Nok Air flights between Bangkok and Mae Hong Son Airport in northern Thailand will be discontinued on April 19. The province, residence to the favored backpacker city Pai, shall be only accessible by highway since Nok Air was the one airline servicing the airport commercially.
The airline said they’ll no longer fly the Don Mueang – Mae Hong Son route as a end result of they’re scrapping their fleet of Q400 plane (80-seat turboprops) and swapping them for Boeing 787-800 jets (189 seaters).
Senior President of the Mae Hong Son Chamber of Commerce, Chanakhet Boonyakhan, mentioned that a 737-800 jet might land on the runway at Mae Hong Son Airport, which is 30 metres by 2000 metres. After all, Thai Airways used to fly a 747-400 aircraft, one other large jet, to Mae Hong Son with no drawback.
However, the cost-effectiveness of servicing the route with a 189-seat plane is low. The 80-seat flights are sometimes full, however the demand just isn’t greater than that, mentioned Chanakhet. There should be a minimum of a hundred folks on the flight to make it cost-effective.
Bangkok Airways’ ATR-72 propeller planes, with around 70 seats, can be suitable to fly to Mae Hong Son province, said Chanakhet.
Now, the province can solely be accessed by car on three routes, particularly 1) Chiang Mai – Pai – Mae Hong Son (1095), 2) Chiang Mai – Hod – Mae Sariang – Mae Hong Son (108), and 3) Chiang Mai – Doi Inthanon – Mae Chaem – Khun Yuam – Mae Hong Son (1263).
Astonishing looking to travel to Pai take a minivan from Chiang Mai, which is way cheaper than flying and only takes two to three hours.
However, taking anti-car sickness medicine (which may be purchased at 7-Eleven) is extremely recommended on the steep and winding road up into the mountains, which accommodates 762 turns.
In September 2022, Nok Air suspended all Chiang Mai – Nakhon Ratchasima flights simply six weeks after the route’s inaugural flight, also over cost-effectiveness, leaving Korat Airport a ghost city.
The service had high potential, linking the capital of the North to Nakhon Ratchasima – aka ‘Korat’ – in northeast Thailand, which in any other case takes 10.5 hours to drive..