Indian airlines are preparing to increase the number of flights to Southeast Asian destinations that are emerging as new hubs for Indian international travel, following a move by countries to ease visa restrictions and sign new air service agreements with the Indian government. India and Thailand signed an agreement last week to allow increased air service between the two countries, just before the start of the summer travel season.
At the Bangkok meeting, the two countries agreed to increase capacity on both sides by 14,000 seats per week, an increase of 43%.
Government officials said the increase would be in two phases of 7,000 troops each.
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The government also allocated flying rights granted to GoFirst before the bankruptcy filing to other Indian airlines, allowing them to increase flights to destinations such as Bangkok, Phuket and Singapore.
Since Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia relaxed their visa regimes for India, there has been a surge in travellers to these countries.
The next phase of expansion of air services between India and Thailand will begin once any airline has utilised 80 per cent of its existing seat share, an official aware of the development told ET.
Flying rights are allocated bilaterally by the governments to airlines of both countries. Airlines cannot operate more flights than allocated. Currently, Indian airlines have 32,000 seats while Thai airlines can operate 29,500 seats per week. Thai airlines have used up their quota and Indian airlines have used up 80% of their quota, necessitating the expansion of the agreement.
Indian airlines have also acquired rights to operate flights to four new airports in Thailand – Udon Thani, Surat Thani, Hat Yai and Chiang Rai.
“This is a very positive development for Indian passengers and airlines,” said an airline executive. “It will increase the number of flights, leading to rationalization of airfares, while Indian airlines will now have access to all 10 international airports in Thailand,” the person said, requesting anonymity.
Thailand has allowed Indian travellers to enjoy a 30-day visa exemption from November 10, 2023, up to May 10, 2024. Due to the strong response, Thailand is likely to extend the exemption period.
According to the Tourism Authority of Thailand, the visa exemption has increased the number of visitors from India from 4,000 to 5,500 per day.
Indians are travelling abroad like never before and Southeast Asian countries are looking to capitalise on the slowing of China’s growth.
Travel industry sources said Vietnam is considering allowing visa-free entry to Indians from mid-year.
India is now Vietnam’s fastest growing tourism market, with more than 390,000 Indian visitors last year, up 231 percent from pre-COVID-19 times in 2019.
“I don’t think there’s a single country that doesn’t have an India plan,” said Omri Morgenstern, CEO of online travel platform Agoda. “India is a tourism powerhouse right now.”
Agoda sees Bangkok overtaking Dubai as the most searched destination after the visa waiver announcement, while Malaysia has seen a 90% increase, he said. “When you remove the visa restrictions, people can travel without a lot of planning, so all of a sudden you see faster growth,” Morgenstern said.
Airlines executives said they are increasing the number of flights between India and Southeast Asian countries as passenger numbers rise.
AirAsia plans to increase the number of weekly flights between Malaysia and India to 69 in the first quarter of 2024, connecting Kuala Lumpur with nine Indian cities: Bengaluru, Kolkata, Kochi, Hyderabad, Chennai, Tiruchirappalli, New Delhi, Amritsar and Thiruvananthapuram.
Air India will launch four flights per week from Delhi to Phuket from December, while IndiGo will connect Bangalore to the Indonesian island of Bali.
