Xeque
18th Sep 2003, 16:20
From the Bangkok Post today....
THAI to begin flying to Samui despite landing safety concerns
Aims to compete with Bangkok Airways
(by) Boonsong Kositchotethana
Thai Airways International will break into the Samui skies long dominated by Bangkok Airways starting next month, even though the island's airport cannot safely accommodate the type of aircraft it intends to use.
According to industry sources, THAI has been pressured by certain figures in the Thaksin Shinawatra government to embark on two return daily flights on the Bangkok-Samui route using Boeing 737-400 jets. The aim is to break the dominance on the route by the country's largest private airline, they say.
Under the licence granted by the Department of Aviation, the Samui airport _ built, owned and operated by Bangkok Airways _ can handle aircraft with a maximum take-off weight of 57.715 tonnes, wingspan of 36 metres and maximum approach speed of 141 knots.
The airport, which has cost one billion baht to build and upgrade over time, has a runway 2,060 metres long and 45 metres wide.
The largest plane it can handle is a Boeing 717, the smallest in its passenger jet family, which Bangkok Airways operates along with smaller ATR72 turbo-prop aircraft.
THAI's B737-400, with 149 seats, has a maximum take-off weight of 68 tonnes, or about 20% over the airport's existing capacity.
Prasert Prasarttong-Osoth, president and chief executive of Bangkok Airways, said landing a 737-400 at Samui airport could pose safety problems.
He said his firm had no objection to allowing THAI to land the bigger jets as long as the Department of Aviation agreed, though he warned of prohibitive costs related to runway repairs and maintenance.
Chalor Kotcharat, director-general of Department of Aviation, said yesterday he opposed using aircraft exceeding the size limit for Samui.
``The department only supports the use of small aircraft for Samui. There are also questions of the short runway and noise pollution (associated with bigger aircraft),'' he said.
However, an aviation expert said THAI could reduce the weight of cargo, passengers and fuel on the 737-400 to meet the limit.
Sources say political figures have been pushing Thai Airways to serve Samui to create competition with Bangkok Airways and bring down fares on the latter's cash-cow route.
Bangkok Airways, which turned the little-known southern island into a global tropical destination since launching regular air service in 1989, has been criticised for excessive fares.
Dr Prasert said the criticism was unfair, and that foreign tourists, who make up 93% of the Samui passenger traffic, rarely complained about the fares.
However, to deal with criticism of its fares, Bangkok Airways will offer discounts for Thai nationals starting on Jan 15. The reduced fare will be 6,000 baht in the high season and 5,000 baht in the low season, compared with the normal fare of 7,100 baht.
(there are about 65 Thai Baht to the GPB or 42 to the US Dollar just to give you an idea of the fares .. Xeque)
THAI to begin flying to Samui despite landing safety concerns
Aims to compete with Bangkok Airways
(by) Boonsong Kositchotethana
Thai Airways International will break into the Samui skies long dominated by Bangkok Airways starting next month, even though the island's airport cannot safely accommodate the type of aircraft it intends to use.
According to industry sources, THAI has been pressured by certain figures in the Thaksin Shinawatra government to embark on two return daily flights on the Bangkok-Samui route using Boeing 737-400 jets. The aim is to break the dominance on the route by the country's largest private airline, they say.
Under the licence granted by the Department of Aviation, the Samui airport _ built, owned and operated by Bangkok Airways _ can handle aircraft with a maximum take-off weight of 57.715 tonnes, wingspan of 36 metres and maximum approach speed of 141 knots.
The airport, which has cost one billion baht to build and upgrade over time, has a runway 2,060 metres long and 45 metres wide.
The largest plane it can handle is a Boeing 717, the smallest in its passenger jet family, which Bangkok Airways operates along with smaller ATR72 turbo-prop aircraft.
THAI's B737-400, with 149 seats, has a maximum take-off weight of 68 tonnes, or about 20% over the airport's existing capacity.
Prasert Prasarttong-Osoth, president and chief executive of Bangkok Airways, said landing a 737-400 at Samui airport could pose safety problems.
He said his firm had no objection to allowing THAI to land the bigger jets as long as the Department of Aviation agreed, though he warned of prohibitive costs related to runway repairs and maintenance.
Chalor Kotcharat, director-general of Department of Aviation, said yesterday he opposed using aircraft exceeding the size limit for Samui.
``The department only supports the use of small aircraft for Samui. There are also questions of the short runway and noise pollution (associated with bigger aircraft),'' he said.
However, an aviation expert said THAI could reduce the weight of cargo, passengers and fuel on the 737-400 to meet the limit.
Sources say political figures have been pushing Thai Airways to serve Samui to create competition with Bangkok Airways and bring down fares on the latter's cash-cow route.
Bangkok Airways, which turned the little-known southern island into a global tropical destination since launching regular air service in 1989, has been criticised for excessive fares.
Dr Prasert said the criticism was unfair, and that foreign tourists, who make up 93% of the Samui passenger traffic, rarely complained about the fares.
However, to deal with criticism of its fares, Bangkok Airways will offer discounts for Thai nationals starting on Jan 15. The reduced fare will be 6,000 baht in the high season and 5,000 baht in the low season, compared with the normal fare of 7,100 baht.
(there are about 65 Thai Baht to the GPB or 42 to the US Dollar just to give you an idea of the fares .. Xeque)