Thai AirAsia: pursuing expansion in China & India as rapid fleet & secondary base growth continues

Thai AirAsia is planning further growth in China as it continues to expand its fleet rapidly. The LCC is planning to add five to six aircraft per annum over the next few years and allocate approximately half of the additional capacity to China, which is already by far its largest international market. India is another focus area for Thai AirAsia.

A large portion of the additional aircraft will be based at secondary cities. Approximately 30% of Thai AirAsia's fleet is now based outside Bangkok, compared to 15% two years ago, and this portion will continue to increase as the airline expands.

Thai AirAsia is particularly keen to grow its base at U-Tapao near the resort of Pattaya, which opened in Sep-2015 and now has two aircraft. Thai AirAsia plans to expand the U-Tapao/Pattaya base by one or two aircraft in 2017, enabling new routes to China. Thai AirAsia is also considering the launch of international services in 2017 from Khon Kaen, which could become its seventh base and the fifth gateway for services to mainland China.