The summer shutdown of SAS flights to Bangkok plus a new joint venture between SAS and Singapore Airlines will now have an effect on Thai Airways. For some years now SAS have had a codeshare agreement with Thai Airways from Bangkok to the many regional destinations in Asia. That agreement has now been cancelled by SAS as of April 8 where the Bangkok route will be closing down temporarily.
In stead, SAS signed a codeshare-agreement with Thai on local traffic between Scandinavia and Bangkok and domestic flights in Thailand.
“We will lose some of the “beyond Bangkok” traffic but we stand to gain on the direct Thailand traffic,” says Director of Sales from Thai Airways, Flemming Sonne.
He is pleased that Thai Airways will have a codeshare agreement with SAS from Stockholm, Oslo and Copenhagen directly to Bangkok.
With more flights from Copenhagen and Oslo to Bangkok during the summer months, Flemming Sonne looks forward to the new dimension of the cooperation.
Together with Singapore Airlines, SAS will now try to move the passengers who previously traveled to Asia with SAS via Bangkok so that they will travel beyond Bangkok with Singapore Airlines in stead of Thai Airways.
The two airlines have created a joint venture on flights between Copenhagen and Singapore, where theoretically all expenses and earnings will be shared 50/50.
“There is more strength in a joint venture as it offers more opportunities. But it also requires large commitment from the involved parties,” says pres officer Trine Kromann-Mikkelsen from SAS.
Last week, SAS said that the expanded cooperation with Thair Airways from Copenhagen, Oslo and Stockholm was in addition of their regional codeshare destinations in Thai Airways’ network in Asia, but not in the summer season. SAS confirms that when they resume the flights in the winter season a new codeshare agreement will be signed and the airline will once again be connected with Thai Airway’s network.
Are we supposed to be happy about this??? Forcing even more passengers onto already full direct SQ flights – using old 777-200 aircrafts as SQ have monopoly on the direct route.