Asia-Pacific airlines have continued to add international capacity, with Thai Airways International hoping for an influx of Chinese tourists, and Singapore Airlines expanding its European network.
Thai is banking on an increase of demand from China based on Bangkok’s plan to waive visa requirements for Chinese tourists from 25 September to the end of February 2024.
From late October the Star Alliance carrier will boost frequencies from Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport to the Chinese cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Kunming, and Chengdu. From the beginning of December, it will boost Chinese frequencies to 56 per week from 49.
Given the popularity of Phuket among Chinese carriers, from 1 October Thai is also increasing capacity from Bangkok to the resort island, including through the addition of a daily widebody service to the resort island.
Bangkok Airways, meanwhile, has signed an interline partnership with Air India, allowing passengers to connect seamlessly between the two carrier’s networks.
Air India passengers can connect to the Bangkok Airways destinations of Chiang Mai, Lampang, Sukhothai, Koh Samui, Phuket, and Krabi. They can also connect to the international destinations of Luang Prabang, Phnom Penh, and Siem Reap. Passengers flying Air India to Hong Kong and Singapore can connect to Bangkok Airways services to Koh Samui.
From 5 April 2024, Singapore Airlines will return to the Belgian capital of Brussels after a two decade absence from the route.
The flight will operate four times a week using Airbus A350-900s. The addition of Brussels brings SIA’s European destinations to 13.
Taiwan’s Starlux will add its second USA destination after Los Angeles, with the commencement of a three-times-weekly service on the Taipei-San Francisco service from 16 December.
Batik Air Malaysia is also expanding internationally and will operate a Kuala Lumpur-Dubai service from 10 November.
“This addition to our ever-expanding network marks a significant milestone for Batik Air, and we are confident that it will open up a plethora of opportunities, both for our airline and for the travellers who choose to journey with us,” says the carrier.
All Nippon Airways is also boosting its network during the month of October, adding three weekly services on the Tokyo Narita-Shanghai Pudong route, and increasing frequencies on the Osaka Kansai-Shanghai Pudong route from three times weekly to eight times weekly, including the addition of a new four-times-weekly flight.
