Bangkok Airways plans to launch a new service to Lampang following PB Air decision to close its business, last November.

Bangkok Airways CEO, Puthipong Prasatthong ? Osot, said the airline would launch a  daily flight to Lampang via Sukhothai this February. He also expects that the new Lampang service will boost travel to Sukhothai, where the airline has its own airport.

Last year, PB Air offered nine-weekly flights, from Bangkok to Lampang. The service was operated by ATR-72, which PB Air leased from Bangkok Airways up until it announced it was suspending all services.

Besides the new Lampang service, Bangkok Airways plans to increase frequency on its Bangkok ? Yangon route from seven-weekly service to 11 starting in February. He said traffic demand for Yangon had increased enough to warrant additional frequency.

Mr Puthipong said the airline?s expansion plans, this year, will be more cautious than in the past.

?We will study each route carefully and will evaluate whether we should resume some of the four routes suspended late last year such as Guilin, Xian, Ho Chi Minh City, and Hiroshima.

He forecast that the 2010 performance should be better by between 8 to 10%, based on there being stable conditions in Thailand.

?We are ready to expand partnerships, which include cooperation with Thai Airways International, other foreign carriers, and travel agencies,? he added.

By the end of this month, the airline expects to announce a code-share agreement with EVA Air and will strengthen relationships with travel agencies by boosting more activities in that business segment.

Last year, the airline served 2,552,070 passengers, slightly more than the 2,418,223 recorded in 2008, the year political protests closed airports in Bangkok and southern Thailand.

Sourced = The TTR Weekly