Nok Air flies to India as it's first global destination

Thailand’s low-fare airline Nok Air chooses India’s IT capital as its first global destination. The Thai no-frill airline, which has a 28% market share at home, is expanding into India to increase utilisation of its existing seven aircraft and boost revenues. The airline will launch daily flights from Bangalore to Bangkok from June 1 on Boeing 737-400 with a capacity of 150 seats. India scored over other attractive Asian destinations thanks to its air traffic potential and open regime. Today, the air traffic between India and Thailand is growing at the fastest rate - at a whopping 20-30% annually. With promotional fare starting from Rs 9999 for a round trip, the airline would require a 70% load factor to breakeven.



Nok Air has tied up with international brands like Bebe, Replay, Bossini, Nike and others to offer special discounts to its flyers. Nok Air, which has landing rights for Chennai, Hyderabad and New Delhi (besides Bangalore), has earmarked Rs 20-30 crore for marketing and promotion. The carrier has roped in Bird Group for marketing and distribution in India.

The Thai Airways’ low-cost arm, which began operations in 2004 with an investment of Rs 500 crore (500 million Baht), has broken even in the domestic market and recorded a 400% jump in its profit to Rs 160 crore (160 million Baht) in 2006 from Rs 41 crore (41 million Baht) in 2005.