Krabi Airline has started to sell tickets for a brand new route from the airport to Krabi and Bangkok. First departure is set for December.
Every Wednesday and Saturday at 22.20, a jumbo jet Boeing 747-400 will be taking off from Oslo and fly non-stop to Krabi in southern Thailand. From there, the plane will continue to the old Don Muang airport in Bangkok before returning to Oslo’s Gardermoen airport. Tickets will be sold at one fare for all seats on economy class, and one price for all on business class.
In the peak season, tickets on economy class will cost around 10,000 NOK including all taxes and fees.
The start of the new route has been postponed several times . First it was to be on 5 April this year. Later, June was mentioned. The date 30 August has also been posted on the company’s website. Then 1 November was promised as the ultimate date for the start up. Now it is December.
Krabi Airline is a newly established Thai airline, and initially it will operate the routes from Oslo and Munich. Former employees of Thai Airways is in the management of the company.
“It has taken a little longer to start a new airline than we thought,” admits Oddvar Sivertsen, Krabi Airlines sales agent in Norway, to Aftenposten.no.
He adds that there are many requirements to obtain the necessary permissions to launch the airline.
“If you buy the ticket online you have to pay with a credit card. That provides a security guarantee,” says Sivertsen.
Senior adviser Halgeir Jansen of the Norwegian Consumer Protection Council warns, however, that should the airline go bankrupt, there is little potential for those with unused tickets to get refunds.
Norwegian charter companies currently operate charter flights direct to Krabi in the winter season. Although a number of airlines are cutting their flights because of high fuel costs, Krabi Airlines is dedicated to start up the Oslo route.
“We still believe that the number of Norwegian travelers to Thailand will increase next winter,” said Sivertsen, who believes there is an lack of supply of flights from Norway to the “land of smiles.”
