AIR Mauritius will launch
a new service from
Mauritius to Thailand,
with effect from October 31.
The airline will operate two
weekly flights to Bangkok,
serviced with a mix of A330-
200/-900neo aircraft. A
direct flight to Bangkok will
operate on Saturdays, and
a flight via Singapore to
Bangkok on Wednesdays.
Flight MK642 will depart
Mauritius on Saturdays at
23h00 and arrive in Bangkok
at 10h25 the next day.
Return flight MK643 departs
from Bangkok on Sundays
at 12h25 and arrives in
Mauritius at 17h15.
Wouter Nel, MK sales
and marketing manager
for Southern Africa said:
“The timetable to Bangkok
allows South Africans to
connect seamlessly on the
outbound journey. On the
return leg, passengers will
have a free ‘stopover paid by
carrier’ (STPC) in Mauritius.
The stopover will include
accommodation, transfers
and selected meals.”
He added that the airline
had introduced promotional
launch fares for selected
departures, as well as
publishing the standard
fares in the GDS for the
Bangkok flights.
Vicky Steinhardt, a
Pentravel product manager,
said: “As Bangkok is a
very popular destination
for South Africans, this is a
nice alternative to the more
common routes to the Far
East. In general the more
affordable routes travel via
the Middle East on Emirates,
Qatar or Etihad, whilst the
more direct routes are on
Singapore Airlines and
Cathay Pacific. Although
there will not be daily
connections on Air Mauritius,
it is a nice alternative for
those looking at combining
their trip with a leisureoriented,
or business stop in
Mauritius.”
David Pegg, md of Sure
Viva Travels, told TNW that
he was happy about the
launch of the new route as
MK was a reliable carrier and
the timings and pricing were
highly competitive. “MK’s
biggest competition on this
route is Ethiopian, Qatar
and Emirates. MK’s new
routes see passengers land
in Bangkok two and a half
to three hours earlier than
Ethiopian and Qatar. This is
advantageous if a traveller
still needs to get to Phuket,
or Krabi before checking into
their accommodation.”
He added, however,
that competing airlines
offered return flights that did
not require a stopover, which
might be a deciding point for
time-pressed travellers.
