"Business as Usual" After Bombings, Airlines Say

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The following appears in the BANGKOK POST:

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Airlines Say Business as Usual After Bombs

 

BOONSONG KOSITCHOTETHANA

 

The bomb blasts in Bangkok have not scared away air travellers as most airlines reported no abnormal cancellations in reservations _ not even from sensitive Japanese and Singaporeans. It has been business as usual for airlines operating through Thailand, including Thai Airways International (THAI), Japan Airlines (JAL), Singapore Airlines (SIA), Bangkok Airways and AirAsia.

 

To the surprise of many, Japanese and Singaporeans, who normally react swiftly to any negative incidents such as unrest, terrorism and disease outbreaks, had largely maintained travel plans to Thailand.

 

Kriengsak Mungnirandr, deputy vice-president of JAL in Thailand, confirmed yesterday that the flow of Japanese, who represent about 80% of all passengers on Bangkok-Japan flights, remained surprisingly steady in the aftermath of the blasts.

 

''I think they may consider the incidents a local issue, not significant enough to necessitate them to change their visit plans,'' he said, adding that JAL continued to see a cabin factor of 80% on the five wide-body aircraft flights per day between Bangkok and Tokyo and Osaka.

 

Furthermore, unlike governments of western countries and Malaysia, Japan has not urged its citizens to exercise caution when visiting Thailand.

 

Their reaction would be drastically different if the bombs were the act of international terrorists, Mr Kriengsak said.

 

Vipawan Potiket, passenger sales manager for SIA's Thailand office, was also taken aback by the calm reaction of Singaporean passengers, who comprise 60% of travellers from Singapore to Bangkok.

 

''Everything looks pretty normal for our flights in and out of Bangkok since New Year's Eve,'' she noted. ''There is no unusual sign.'' SIA operates 41 flights a week between Bangkok and Singapore.

 

No unusual movements were recorded in THAI's reservation system, especially international flights through Thailand.

 

''No, there are no drops in bookings, though there are the usual cases of no-shows of three to four passengers on each flight'' in and out of Thailand, said Wallop Bhukkanasut, THAI's executive vice-president for commercial affairs.

 

THAI's current cabin factor remains relatively high at 72%.

 

Mr Wallop said one of the key reasons carriers have been able to sustain normal passenger traffic was the limited coverage of the bombings on global media networks including CNN and BBC World, where the execution of Saddam Hussein dominated coverage.

 

Even so, Bangkok Airways reported some ''minor'' cancellations on domestic flights among certain Europeans, Australians and Americans who reacted to travel advisories, said an executive.

 

At the budget carrier Thai AirAsia, staff had received no calls asking for refunds or flight changes as they did after the Sept 19 coup.

 

Although short-term impact on air travel has not yet been felt, airline executives are concerned that further violence would really hurt the industry.