BANGKOK, 27 March 2024: AirAsia continues to expand its international network by introducing direct flights from Bangkok-Don Mueang (DMK) to Beijing, China, effective 1 July 2024.
The daily flight is now open for bookings at promotional fares starting at THB3,990, valid when booking from 26 March to 7 April 2024 for travel from 1 July 2024 onward. The deal is on sale at AirAsia MOVE (formerly airasia Superapp) or via airasia.com.
Direct daily flights DMK-PKX
Flight FD600 will depart Bangkok Don Mueang (DMK) at 2255 and arrive in Beijing, China (Beijing Daxking Airport PKX) at 0440 on the following day.
Flight FD601 will depart Beijing Daxing (PKX) at 0550 and arrive in Bangkok Don Mueang (DMK) at 0945.
Flight time is five hours on a single-class A320neo.
Thai AirAsia head of commercial Tansita Akrarittipirom points to AirAsia’s success in the domestic market in Thailand, where it maintains the highest market share and supports bookings on flights to destinations in ASEAN, India, South Asia, Japan, and China.
However, in 2023, Thai AirAsia flew in over 600,000 Chinese travellers to Thailand, or 18% of all Chinese tourists to the nation, according to statistics from the Tourism Authority of Thailand.
Following the visa-free policy between Thailand and China that kicked off on 1 March 2024, travel between the two countries has increased, allowing the airline to introduce the Don Mueang-Beijing route for the first time.
The route serves Chinese tourists and Thai travellers looking to visit the grand city of Beijing. It is the only Thai-operated flight connecting Don Mueang Airport and the Chinese capital.
“Beijing is a popular destination for Thai travellers, and we have seen a consistent demand from travellers for the Chiang Mai-Beijing route that we launched earlier. Being our 12th direct service between Thailand and China, I am confident Don Mueang-Beijing will be equally, if not more, popular,” Tansita said.
Since the start of 2024, Thai AirAsia has seen rapid growth on its China routes, with a load factor average of 93% during the first two months (January-February). The introduction of visa-free travel on 1 March further supported this growth, especially for Thai travellers to China. In March alone, Thai visits to China should have grown by 200% from January (before the visa-free policy). The airline will serve up to 1.3 million passengers in 2024, up 27% from 2023, she explained.
“We are working closely with the Tourism Authority of Thailand to attract more Chinese tourists to the nation and most recently launched the Boarding Pass Privilege campaign for foreign visitors, presenting those holding an AirAsia boarding pass to enjoy various privileges and discounts from 18 campaign partners that will make their stay in Thailand an even more fun and worthwhile,” said Tansita.
Thai AirAsia flies 12 routes between Thailand and China from Bangkok Don Mueang: Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Changsha, Chongqing, Kunming, Hangzhou, Shantou, Wuhan, Xi’an, Shanghai and now Beijing starting 1 July 2024.
(Source: AirAsia)
