SOUTH African travellers to
Thailand – the second most
popular leisure destination in the
South African market after Mauritius –
can expect to see the price of packages
rise, after Thai Airways announced it
would pull its South African route in
January next year.
The airline’s last flight from South
Africa will be on January 14, confirmed
Tom Liangman, Thai Airways’ marketing
representative for South Africa.
Tom told TNW, at the time of going
to print, that it was unclear why head
office had taken the decision. He
said passengers booked on Thai
Airways after January 14 would be
re-accommodated on other airlines.
Despite the inconvenience of flying
via other destinations, travellers can
expect to see package prices to
Thailand, which is renowned for being a
‘value-for-money’ destination, rise.
“Thai Airways is the only airline from
South Africa that flies directly into
Bangkok and it is one of the most
popular carriers that operators use to
package tours to the Far East,” says
Rachael Penaluna, business manager
of Sure Maritime Travel.
For example, passengers will have
to travel via Singapore, which not only
means another two hours’ flying time
but, more importantly, greater expense.
“Thai Airways’ airfares to Bangkok,
compared with Singapore Airlines via
Singapore, are considerably cheaper.
Now, South Africans can travel to
Thailand for R7 663. Singapore
Airlines’ flights are R9 571.”
The local travel trade has reacted to
the news with great disappointment.
This is the third time the airline has cut
flights to South Africa.
“Here we go again. Been there
done that. This is very disappointing
and confusing,” says Sean Hough,
marketing manager of Pentravel. “Our
numbers to Thailand are up hugely, with
growth year on year. The destination is
doing so well. We’ve invested so much
in the airline and the destination – a
destination we believe in.
“To pull flights to South Africa just
doesn’t make sense, and with no real
consultation with the trade. It would
have been nice to know in advance,”
he says.
Mary Shilleto, ceo of Thompsons
Travel, says: “The news is very sad but
not surprising. Thai Airways’ traffic to
and from South Africa is seasonal and,
as a business, it’s in their best interest
to put their metal on high-yield routes.
The news is not good for us; we’ve
sent many people to Thailand and it’s a
lovely product to sell.”
The Tourism Authority of Thailand said
it would continue to promote Thailand
to the South African holidaymaker. “It
is, after all, the second most popular
outbound destination next to Mauritius,
with stats of around 70 000 visitors on
an annual basis – and growing!
“Together with our travel trade
partners we are in the process of
formalising a new 2015 strategy,
which will include other airline carriers,
including joint promotions. Travellers
may be slightly inconvenienced
by not having a direct route
any more, however we need to
be positive and continue as
many joint efforts as possible,”
TAT said.
Karen Camm, Holiday Tours
product manager for the Far
East, says re-booking clients
shouldn’t be too difficult as
there is still enough availability
for the second half of January.
She also explains that the
situation would have been
more problematic had Thai
Airways decided to withdraw
from South Africa before the
peak period in December.
“Although there are no other
carriers that will offer the
convenience of direct flights, a
large number of airlines offer
South African travellers options
to travel to Thailand. These
carriers include Cathay Pacific,
Singapore Airlines, Emirates,
Etihad and Qatar Airways.”
Thai Airways re-launched
flights to Johannesburg in
2010 after pulling out of
the route for the second
time in January 2009 due
to poor loads.
