Bangkok is losing air capacities to Europe

BANGKOK, Thailand (eTN) – The 29.5 percent share of Etihad Airways, official national carrier of the UAE – in the capital of Air Berlin – will have consequences in the German carrier network in Asia. Looking at synergies, both carriers will reorient most Asian flights via Abu Dhabi. According to internal sources to the airline’s group, the new strategy is to give Etihad the control over passenger traffic to the East – from the Gulf to Asia – while Air Berlin would reinforce its long-haul presence to the West, from Europe to the Americas for example.

A notable exception in Thailand will be a new service from Air Berlin from Phuket to Abu Dhabi, subject to government approval from both countries. Air Berlin/Etihad will, in fact, increase their presence between Germany and Abu Dhabi with three daily flights starting by March 25. Two of those frequencies will serve the Abu Dhabi-Düsseldorf route, while another daily frequency will directly connect Berlin.

In parallel, Etihad is boosting its presence in Thailand. The UAE national carrier will add a third daily Abu Dhabi-Bangkok service from April 15 with a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft in a two-class configuration. The expansion of Etihad Airways in Bangkok will then compensate the termination of Air Berlin non-stop flights from the Thai capital to both Düsseldorf and Berlin. All the new flights via Abu Dhabi will be conducted in codeshare.

The strategic withdrawal of Air Berlin from Bangkok happens at a time of capacity reduction between Europe and Thailand, due to some airlines internal strategies but also due to the lasting recession in European markets. While load factors to Thailand remain very high from Europe – generally in a range of 75 percent to 82 percent – the yield per passenger remains lower than to China or Singapore… Air France will for example sharply reduce its capacity to Bangkok, from 7 to 3 weekly flights, while Qantas and British Airways will realign their frequencies for the coming summer season.

Even national carrier, Thai Airways, will reduce its services to cities such as Milan, Copenhagen, Paris, and Stockholm. And it seems that the Thai carrier suffers also on its new Brussels-Bangkok route launched last November. Despite strong numbers from Europe, Bangkok looks to be the first victim of a combination of declining yields, rising air taxes, and heavy competition from the Middle East.