Many locals are already aware of this news as it has been talked about on local forums for a while but apart from a small mention in the Bangkok Post I never found any official notification of this new service until today which I will copy in full below. What do you think of this service? Will it work? Will you use it? For myself and my family the only way we would utilise it is if there was a super cheap flight from Australia direct to Phuket that links up well with one of the three flights per week to Ubon. I must admit if I managed to grab one of the 690 baht specials on offer I might even consider Phuket for a quick holiday.
The press release came from here.
As of 12 October 2010, AirAsia will start offering 3 direct flights per week between Phuket and Ubon Ratchathani. The new flights will be available on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
“Ubon Ratchathani has great potential as a tourist destination, in addition to being a strategic gateway to Laos”, says Tassapon Bijleveld, CEO of Thai AirAsia. Such factors will contribute to the success of the new route, and will also strengthen Phuket’s capacity as a travel hub of the southern region.
AirAsia aims to continue to offer more convenience and connectivity for travelers. Currently, direct flights from Phuket are available to destinations such as Bangkok, Chiangmai, Udon Thani, Ubon Ratchathani, Hong Kong, Singapore, Jakarta, and Kuala Lumpur. Meanwhile, Ubon Ratchathani and Bangkok are connected by 2 daily flights.
To celebrate the new route, super promotional fares start at THB690 each way.
*EDIT* AS of October 2012, Air Asia has now cancelled this service. A real shame for the people of Ubon but the economics are just not there.