Thai Airways is evaluating expansion to tier II cities in India with the induction of its new Airbus A321neo aircraft in 2026, chief commercial officer Korakot Chatasingha said.
The move comes amid a growth in travel between the countries and is a part of Thai Airways’s plans to develop Bangkok as a regional hub for aviation.
“India is a very important market for Thailand Airways. We fly to eight key cities plus Bodh Gaya in the winter season,” he said.
Currently Thai Airways operates over 75 weekly flights (one way) to India. Delhi is its largest destination with around three daily flights, data from aviation analytics form Cirium shows. On some days Thai Airways operates four flights between Bangkok - Delhi.
Chatasingha said secondary cities in India are still untapped and the airline is evaluating the potential. Thai Airways will start receiving it’s Airbus A321neo aircraft from later this year and allowing it to launch more routes to India from next year Chatasingha said.
Over two million Indian tourists visited Thailand in 2024 and this surpassed pre-pandemic record of 1.9 million visitors in 2019. India is the third largest source market for Thailand tourism after China and Malaysia.
While Indian carriers largely serve point to point traffic between India and Thailand, Thai Airways’ Bangkok hub acts as a transit hub for Indians travelling to Australia, Bali (Indonesia) and other destinations. Thai Airways plans to introduce service to New Zealand next year.
Last year India and Thailand revised the air service agreement enabling carriers from both the countries to increase frequencies. Flights between India and Thailand have increased by 20 per cent on a year on year basis with Air India, IndiGo and Thai Lion Air increasing their flights.
Chatasingha said there is a need for more capacity as easy visa norms is encouraging more travel between the two countries.
“The markets in South like Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai look promising and need more capacity” he said.
Thai Airways is also looking to enhance its code share partnerships with other carriers. The airline has code share pact with Air India and discussions are being held to expand the partnership, Chatasingha said.
Last week Thai Airways signed a joint business agreement with Turkish Airlines. This will give an opportunity to both the airlines to enhance their route networks and give more travel options to their customers.