Thai AirAsia to launch further services from Phuket in 18 months

Thai AirAsia reportedly plans to launch additional services from Phuket, as part of plans to develop the destination as its second Thai hub, including services to Denpasar, Surabaya, Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Manila (Bangkok Post, 14-Oct-2009). The carrier earlier announced plans to launch services from Phuket to Hong Kong and Jakarta, on 15-Nov-2009, followed by services to Medan - see Route Changes Table for more information. The LCC is also reportedly considering developing hubs at Chiang Mai, Udon Thani or U-tapao.

Thai AirAsia: "We need three or four months to prove that our decision to make Phuket our second hub is right commercially before we make further strides. We could easily fly in 2,000 tourists a day from those foreign cities to Phuket, ramping up from 600 people a day initially we expect from the first batch of cities," Tassapon Bijleveld, CEO. Source: Bangkok Post, 14-Oct-2009.