Thai Airways resumes Perth–Bangkok flights

Perth Airport chief commercial and aviation officer Kate Holsgrove said that securing non-stop international services continues to be a “high priority” for the western gateway.

“The return of this service will deliver a significant 186,368 seats and 14,000 tonnes of cargo capacity to the Perth market annually,” Holsgrove said.

“With Thailand being a popular holiday destination and Bangkok being a major hub for flight connections right around the globe, Western Australians will enjoy increased air connectivity for business or leisure.

“Thailand is Western Australia’s eighth largest trading partner and a significant market for international students providing a massive opportunity for both our economies as non-stop flights resume.”

The Thai Airways service beats Jetstar’s new Perth-Bangkok route, slated to begin in September this year using A321neo LRs, by around six months. Jetstar is planning a major expansion from Perth into Asia, with two other new routes to Singapore and Phuket starting in August.

CEO Stephanie Tully in September called the Asian services, as well as a new WA base for four aircraft and at least 60 pilots, a “huge investment” in Jetstar’s Perth operations.

“Having pilots and aircraft based in the west gives us the ability to add hundreds of thousands more low-cost seats to exciting new destinations across both our international and domestic network,” she said.

“These three new routes will open up low-fares travel right across Southeast Asia for our west-coast customers, including easy connections via Singapore onto Jetstar Asia’s extensive network to 13 destinations throughout Asia.

“We expect to see West Australian travel demand continue to grow as we add more flights, and we’re excited to share more details of our Perth network expansion soon.”

No other airlines currently connect Perth with Bangkok, though carriers including Thai Airways, Thai AirAsia X, and Qantas fly from Bangkok to Sydney, while Thai Airways and Jetstar fly to Melbourne.