TRAVEL TITBITS
Airport reopening
The Department of Airports (DoA) plans to reopen Nakhon Ratchasima airport for commercial flights.
According to DoA director-general Darun Saengchai, the movement was fully supported by public and private sectors in the province including the Nakhon Ratchasima Chamber of Commerce; the Federation of Thai Industries, Nakhon Ratchasima Chapter; and provincial authorities.
The plan might be rolled out by the end of this year. If approved by the government, the airport could initially serve domestic regional flights from Nakhon Ratchasima to Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Phuket.
The 2 billion baht Nakhon Ratchasima Airport is located in Chalerm Phrakiat district, about 30km east of the central city. Opened in 1997, the airport facilities include four aircraft bays, an aircraft parking area, a 2.1km runway and a 5,500m² passenger terminal which can accommodate up to 300 passengers per hour.
During its early years of operation, some commercial airlines launched domestic flight services such as Thai Airways, Air Andaman and Kan Airlines, but later discontinued the services due to financial losses.
However, the airport is still in operation and serves chartered flights and flights for student pilots of the Bangkok Aviation Centre, Thailand’s first private aviation school located in the same area of the airport.
The statistics of DoA showed that the airport served 53 chartered and cargo flights, 53 arrival passengers and 36 departure passengers last year. The flights were from airports in Bangkok, Buri Ram, Hua Hin, Khon Kaen, Prachin Buri, Ubon Ratchathani, Sultan Mahmud Airport in Malaysia, Malekolon Airport in Papua New Guinea and Oradea Airport in Romania.
During the first five months of this year, 15 flights landed at the airport with a total of 25 arrival passengers and 29 departure passengers. The flights flew to and from Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang airports, Hua Hin airport, Palembang airport in Indonesia and Tianjin Binhai International Airport in China. To further promote Nakhon Ratchasima airport, DoA has recently announced service-fee exemption for any aircraft to land and park at the airport for five years, from June 1 of this year to May 31, 2022.
Airlines update
Singapore Airlines has launched a HighFlyer programme for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SME).
The SME travel programme allows companies to earn HighFlyer points while employees can earn KrisFlyer miles when they fly with Singapore Airlines and SilkAir.
With no minimum annual travel expenditure required, corporations earn five HighFlyer points for every S$1 (25 baht) spent on tickets booked through Singapore Airlines’ corporate booking platform or an appointed travel agent.
The company can use the points to offset future ticket purchases partially or in full for flights on Singapore Airlines or SilkAir.
Visit singaporeair.com/highflyer. Emirates has launched daily direct flights between Dubai and Hanoi in Vietnam as well as flights from Dubai to Phnom Penh in Cambodia, via Yangon in Myanmar, on July 1.
According to the airline, the direct flights to Hanoi will save passenger’s travel time for about two hours and 30 minutes because they don’t need a connecting flight in Yangon.
The airline flies with the Boeing 777300ER, offering 42 seats in business class and 386 in economy class.
The flight departs from Dubai at 3.30am and arrives at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi at 1.05pm. The return departs from Hanoi at 1.30am and arrives in Dubai at 5.05am. Travel time is six hours and 35 minutes.
For the Dubai-Yangon-Phnom Penh route, on the other hand, the flight departs Dubai International Airport at 9.15am and arrives at Phnom Penh International Airport at 9.25pm. The return flight from Phnom Penh departs at 11.10pm and arrives in Dubai at 5.40am. Travel time is nine hours and 30 minutes.
Visit www.emirates.com.
Hotels update
Dusit Thani Bangkok has launched a series of promotions to thank its loyal guests and attract those who want to have memorable moments with the hotel before it ends its 48 years of operation on April 16 of next year.
According to the hotel, one highlight is the Wedding Memories promotion, designed for couples who have held a wedding reception at the hotel since 1970. They will be awarded a complimentary three-course set lunch or dinner at the hotel when they show a picture of their wedding reception prior to dining.
Guests who book a room via its website (www.dusit.com) before the end of this year will receive the Dusit Best Rate Guarantee, a free upgrade to the next room category upon availability, complimentary early check-in after 6am and late check-out until 6pm, plus one daily BTS ticket per person.
Founded by Thanphuying Chanut Piyaoui and opened on Feb 27, 1970, Dusit Thani Bangkok was once the city’s tallest and largest hotel. It is located on a 24 rai plot of land at the Sala Daeng intersection. The hotel will be demolished to pave way for a new, mixed-use development project featuring a hotel, residences, retail areas, office space and a large green space.
The 36 billion baht project is a joint investment between Dusit (60%) and Central Pattana (40%). Construction will start in July 2018. The new hotel is expected to be completed in 2022, followed by the rest of the project in 2024.
Email karnjanak@bangkokpost.co.th if you have any comments to share.