A SECOND Australian budget airline is seeking to introduce regular flights to Phuket, according to industry sources.
And almost immediately, Phuket Airport is to become a hub for VIP private flights, a concept already approved by Airports of Thailand.
With the budget airline Jetstar already bringing Down Under tourists in large numbers, the Virgin Group has just applied for government permission to start flying ''seven weekly services between points in Australia and Thailand.''
According to sources, the request went on to specify that ''Pacific Blue will operate these services to Phuket utilising 180 seat B737-800 aircraft''.
If the proposal wins approval, Virgin Group plans to utilise the rights progressively until it reaches the seven services by April next year, the sources report.
The rights to fly to Thailand would hold for five years.
However according to an online travel site, ''Already doubts have been raised about the viability of the service if they are undertaken with the Boeing 737-800 aircraft.
''While the aircraft is a stretch version, it is uncertain if it would successfully fly an eight hour non-stop leg at the maximum capacity of passengers and cargo.''
Thai Airways International and Virgin Blue signed an interline agreement last year that made Virgin Blue the carrying airline from 13 key domestic destinations in Australia, via THAI's four international gateway ports: Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth to both Bangkok and Phuket.
Meanwhile the Hong Kong-based ASA Group has been given the green light by AoT to develop Thailand's first dedicated VIP operations base on Phuket, with the island described as ''a gateway to the country's lucrative tourist region.''
The state of the art terminal and business centre will accommodate the growing ranks of VIP visitors to Thailand each year and is scheduled to open ''in the next couple of months.''
A spokesperson told globalflights.com: ''We handle so many private flights into Bangkok and Phuket, so the time is right to cater for our growing client base of VVIP visitors who have nowhere in the airport to go once they disembark.''
ASA will offer a range of services including aircraft handling, charter, security, in-flight catering and over-flight and landing clearances.
AoT has announced its plan to expand Phuket International at a cost of five billion baht to boost capacity to about 11.5 million passengers by 2016.
Another Australian group with an interest in the tourism sector is also expanding to the Andaman.
Hotel Representation Australia already provides brand awareness and promotion for the five-star The Racha on the island of the same name.
Now it has announced a deal with the Andaman Club, a unique resort on an island between Ranong and Victoria Point, under the Burma/Myanmar flag.
The five-star Andaman Club resort is home to a casino and a golf course, and familiar to many who have made visa runs over the border to the island.
Another two resorts, the South Sea Karon on Karon beach and the South Sea Grand on Pakarang Beach, Khao Lak, in neighboring Phang Nga province, have also signed with HRA.
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And almost immediately, Phuket Airport is to become a hub for VIP private flights, a concept already approved by Airports of Thailand.
With the budget airline Jetstar already bringing Down Under tourists in large numbers, the Virgin Group has just applied for government permission to start flying ''seven weekly services between points in Australia and Thailand.''
According to sources, the request went on to specify that ''Pacific Blue will operate these services to Phuket utilising 180 seat B737-800 aircraft''.
If the proposal wins approval, Virgin Group plans to utilise the rights progressively until it reaches the seven services by April next year, the sources report.
The rights to fly to Thailand would hold for five years.
However according to an online travel site, ''Already doubts have been raised about the viability of the service if they are undertaken with the Boeing 737-800 aircraft.
''While the aircraft is a stretch version, it is uncertain if it would successfully fly an eight hour non-stop leg at the maximum capacity of passengers and cargo.''
Thai Airways International and Virgin Blue signed an interline agreement last year that made Virgin Blue the carrying airline from 13 key domestic destinations in Australia, via THAI's four international gateway ports: Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth to both Bangkok and Phuket.
Meanwhile the Hong Kong-based ASA Group has been given the green light by AoT to develop Thailand's first dedicated VIP operations base on Phuket, with the island described as ''a gateway to the country's lucrative tourist region.''
The state of the art terminal and business centre will accommodate the growing ranks of VIP visitors to Thailand each year and is scheduled to open ''in the next couple of months.''
A spokesperson told globalflights.com: ''We handle so many private flights into Bangkok and Phuket, so the time is right to cater for our growing client base of VVIP visitors who have nowhere in the airport to go once they disembark.''
ASA will offer a range of services including aircraft handling, charter, security, in-flight catering and over-flight and landing clearances.
AoT has announced its plan to expand Phuket International at a cost of five billion baht to boost capacity to about 11.5 million passengers by 2016.
Another Australian group with an interest in the tourism sector is also expanding to the Andaman.
Hotel Representation Australia already provides brand awareness and promotion for the five-star The Racha on the island of the same name.
Now it has announced a deal with the Andaman Club, a unique resort on an island between Ranong and Victoria Point, under the Burma/Myanmar flag.
The five-star Andaman Club resort is home to a casino and a golf course, and familiar to many who have made visa runs over the border to the island.
Another two resorts, the South Sea Karon on Karon beach and the South Sea Grand on Pakarang Beach, Khao Lak, in neighboring Phang Nga province, have also signed with HRA.
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