Bangkok Airways is currently facing very stiff competition in its domestic and regional markets. How is the airline coping?
Peter Wiesner - I think we're holding up well against the competition because we remain a niche companywhich boasts a high-quality product, a network of secondary destinations in Southeast Asia and Thailand, and code share agreements with 19 partners around the world. These code-share agreements are very important because we offer passengers the possibility of seamless check-in from end to end.
What do these code shares mean for Bangkok Airways?
P. W. - We have partnerships with 19 airlines, the latest being Emirates, with whom we signed an agreement at the end of July. And we are currently negotiating with Austrian Airlines and Air Astana. These partnerships make it possible toconsolidate Bangkok Air's presence around the world and offer additional passengers to our partners, who can market flights to popular destinations such as Samui, Phuket, Phnom Penh and Siem Reap under their own brand.
Would you like to open new routes?
P. W. - We are looking into the possibility of Bangkok Airways having a presence in the Vietnamto Philippines but also in China. We would like to expand or establish our presence in many countries in the region, but we often come up against restrictions from local authorities due to 'inadequate infrastructure'. For this winter, however, we will continue to increasing the density of our network with more flights from Samui to Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and probably Hong Kong. We are also adding capacity between Bangkok and Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Phuket and Phnom Penh.
