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Wednesday, October 26, 2005
Thai Airways need market for direct flight to Cebu
Thailand’s flag carrier is open to possibilities of landing directly in Cebu from Bangkok, Thailand.
But unless Thai Airways is able to find an inbound market for Cebu, the airline will continue to operate direct flights from Bangkok to Manila only.
“We are still looking for inbound market. It is difficult to sell inbound (passengers from Thailand to Cebu, and the Philippines in general) because Thailand basically has everything that Cebu can offer. Most of the Thais do not go out of Thailand for leisure,” Thai Airways passenger sales supervisor Malu Oclarence-Dueñas said.
She told the press during an informal dinner at the Krua Thai restaurant at the Banilad Town Center last week that most of Thai Airways’ inbound passengers to Cebu and the Philippines are overseas Filipino workers.
Thai’s operation in the Philippines, however, is doing “good,” which means that many people from the Philippines go to Thailand, Dueñas said.
Filipino tourists
She said many Filipinos, who spend their vacation in Thailand, are on incentive trips from their companies.
Some 1.5 percent of the 13.35 million tourists, who visited Thailand last year, are Filipinos.
Earlier, Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT)-Philippine marketing representative David de Jesus said that the Thais travel within their own country because the Thai government is very active in promoting local tourism, especially during lean seasons.
Thai operates 11 flights a week – with seven day-flights and four night-flights - from Manila to Bangkok.
According to a statement, the financial year 2003-2004 was Thai Airways’ 40th consecutive year of profit.
The company’s operational revenues reached 156.2 billion baht.
Thai Airways carried during the period a total of 19.5 million passengers over its international and domestic route network and launched flights to five new destinations: Milan in Italy, Chennai and Bangalore in India, Jinghong in China and Luang Prabang in Laos.
On its 45th anniversary this year, Thai will implement its expansion plans and rebranding that includes redesigning the airline’s insignia, known as the dancing man, which is a stylized image of a Thai classical dancer.
“The new design, created by Walter Landor Associates, is a purple, magenta and gold jumpee, which incorporated elements of traditional Thai imagery, the gold of temples and rich colors of tropical orchids and Thailand’s lustrous silk.” (JBN)
(October 26, 2005 issue)
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