nazrey
July 19th, 2006, 06:42 AM
Airports of Thailand Plans $16 Mln Budget Terminal
Bloomberg
By Chan Sue Ling and Haslinda Amin
July 18 (Bloomberg) -- Airports of Thailand Pcl, which runs five international airfields including Bangkok and Phuket, plans to spend as much as 600 million baht ($16 million) to build a terminal for low-cost airlines, the third in Asia.
The terminal is designed to handle between 10 million to 15 million people, Chotisak Asapaviriya, president of the Bangkok- based company, said in an interview in Singapore. The facility will be ready in 16 months, Chotisak, 52, said on July 14.
Thailand's airports are struggling to meet increased demand as travelers return to the country's tropical beaches, temples and golf courses following the 2004 earthquake-triggered tsunami that killed 5,395 people, half of them tourists. The nation's 60-year-old Don Muang airfield, Asia's second busiest, has been operating at more than 50 percent above its designed capacity.
``If you can create a low-cost terminal at just about 500 million baht and can carry so many passengers, then it's good news,'' said Worawat Saisuphatphol, a Bangkok-based analyst at KGI Securities Pcl, who has a ``neutral'' rating on Airports of Thailand stock. ``The investment isn't that huge compared with the capacity that they can generate.''
Shares of the company added 0.9 percent to 55.5 baht at the close of trading today. The stock has advanced 5.7 percent this year, compared with a 7.6 percent decline in Thailand's benchmark SET Index.
Singapore, Malaysia
Singapore and Malaysia started running terminals for discount airlines this year to cater to the rising demand for low-cost travel in the region, where at least 18 budget carriers have emerged in the last four years.
AirAsia Bhd., Southeast Asia's largest discount carrier, is based in Sepang, outside Kuala Lumpur, while Singapore is home to no-frills airlines Tiger Airways Pte, Jetstar Asia and Valuair Ltd.
Singapore in March started a S$45 million ($28 million) terminal for low-cost airlines, and signed up Tiger Airways to use the facility. The terminal's initial capacity of 2.7 million passengers a year may be expanded, depending on demand, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore said last year.
Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd., which runs 39 airports in the country, opened its own 108 million ringgit ($29 million) terminal for discount carriers, also in March. The site can handle 10 million passengers a year.
Air Network
Airports of Thailand also plans to help manage and link government-run airports in other provincial areas to its existing operations in the country's north and south, to divert traffic in anticipation of increased congestion at Bangkok.
The number of travelers in the region will climb an average 6.8 percent a year between 2005 and 2009, according to the International Air Transport Association.
``We will cooperate with the Civil Aviation Department to help manage all the 26 airports that belong to them and try to connect them to our airports,'' Chotisak said. ``Otherwise Suvarnabhumi will be overcrowded in the next two to three years. We want to start that by Oct. 1.''
The new connections are expected to add at least 10 percent to revenue, Chotisak estimates.
The new Suvarnabhumi International Airport is expected to contribute 40 percent to the company's revenue in its first year of operation, helped by higher landing charges and an increase in a fee for passenger service, Chotisak said.
Hiring More
Airports of Thailand in January 2005 boosted landing and parking fees by 20 percent to $1,761 for a Boeing Co. 747 aircraft and plans to further increase the charge by 15 percent starting Oct. 1. Next February, the passenger service charge for domestic flights will double to 100 baht, while overseas travelers will pay 700 baht, 40 percent more than before.
The company plans to boost the number of employees at the 120-gate Suvarnabhumi to 4,500 in three years, from 3,300 people at Don Muang airport currently. The new airport, which will receive its first flight on July 29, will be up and running by Sept. 28 after being delayed three times, Chotisak said.
The Don Muang airport had a 16 percent gain in passenger numbers to 18.1 million between January and May, compared with 15.5 million in the period a year earlier, statistics released by the Airports of Thailand in June showed.
The company's fiscal 2006 earnings will likely surpass last year's net income of 7.41 billion baht, Chotisak said. Net income for the six months ended March 31 reached 7 billion baht, helped by a rebound in tourism and foreign exchange gains.
The Suvarnabhumi, which means Golden Land in Thai, is designed to cater to 45 million passengers a year and is capable of handling the A380, the world's biggest commercial plane by Airbus SAS. The 155 billion-baht airport is located about 30 kilometers (19 miles) from downtown Bangkok.
