Thai LCC to take on AirAsia
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For its part, no frills One-Two-Go will commence daily Bangkok-Macau flights next month. In September, the LCC will kickoff daily KL service, followed by daily flights to Phnom Penh the next month. Also in the pipeline is KL-Phuket service.
The move to regional service is critical to the two airlines expansion plans, Mr. Udom said. One-Two-Go faces stiff domestic competition, and Orient Thai suffers from limited volume on its Hong Kong and Seoul routes.
Underlying the regional breakout is One-Two-Go’s ambitions to take on Thai AirAsia, part of LCC giant, Malaysia-based AirAsia, Mr. Udom said.
Thai AirAsia already operates frequent flights from Kuala Lumpur, Macau and Phnom Penh. One-Two-Go is pinning its hopes on mid-haul destinations that are two to three hours away, such as Siem Reap, Singapore, Bali and Bangladesh. Thai AirAsia is also eyeing some of these routes.
One-Two-Go recently expanding its fleet to eight MD-80 aircraft to handle the new service, and has signed on to take delivery of 14 more this year from Japan Airlines, bringing its total to 22.
“‘Our strategy is to have One-Two-Go serving the routes operated by other low-cost carriers and Orient Thai on sectors where LCCs are absent,” Mr. Udom said.
One-Two-Go now serves seven Thai provinces from Bangkok: Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Phuket, Hat Yai, Surat Thani, Krabi and Nakhon Si Thammarat. It also flies between Hat Yai and Phuket.
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