Italian carrier ITA Airways plans to extend its flights to Thailand until the middle of next year, while the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is targeting a new record high for the Italian market in 2025 as international flights resume.
Emiliana Limosani, chief commercial officer at ITA Airways, said on Tuesday that the airline initially planned Bangkok flights for only the cool season, but after noticing Thailand's tourism potential they decided to extend its flights for the entirety of 2025.
ITA Airways launched its inaugural flight to Bangkok from Rome this week, slated for five days a week during the winter, using A330neo aircraft. For summer 2025, it will reduce the frequency to three flights per week.
Most of its passengers for this route come from point of sales in Italy, making up 75-80% of the total.
Ms Limosani said the airline does not plan to increase capacity on daily flights as it will evaluate the performance of this route first.
It is also important to have a balance of passengers from both destinations and its hub in Rome, she said.
While Thailand is regarded as an established leisure destination for international tourists, the airline needs more promotion to boost outbound Thai passengers to a more healthy balance, similar to its flights bound for Tokyo in Japan, which has more of a balance, including between leisure and business tourists.
Ms Limosani said the airline is talking with Thai carriers about interlining, codesharing, and special prorate agreements to other destinations in the region.
Siripakorn Cheawsamoot, TAT deputy governor for Europe, Africa, the Middle East and the Americas, said the highest number of Italian tourists was recorded in 2018 with 263,515 arrivals, generating over 16.4 billion baht in revenue.
Mr Siripakorn said Thailand is expecting at least 250,000 Italian tourists this year, and more visitors in 2025, as this market now has direct flights from ITA Airways as well as Thailand's flag carrier THAI.
The agency is aiming for a record Italian high next year, with nearly 300,000 tourists.
Started in 2021, ITA Airways now serves 55 destinations, including 16 domestic routes and 39 international routes in Europe, South and North America, Africa and Asia.
It has over 100 aircraft in its fleet, comprising 77 narrow-body jets and 23 wide-body jets.
During the first 10 months of 2024, the airline carried over 15 million passengers, a 23% year-on-year increase. In the third quarter it operated 105,000 flights, with an average load factor of 80.9%.
The TAT also signed a letter of intent on Tuesday with EVA Air to promote both the short-haul and long-haul tourism markets. EVA Air is planning to operate 32 flights per week between Taipei and Thailand early next year, which can connect to South Korea, Japan and China, along with long-haul destinations via its 87 weekly flights to destinations such as London, Vienna and the US.
