Thai Airways makes first flights to Samui

[Norseman]

From Bangkok post.

Thai Airways International (THAI) will this week launch twice-daily flights between Bangkok and Samui Island,
targeting European tourists making stopovers in the capital, the national carrier announced Monday.

The daily flights will begin on Thursday using Boeing 737-400 airplanes with a capacity of 149 passengers.

"We aim to make the route very competitive by marketing it to tourists from major European cities
currently served by THAI connecting through Suvarnabhumi Airport," said THAI Exectuive Vice President Pandit Chanapai.

THAI expects more than 70 per cent of passengers on its Bangkok-Samui routes to be foreigners.

Pradit described the new route as a "breakthrough" for THAI, the national carrier.

Samui, already one of Thailand's most popular resort islands, has for the past two decades been served exclusively
by Bangkok Airways, a private airline that owns the island's only airport.

THAI must pay Bangkok Airways for the use of its airport and ground services in order to gain access to the island.