CEBU CITY (PNA) – Thai Smile Airways has announced it will offer Bangkok-Cebu-Bangkok direct air services starting in October this year.
Thai Smile, in a press statement by the Department of Tourism (DOT), said it will fly to Cebu daily, three times weekly in the morning and four times weekly in the afternoon.
The airline will be using an Airbus A320 with 162 dual class seats, with 12 business class and 150 economy class seats.
Cebu Association of Tour Operators president Edilberto Mendoza Jr. welcomed the entry of a new airline with a direct flight to another country.
“It is really good news for all of us who loves to go to Bangkok. Cebu is really opening its doors to the rest of the world. Thanks to our new airport expansion that is opening very soon,” Mendoza said.
Stephanie Villahermosa, managing director of Divaishnavi International Inc., a travel and tour agency, said Thai Smile’s entry to Cebu will definitely add “more fun, endless possibilities and wonders.”
Thai Smile Airways is the regional airline and wholly-owned subsidiary of Thai Airways.
Based in Thailand, it began operation in July 2012.
The daily Bangkok-Cebu-Bangkok route is in addition to Thai Smile’s five international routes and 12 domestic routes in Thailand.
Thai Smile executive Wutcharin Thatan said the airline expects a good amount of traffic from both ends, considering Bangkok is one of the popular destinations among Filipino business and leisure travelers.
Thailand is also located strategically between the Philippines and Europe, the Middle East, and India, where visitor traffic to the country registers double-digit growth annually.
Arrivals from Thailand to Central Visayas during the first quarter of 2016 stood at 1,757, up by 29.70 percent compared to the 1,361 arrivals recorded in 2015.
Cebu, specifically, welcomed 1,280 guests from Thailand, up by 15.52 percent.
Of the ten Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member countries, Thailand is one of the biggest tourism source market for the region next to Singapore and Malaysia.
Central Visayas closed 2015 with 6,076 total arrivals from Thailand, a growth of 5.63 percent. Cebu welcomed 5,028 Thai visitors.
Thatan said the direct Cebu-Bangkok flights will be faster and more convenient for travelers from the central and southern Philippines than the current option of flying from Cebu to Manila onwards to Bangkok, saving both in flying time and local fares. (