DAVID FULLBROOK / BANGKOK
More passengers and expansion plans stretch capacity
Bangkok-based Air Andaman needs to lease two more Fokker 50s to meet an increase in passenger numbers expected later this year on domestic routes and for possible international expansion.
Air Andaman now serves more cities in Thailand than any other private airline and will be number one if Thai Airways International withdraws from routes operated jointly by the two carriers, says Air Andaman president Atichart Athakravisunthorn.
Three Fokker 50s are unlikely to be enough to serve the domestic network, which has grown quickly this year after Thai's exit from many routes. "We probably won't be taking on any more routes for the foreseeable future," says Atichart.
Air Andaman's next move is likely to be international routes. "We are talking to other airlines about operating flights into the area as a codeshare or on a contract basis, especially from the provincial airports," says Atichart.
Charter flights to industrial areas of southern China are also under discussion, plus towns in Indonesia and Malaysia from Had Yai, Thailand's southern commercial capital. A deal with at least one Indonesian airline should be signed soon.
Air Andaman is carrying 15,000 passengers a month.
Interline agreements with foreign carriers could be tied up by year-end. Last month, Thai agreed a codeshare deal with Air Andaman and PB Air on domestic routes.
Source: Flight International
