udom said that flights on the Bankok-Macau route aim to pick up Macau Passengers (80%) rather than passengers from the Thai matket (20%).

"We Would like to sell a lower fare than Air Asia, at least Bt100 per ticket less. We will also lease up to four 150 seat Boeing 737s in the future and two aircraft will arrive next month to serve route expansions," he added.

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