TG drops surcharges

Thai Airways International will cancel fuel surcharge on domestic routes, 1 April, but the unpopular surcharge will remain on international routes throughout this year.

Thai executive vice president, commercial, Pruet Boobphakam, told TTR Weekly that effective, 1 April, the fuel surcharge would end, but it was likely that some fares would be revised to absorb part or all of the surcharge.

But at least on the domestic routes, it will give passengers the bottom-line cost without the need to make any further calculations.

?We will begin with the domestic routes, but the same policy will be active on international routes by the end of this year.?

Also, Mr Pruet said domestic fares have not been increased to reflect the actual costs. ?Salary costs increase 7% every year. We have no other options but increase fares accordingly to close the gap.?

However, he claims domestic fares are still about 50% lower than what was allowed under aviation regulations.

?The law sets a ceiling of Bt13 per passenger km flown, but we price fares at Bt7 or even Bt5 a kilometre. We are going to raise fares to match reality. We haven?t increased domestic fares for years, while our costs have increased. That?s why our yield is poor.?

Sourced = The TTR Weekly