Stories tagged with zealand
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Thai Airways drops flight to New Zealand
In a move that has shocked New Zealand’s tourism industry, Thai Airways announced a move to terminate its direct flight between Bangkok and Auckland as of October 2008. Thai Airways stated the decision was based on high fuel prices that have made the long-haul route unprofitable.
Damien O’Conner, New Zealand’s Minister of Tourism, issued an official statement condemning the move as a huge blow to tourism between the two countries. ''The flights have been very popular with New Zealanders holidaying in Thailand with more than 37,000 New Zealand citizens using these flights last year, fuelling healthy growth for the tourism sector in Thailand,'' he said.
New Zealand is also concerned that the termination of the flight from Bangkok will reduce the number of international travellers who use Bangkok as a hub for connecting flights. ''Europeans passing through Bangkok on their way to New Zealand have increased by a phenomenal 110% since 2005. There is also a high potential for growth in traffic from India to New Zealand via Bangkok,'' O’Conner stated.
The airline is also stopping its daily direct Bangkok-Los Angeles flight as of October. THAI will continue, however, to operate other existing flights to both Auckland and Los Angeles using a stopover.
Posted by: Andrew on 15 Aug 2008, 12:14