Thai Smile intends to suspend Macau-Bangkok route

Thai Airways International’s budget airline, the Thai Smile, is considering the suspension of its two daily flights between Macau and Bangkok between May 16 and September 30. The airline attributed this move to a low occupancy level that has not met expectations.
The company’s CEO, Woranate Laprabang, told the Macau Business Daily that the route’s occupancy currently stands at 50 percent. It has therefore failed to meet the anticipated occupancy of 65 to 70 percent, which was suggested when the number of daily flights was increased to two per day in last October.
The CEO noted that the passengers are basically all travelers from Thailand, which is most likely due to the fact that the brand receives full support from its local partners in Thailand. “Thai Smile is relatively new and we have quite limited exposure in Macau. We don’t have enough support from Macau travel agencies. We need to find the right partners there first,” he explained, as quoted by the newspaper.
In an attempt to boost its Macau–Bangkok route, which is currently not fully utilised by the Macau market, the airline is seeking business partners in mainland China, namely travel agencies in Zhuhai, Zhongshan and Jiangmen. In a separate statement, the South China chief of Air Macau revealed that the local airline’s three daily flights between Macau and Bangkok are normally loaded at about 80 percent. During the Easter and Ching Ming holidays, tickets are allegedly “hard to get”.
The local airport states that it has been working towards accommodating diverse airliners in Macau. Currently, there are two other airlines operating the Macau-Thailand routes, namely Air Macau and Air Asia. The Times contacted the Macau International Airport Company yesterday to discuss this matter,
but received no reply by press time.