The recent ceasing of two of Air Asia’s newly launched Phuket routes, seems to suggest that the ‘World’s best low cost airline’ is hesitant about Phuket’s potential to become a South Eastern travel hub.

Flights from Phuket to Ho Chi Min in Vietnam and Medan in Indonesia were officially stopped last month, having only been in operation since December 2009, owing to a lower than expected customer demand.

Air Asia also welcomed two new Airbus A320’s to its fleet last month which means that sky is the limit for the Malaysian-based company (just not perhaps the Phuket sky) who has seen unbridled success since launching in 1993.

Meanwhile over at the Fire Fly camp, the month of May will be remembered as joyous by Agelina Fernadez, the PR manager of Fire Fly.

Fire Fly – a budget branch of Malaysia Airlines-has been operating flights in the South Western parts of Asia including Koh Samui since last year and is now operating flights to and from Phuket.

Mrs Fernadez said, “Despite the politic crisis in Thailand we have not been affected that considerably in terms of passenger numbers, partly because Koh Samui and Phuket (the two Thai destinations) are far from Bangkok.”

Now there are four flights per week from Phuket and Koh Samui to Penang and Subang respectively. From December 2010, however, that number will rise to seven weekly flights.
Fire Fly has seven airplanes in its fleet and intends to purchase more in the coming years.

Passengers can book seats in advance and unlike Air Asia receive 20 kilograms of free luggage, and free food during the flight.