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BANGKOK:-- Thai AirAsia has reduced its fares by removing the ticket-booking fee from its fare structure in a move that should help the airline achieve its business goal this year and boost the country's tourism industry.
CEO Tassapon Bijleveld yesterday said the airline had over the past few months asked passengers to complete a questionnaire about their requirements.
Customers told the carrier that people still wanted to travel with the airline but at a more affordable price.
Thai AirAsia therefore decided to waive the ticket-booking fee, which is about Bt300 per passenger per trip, effective from yesterday. This applies to all bookings, whether or not they are made online.
Malaysian-based AirAsia early this year became the first airline in the world to do away with fuel |surcharges completely, as part of a strategy to increase passenger numbers.
"From now on, when customers open Thai AirAsia's homepage to reserve tickets, they will see only the fare and airport tax, which we have to collect from our passengers and pass to the airport operators. This strategy is what we call 'What You See Is What You Pay'.
"It will be easier and more transparent than in the past. Taking both the fuel surcharge and ticket-booking fee, we've now waived about Bt1,000 per passenger per trip.
This will make Thai AirAsia truly the lowest-cost airline in the world," Tassapon said.
Accompanying this announcement, the airline has launched a regional campaign offering cheaper fares, totalling 200,000 seats, on several routes for customers who book tickets until Sunday for travel between October 1 and next April 30.
Tassapon believes the booking-fee waiver will enable the carrier to achieve its goal of serving 5.2 million passengers this year.
"I also believe our big decision will boost the Thai tourism industry and that this will be good for all businesses, including hotels, resorts and restaurants," he said.
The CEO said Thai AirAsia's operating results for the first six months of the year were quite good, as passenger numbers were expected to grow by 12 per cent year on year. Revenue has also increased.
Passenger numbers from January to April increased by 15 per cent year on year but have fallen slightly in May and June, due to the type-A (H1N1) flu outbreak.
He said the airline's fare-reduction strategy was aimed at increasing passenger volume. A lower gross profit margin was not a problem as long as it could still make a net profit, he added.
"We can make a profit on some routes, such as Bali, Hong Kong, Phuket, Singapore and Krabi, but there will be losses on others. But we can still turn a net profit on our bottom line. That's why we can survive even though we've cut fares," he said.
Thai AirAsia plans to add another daily flight from Bangkok to Hong Kong in September and is considering opening a Bangkok-Taiwan route in the near future.
-- The Nation 2009-06-25
