Asia News Desk » PB Air

PB Air halves flights on southern route

Prahok — Tue, 22 Nov 2005 23:56:45 +0000

The Bangkok Post reports that competition from Nok Air has led to PB Air cutting flights from 14 to 7 a week on the Bangkok to Nakhon Si Thammarat route. PB Air will also return a 114-seat Airbus A319 that it had leased from Druk Air of Bhutan for the route. PB Air Pres Jothin Pamon-Montri said the changes had been made because seats were oversupplied when Nok Air began flying the route on October 30. PB Air will continue to use a 50-seat Embraer jet to reflect what Capt Jothin said was actual demand.

PB Air feels heat from Nok Air

Prahok — Sun, 20 Nov 2005 23:40:36 +0000

The Bangkok Post reports that PB Air may have to stop its daily Bangkok-Nakhon Si Thammarat flights if passenger load stays low as travellers shift to the no-frills carrier Nok Air as the airline has faced intense competition since Nok Air started flying the route on October 30. Passengers numbers dropped sharply with 35-40 travellers aboard some of its 114-seat A319 jetliners, which require a 75% load factor to break even with operating costs. More and more travellers have turned to Nok Air, apparently attracted by the airline’s lower fare of 1,200-2,000 baht one-way, compared to 3,180 baht charged by PB Air.

Skies not very open for Nok Air’s rivals

Prahok — Fri, 28 Oct 2005 00:08:04 +0000

The Bangkok Post has an interesting piece Friday on Thailand’s “open-sky policy”, which at least on the domestic horizon, does not seem to be as open as authorities claim. Both PB Air and One-Two-Go by Orient Thai are complaining that Nok Air (which is 39% owned by government-controlled THAI) is receiving preferential treatment as THAI ditches its loss-making domestic routes. Nok Air is effectively subsidised by THAI, leasing its aircraft from THAI at book value + 1%, while its domestic rivals have to lease at market rates. It also receives subsidised maintenance fees competitors have alleged — hardly a level playing field. The fares reflect to an extent this disparity in costs, with PB Air charging 3,180B for a flight to Nakhon Si Thammarat, while Nok Air can fly the same route for as little as 1,250B — who would you fly?