November 11, 2008 17:20 PM
By D. Arul Rajoo
BANGKOK, Nov 11 (Bernama) -- With the prolonged Thai political crisis and worldwide economic slowdown hampering its business, Thai AirAsia hopes that the abolishment of fuel surcharge would enable it to achieve its target of 4.7 million passengers this year and expand its routes to Bali, Guangzhou and two Indian cities in 2009.
Its chief executive officer, Tassapon Bijleveld, said the number of passengers would rise as the cost of flying would be cheaper without the fuel surcharge, which was introduced when the jet fuel went above US$80 (US$1=RM3.54) per barrel and reached almost US$150 few months ago.
"Since the oil price has come down to between US$65 and US$70, we are doing away with the fuel surcharge. With this, we hope the cabin load factor will rise to between 80 and 90 percent within two months," he told a press conference here Tuesday.
Tassapon said he was confident that Thai AirAsia, 49 percent owned by AirAsia Bhd, would be able to carry 5.2 million passengers in 2009 despite the projected recession worldwide and the domestic political crisis which has affected the tourism industry.
He said the airline, which carried 10 million passengers since it started operations four years ago, was on track to expand its route to Bali in Indonesia and China's Guangzhou in January, as well as adding two cities in India in the second half of 2009.
Starting today, AirAsia, its subsidaries in Thailand and Indonesia, and AirAsia X would abolish the fuel surcharge for all its international and domestic flights. In Thailand, the fuel surcharge is 550 baht (100 baht=RM9.39) for domestic sector and 700 baht for international routes.
AirAsia is also giving away 500,000 free seats, including 65,000 in Thailand, with travelling period between June 22 and Oct 24, 2009.
Asked if the no-fuel surcharge would be a permanent feature, Tassapon said it would depend on the world oil price.
He ruled out introducing net price in their advertisement as passengers would get the chance to get a lower fare if they book early, as well as adding other extras like express boarding, insurance and check-in baggage.
"Passengers need only pay the administration fees, airport tax and the fare. The rest are optional," said Tassapon, adding that without the fuel surcharge, the company's revenue would not be affected as more passengers were expected to fly, as well as income from onboard services such as food and drink.
Thai AirAsia currently flies domestic routes from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Hat Yai, Krabi, Narathiwat, Nakhorn Si Thammarat, Phuket, Surat Thani, Ubon Ratchathani and Udon Thani while overseas destinations includes Phnom Penh, Macau, Xiamen, Shenzen, Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Johor Baharu, Yangon, Singapore, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Hong Kong.
-- BERNAMA
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