Bangkok Airways and luxury resort SO/ Maldives are upbeat about increasing their business opportunities in the Maldives, with Thais avid visitors of the islands located in the Indian Ocean. The Maldives achieved a tourism milestone in 2023 by welcoming more than 1.8 million visitors, the largest influx of tourists in a single year, according to the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corp.
Service and sustainability "Bangkok Airways resumed flights to Malidves after the pandemic in September 2023, seeing the potential of the islands as one of the dream destinations among tourists," said Chanthip Thongkanya, vice-president of the airline's office of president. Mrs Chanthip said Bangkok Airways is enhancing its strategic partnerships with diverse allies to promote travel to the Maldives. The airline provides a full-service travel experience through four direct flights per week from Bangkok (Suvarnabhumi) to Malé.
The flights operate on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, using an Airbus A319 aircraft that offers both an economy and business class. As well as offering a 20-kilogramme maximum for luggage, the airline is also focusing on sustainability, Mrs Chanthip said. "Since resuming this route, we've accumulated 22,000 passengers so far as of the first quarter of this year with a load factor over 50%.
We aim to increase the load factor on this route to 70% by the end of this year, bouncing back to the pre-pandemic level," she said. "We have codeshares with over 29 air.
