Orient Thai to start flights to Kathmandu

Business News - Thursday December 20, 2007

Orient Thai to start flights to Kathmandu

BOONSONG KOSITCHOTETHANA

Orient Thai Airlines is preparing to start Bangkok-Kathmandu flights on Dec 29, breaking a decades-long monopoly on the route by Thai Airways International. Orient Thai will become the third carrier to serve Nepal's capital from Bangkok on a scheduled basis in addition to THAI and Nepal Airlines, which recently suspended all international services after its last working Boeing 757 jetliner was sent for maintenance.

The Thai airline will offer three flights a week, on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, according to Orient Thai chief executive Udom Tantiprasongchai.

The flights will be operated by a 172- seat MD-80 borrowed from One-Two-Go Airlines, Orient Thai's budget carrier which runs no-frills domestic services in Thailand.

Orient Thai's entry will likely siphon traffic away from THAI, which has recently begun to user higher capacity Boeing 777s that can seat more than 300 passengers on the lucrative route. THAI operates daily flights from Bangkok to Kathmandu that are highly popular among holiday makers, trekkers and corporate travellers.

With Orient Thai joining the route, Thailand will use the maximum number of flight frequencies allocated to Thai airlines, or 10 flights per week.

The Nepalese government has decided to allow all foreign airlines to add up to four flights a week for four months in anticipation of an air-seat crunch during the upcoming tourism season.

The launch of Orient Thai's Kathmandu route will help solve the capacity shortage as Nepal Airlines is not expected to resume its overseas flights until Jan 4, when one of its two 757s returns to service.

One of the two jetliners, which are used for international flights, has been grounded due to engine problems for several months, while the second needs to undergo routine maintenance.

Nepalese authorities hope that both planes would be back in service by March, while efforts to purchase new aircraft were dogged by charges of corruption in the past.

Kathmandu will be the third overseas destination Orient Thai will serve from Bangkok, in addition to Hong Kong and Incheon in South Korea.

Orient Thai decided to pull out of Bangkok-Guangzhou service after about one month in operation in October due to cut-throat competition, mainly from the Guangzhou home-carrier China Southern Airlines.

Bangkok Post