BANGKOK, 30 October 2018: NokScoot’s introduced its first flight to Kansai, Osaka, Sunday, from its Bangkok’s Don Mueang International Airport home-base.
Passengers were greeted by Sumo wrestler characters and female crew clad in Kimono at the check-in counters for a service that has been in the pipeline for several months
It deserves a mention for having the cheapest round-trip fare to Kansai at THB9,158 for bookings in November.
AirAsia X quotes a round-trip fare of THB10,946 with a slightly later departure from DMK at 1415 compared with 1140 on NokScoot.
“We want to make our Osaka launch a memorable one as it is a major milestone in NokScoot’s history,” said NokScoot CEO, Yodchai Sudhidhanakul.
In addition to the four weekly services from Don Mueang to Kansai International Airport, NokScoot’s also flies to Tokyo. The daily flight to Tokyo was launched on 1 June.
The aircraft serving Kansai is configured with 415 seats — 24 in premium class and 391 in economy.
NokScoot is keen to expand its footprint on routes to Japan as leisure travel from Japan to Thailand grows. During the first nine months of 2018, Thailand welcomed 1.23 million tourists from Japan. It’s the fifth top market for Thailand’s inbound travel. China tops the list followed by Malaysia, Korea, Laos and Japan.
But Japan is equally popular with Thai travellers who prefer Japanese culture, food and the modern-traditional mix of heritage to other destinations in the region.
Although growth rates and volume cannot compare with China’ travel market, yield is higher on routes to Japan.
A joint venture with the Singapore Airlines Group, NokScoot is a medium-to-long-haul budget airlines, operating a fleet of Boeing 777-200 wide-body jet.
