PAD|People's Alliance for Democracy
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Thai political problems just a hiccup

BANGKOK, Dec 16 (Reuters) – Malaysian budget carrier AirAsia (AIRA.KL: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said on Tuesday it expected passenger growth in 2009 of 4-5 million to add to its 19.5 million travellers this year, despite a global recession and political problems in Thailand.

Chief Executive Tony Fernandes, whose company suffered a setback when anti-government protesters recently blocked flights for a week at Bangkok’s main airports, said Thailand’s strife was “just a hiccup” and the fight was now on to win back the confidence of tourists.

“I’m confident we are adding new routes and planes, and really, every country has their own political troubles,” Fernandes said. “We’re actually hoping to add another 4-5 million travellers in 2009 on top of what we have now.”

The company is offering 100,000 free seats from its hubs in Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand for passengers travelling to popular Thai destinations Chiang Mai, Krabi and Phuket starting from January 2009, Fernandes said.

“Thailand is one charming tourist destination,” Fernandes said at a briefing in Bangkok.

“What happened was a nightmare,” said Tassapon, adding its load factor had dropped to somewhere above 80 percent from 92-93 percent in 2007.

“But like we people say, it’s ‘mai pen rai’. It’s no problem. We can start over,” Thai unit chief Tassapon Bijleveld said.

Read more from Reuters….

Source:  Thai political problems just a hiccup -AirAsia CEO (Reuters)

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