At the lastASEANthe Association of South-East Asian Countries, tourism ministers, hoteliers and tour operators have regularly voiced the criticism that thelack of air capacity and connectivity. An element that has a real impact on flight prices and how easy it is for travellers to get from one place to another.
This complaint finally seems to have found an echo with the airlines. A series of new routes (often abandoned at the time of Covid) will provide better coverage of the region. The Indochinese peninsula in particular.
The region's scheduled and low-cost airlines have announced a number of route openings, particularly from the two main Indochinese hubs : Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City.
In Vietnam, the low-cost carrier Vietjethas become the leader in terms of traffic on domestic and regional routes. daily flight between Hanoi and Siem Reap to Cambodia. On 25 February, the low-cost carrier will begin four weekly flights between Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and Vientianecapital of Laos.
Cambodian and Laotian national airlines on the attack
Several new routes have been added to the country's network. The national airline Lao Airlines will start in March three weekly frequencies between Bangkok and Savannakhet. This city, in the south, is the second most populous in Laos after Vientiane.
Lao Airlines is also launching a new route Vientiane-Phnom Penh (3 flights/week) as well as Vientiane-Danang, Vietnam's third largest city. On this route, the carrier will offer two flights a week.
For its part, the largest company in Cambodia, Cambodia Angkor Airwill offer three weekly flights between Phnom Penh and Singapore as well as 4 weekly flights to Delhi. Cambodia, however, is looking forward to the launch ofAirAsia Cambodia. The low-cost airline, a subsidiary of AirAsia, is generally perceived as a traffic accelerator. Initially scheduled to begin flights at the end of 2023, it now appears that the airline could launch its first routes in May or June of this year.
Six new airlines in Thailand?
As for Thailand, it looks on with surprise and credulity at the possible launch in 2024 of six new local airlines. With passenger traffic estimated at 130 million by 2024The largest market in the Mekong sub-region remains attractive. The arrival of Pattaya Airways, Asian Aerospace Service, Avanti Air Charter, Siam Seaplane, Asia Atlantic Airlines and Really Cool Airlines. They all want to concentrate on intra-Asian traffic. With the exception of Really Cool Airlines which over the next two years also plans to conquer European markets. Thailand attracts some six million tourists from the Old Continent every year.
