THAI Smile splits flights.

THAI Smile, a unit of Thai Airways International, will move some of its flights from Suvarnabhumi Airport to Don Mueang Airport , where it will establish a second home-base, starting 8 August.
Thai Airways International acting executive vice president for commercial affairs, Suraphon Isragura na Ayuthya, said the Don Mueang operations would serve Phuket, Chiang Mai and Khon Kaen effective 8 August.
Thai Smile will operate two daily flights from Don Mueang Airport to Phuket and three daily flights each to Chiang Mai and Khon Kaen.
The move is quite unusual as airlines normally would be reluctant to duplicate ground handling services, while serving two airports in Bangkok, 50 km apart, could confuse passengers.
However, THAI expects to move all Thai Smile Air operations to Don Mueang by October 2015 (start of the winter timetable).
Flight schedule Bangkok (DMK) – Phuket (HKT)
Flight schedule Bangkok (DMK) – Chiang Mai (CNX)
Flight schedule Bangkok (DMK) – Khon Kaen (KKC)
To support the shift of three services to Don Mueang Airport the airline is offering promotional fares to Chiang Mai and Khon Kaen at THB990 and Phuket at THB1,090. The fares include airport taxes and fees.
Passengers can book the fares up to 31 August for travel from 8 August until the end of the month.
Nok Air flies two daily flights to Khon Kaen with an inclusive fare starting at THB1,311; four daily flights to Phuket with a THB1,799 fare and six daily flights to Chiang Mai with THB1,499 starting fare.
Thai AirAsia operates four daily flights to Khon Kaen with an inclusive fare starting at THB1,147; six daily flights to Chiang Mai with a THB1,289 fare; and 12 daily flights to Phuket with a starting fare of THB1,383.
There are some variations of these fares, but it illustrates the competition THAI Smile will face to win over passengers, many of them loyal to a particular low-cost airlines.
THAI’s decision to move some of its flights to DMK from its home-base at Suvarnabhumi could be a political response rather than a decision based on solid business reasons.
The two airports in Bangkok are 50 km apart and the transfer between them can take up to two hours, due to heavy traffic ongestion. If there was a fast airport rail link between the two airport, operating out of two airports in the city would be more feasible for connecting passengers.
The move will double ground handling costs, as long as the airline tries to offer services from both airports. The management says the flights selected for DMK have departure times that are not critical for connecting passeangeers on THAI’s long-haul international flights.

Sourced: ttrweekly