TG adds Japanese service

THAI Airways International will launch three weekly flights between Bangkok and Sendai in Japan, 3 December.

Speaking at a press conference, Monday, the airline’s senior executive vice president commercial department, Chokchai Panyayong, said Japan was a major target market and growing fast especially after the Japanese government approved visa-free travel for Thai tourists, 1 July and the Yen’s depreciation against the baht.

He said visa exemtion increased Thai travel to Japan 103.2%, according to the latest figures released by Japan National Tourism Organisation.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand also reported that more than 400,000 Japanese travelled to Thailand in the first quarter of this year up 22%.

“Thailand was the second most popular destination for Japanese,” he added.

During the first nine months of this year, the airline achieved a cabin factor of 79.8% on routes to Japan. Traffic has grown by 23.7%.

“There are opportunities to increase services and add new destinations,” he told the media briefing.

The Sendai  service will mark the airline’s seventh destination after Sapporo, Narita, Haneda, Nagoya, Fukuoka, and Osaka.

Using Airbus A 330-300, THAI will operate three flights on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. The aircraft has 299 seats with 36 seats in business class and 263 seats in economy.

“Sendai is  famous as the City of Trees and is noted for its beautiful nature…its signature destinations are Matsushima, a group of islands in Miyagi Prefecture, Aoba Castle, and Date Masamune statue.”

Based on the success of the Sendai route and passenger feedback the airline will consider more routes to Japan possibly to Hiroshima and Okinawa.

THAI president, Sorajak Kasemsuvan, who attended the briefing, cited the long history of close relations between Thailand and Japan.

“Sendai is an industrial and tourism city … it can deliver a combination of business and leisure traffic for the airline.”

Japan’s ambassador to Thailand, Shigekazu Sato, said: “We are pleased that THAI  will open up more routes, which will support Thai tourists to know and travel more to Sendai, a home of thousands of trees, age-old hot springs and Japanese food.”

On 11 March 2011, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake and a subsequent tsunami hit Sendai, destroying fishing villages, disabling a nuclear reactor and causing unprecedented radiation fall-out along the coastal area. The tsunami also seriously damaged Sendai Airport. The city itself was spared.

“The situation is now fully recovered and I can confirm that Sendai is safe for travel…the upcoming route then will attract and encourage tourists to travel more,” the Ambassador reported.

Sendai is the capital city of Miyagi Prefecture, Japan and the largest city in the Tohoku region and a major base of the region’s logistics and transportation.

Sourced: ttrweekly