Airline company eyes Russian love of Pattaya
Qatar Airways is making U-tapao airport its next port of call, making it a Gulf airline company that uses the most protection of Thailand.
The fast-growing Middle East provider will provide non-stop service, 4 flights a week, from the Qatari capital Doha to the Thai eastern coast beginning on Jan 28 next year.
The Doha-U-tapao flight begins the heels of its launch of Doha-Chiang Mai service, which is verified to start on Dec 12 after some small hold-ups.
The Doha-U-tapao path will enhance Qatar’s connections with Thailand to 5 direct paths, more than its Gulf competitors– Emirates and Etihad Airways– which both focus on serving Bangkok from their house bases in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, respectively.
That highlights Qatar’s favorable view of direct traffic capacity to the Thai resort Pattaya, which is served by the Navy-operated U-tapao airport in Rayong.
Airline company sources stated Qatar mostly considers traffic from Russia and Ukraine, which it links from Doha.
Pattaya is among the most popular vacation locations for Russians, Ukranians and previous Russian republics, specifically throughout the high season, ranging from November to March.
Dubai-based Emirates has actually long revealed interest in running a routine flight to U-tapao, however Qatar has actually been the only Gulf provider strong sufficient to develop a link.
Qatar will be the very first first-class Middle East airline company to provide flights to and from U-tapao, which is mainly served by affordable providers like AirAsia with flights to and from China.
Akbar Al Baker, Qatar Airways group president, explained Pattaya as one of Southeast Asia’s most popular locations and stated Thailand is continuing to grow in appeal with Qatar’s guests.
Qatar will run a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, with 22 seats in company class and 232 seats in economy class on the Doha-U-tapao flights.
Qatar Airways flies to 3 locations in Thailand– 35 times a week to Bangkok, 14 times a week to Phuket and everyday to Krabi starting on Dec 1 this year.
From Dec 12, Qatar will likewise fly 4 times a week to Chiang Mai, which will take the airline company’s weekly frequency to 60 flights a week.
The 20-year-old airline company is including brand-new locations to its growing network in 2017/18, consisting of St Petersburg and Canberra.
