Combined aircraft capacity between Bangkok and Chiang Mai was further boosted on Monday when low-cost carrier Thai VietJet launched regular services on the busy route.
With the latest addition, there are no less than 48 daily flights operated by seven Thai-registered airlines, which together provide just over 19,000 seats a day both ways between the two cities.
Industry executives reckon that seat capacity on the Bangkok-Chiang Mai route has grown significantly but has been absorbed relatively well by demand from both leisure and business sides.
All airlines have reported robust cabin factors of around 80%, in spite of fierce fare competition and plentiful seat availability, they told the Bangkok Post.
There is room for growth in demand, but airlines are facing severe operating slot constraints both at Chiang Mai and Bangkok’s two airports — the low-cost carrier hub Don Mueang and the gateway Suvarnabhumi — the airlines said.
For the first eight months of 2016, Chiang Mai airport handled 4.78 million passengers on domestic flights, up by 14% year-on-year, with traffic to and from the capital being one of the major contributors, reported the Airports of Thailand Plc.
A good part of the traffic on the Bangkok-Chiang Mai route is generated by low-cost carriers operating from Don Mueang.
Leading the pack at Don Mueang is Thai AirAsia, which offers 12 flights per day, followed by Thai Lion Air with nine, Nok Air with seven and THAI Smile with eight operating from both Don Mueang and Suvarnabhumi.
Thai Airways International (THAI) and Bangkok Airways operate four and six daily flights, respectively, from Suvarnabhumi to Chiang Mai, with newcomer Thai VietJet also adopting similar airport pairs.
With the exception of THAI, which operates wide-body jets on the Bangkok-Chiang Mai route, all other players deploy single-aisle jets, such as the Airbus A320 and Boeing B737-800.
Bangkok-Chiang Mai is Thailand’s second busiest route in terms of passenger traffic, after Bangkok-Phuket, which hosts over 50 daily flights.
The entry of Thai VietJet on the Bangkok-Chiang Mai route is not a cause for concern among existing operators as its presence is limited and the airline still needs to establish itself in the market, especially in terms of brand awareness.
Because of Thai VietJet’s decision to operate from Suvarnabhumi, it is not seen as competing directly with low-cost airlines running from Don Mueang, where the rivalry is more intense.
Bangkok-Chiang Mai is the third route launched by Thai VietJet.