Bloomberg
By Chan Sue Ling and Haslinda Amin
July 18 (Bloomberg) -- Airports of Thailand Pcl, which runs five international airfields including Bangkok and Phuket, plans to spend as much as 600 million baht ($16 million) to build a terminal for low-cost airlines, the third in Asia.
The terminal is designed to handle between 10 million to 15 million people, Chotisak Asapaviriya, president of the Bangkok- based company, said in an interview in Singapore. The facility will be ready in 16 months, Chotisak, 52, said on July 14.
Thailand's airports are struggling to meet increased demand as travelers return to the country's tropical beaches, temples and golf courses following the 2004 earthquake-triggered tsunami that killed 5,395 people, half of them tourists. The nation's 60-year-old Don Muang airfield, Asia's second busiest, has been operating at more than 50 percent above its designed capacity.
``If you can create a low-cost terminal at just about 500 million baht and can carry so many passengers, then it's good news,'' said Worawat Saisuphatphol, a Bangkok-based analyst at KGI Securities Pcl, who has a ``neutral'' rating on Airports of Thailand stock. ``The investment isn't that huge compared with the capacity that they can generate.''
Shares of the company added 0.9 percent to 55.5 baht at the close of trading today. The stock has advanced 5.7 percent this year, compared with a 7.6 percent decline in Thailand's benchmark SET Index.
Singapore, Malaysia
Singapore and Malaysia started running terminals for discount airlines this year to cater to the rising demand for low-cost travel in the region, where at least 18 budget carriers have emerged in the last four years.
AirAsia Bhd., Southeast Asia's largest discount carrier, is based in Sepang, outside Kuala Lumpur, while Singapore is home to no-frills airlines Tiger Airways Pte, Jetstar Asia and Valuair Ltd.
Singapore in March started a S$45 million ($28 million) terminal for low-cost airlines, and signed up Tiger Airways to use the facility. The terminal's initial capacity of 2.7 million passengers a year may be expanded, depending on demand, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore said last year.
Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd., which runs 39 airports in the country, opened its own 108 million ringgit ($29 million) terminal for discount carriers, also in March. The site can handle 10 million passengers a year.
Air Network
Airports of Thailand also plans to help manage and link government-run airports in other provincial areas to its existing operations in the country's north and south, to divert traffic in anticipation of increased congestion at Bangkok.
The number of travelers in the region will climb an average 6.8 percent a year between 2005 and 2009, according to the International Air Transport Association.
``We will cooperate with the Civil Aviation Department to help manage all the 26 airports that belong to them and try to connect them to our airports,'' Chotisak said. ``Otherwise Suvarnabhumi will be overcrowded in the next two to three years. We want to start that by Oct. 1.''
The new connections are expected to add at least 10 percent to revenue, Chotisak estimates.
The new Suvarnabhumi International Airport is expected to contribute 40 percent to the company's revenue in its first year of operation, helped by higher landing charges and an increase in a fee for passenger service, Chotisak said.
Hiring More
Airports of Thailand in January 2005 boosted landing and parking fees by 20 percent to $1,761 for a Boeing Co. 747 aircraft and plans to further increase the charge by 15 percent starting Oct. 1. Next February, the passenger service charge for domestic flights will double to 100 baht, while overseas travelers will pay 700 baht, 40 percent more than before.
The company plans to boost the number of employees at the 120-gate Suvarnabhumi to 4,500 in three years, from 3,300 people at Don Muang airport currently. The new airport, which will receive its first flight on July 29, will be up and running by Sept. 28 after being delayed three times, Chotisak said.
The Don Muang airport had a 16 percent gain in passenger numbers to 18.1 million between January and May, compared with 15.5 million in the period a year earlier, statistics released by the Airports of Thailand in June showed.
The company's fiscal 2006 earnings will likely surpass last year's net income of 7.41 billion baht, Chotisak said. Net income for the six months ended March 31 reached 7 billion baht, helped by a rebound in tourism and foreign exchange gains.
The Suvarnabhumi, which means Golden Land in Thai, is designed to cater to 45 million passengers a year and is capable of handling the A380, the world's biggest commercial plane by Airbus SAS. The 155 billion-baht airport is located about 30 kilometers (19 miles) from downtown Bangkok.