Nok Air flights between Bangkok and Mae Hong Son Airport in northern Thailand will be discontinued on April 19. The province, home to the popular backpacker town Pai, will only be accessible by road since Nok Air was the only airline servicing the airport commercially.
The airline said they can no longer fly the Don Mueang – Mae Hong Son route because they are scrapping their fleet of Q400 aircraft (80-seat turboprops) and swapping them for Boeing 787-800 jets (189 seaters).
Senior President of the Mae Hong Son Chamber of Commerce, Chanakhet Boonyakhan, said that a 737-800 jet could land on the runway at Mae Hong Son Airport, which is 30 metres by 2000 metres. After all, Thai Airways used to fly a 747-400 aircraft, another large jet, to Mae Hong Son with no problem.
However, the cost-effectiveness of servicing the route with a 189-seat aircraft is low. The 80-seat flights are…
