It is not clear yet whether the flights will be resumed during the high season, or ever. Oddly, flights on the route after October 1 can still be booked online.
The airline’s contact centre staff were able to say only that the cancellation is “for commercial reasons”. A contact at the airline’s Bangkok office told The Phuket News, “We will be sending out a press release in the next few days.”
A reader also complained on Facebook about the two-week suspension of direct Phuket-Udon Thani flights, but the contact in Bangkok expressed only surprise, saying that the service had not been suspended to her knowledge.
The Airasia website, however, shows Phuket-Udon flights stopping on September 16 and resuming on October 1.
Meanwhile, to balance the scales somewhat, AirAsia wheeled out it CEO Tassapon Bijleveld to ballyhoo a new service from Bangkok to Xi’an in China will begin on November 16, making AirAsia the only airline to operate this route.
Mr Bijleveld said: “Thai AirAsia is very excited to launch our third new route in China this year. After the recent announcement of Bangkok-Wuhan, there has been positive feedback and demand for connectivity to China.”
To launch the new service, it will sell a one-way promotional fare for B1,850, inclusive of taxes and surcharges from September 21 to 24, for travel between November 16 and September 30, 2013.
The Xi’an-bound flight will leave Bangkok at 09:30 and land at 14:35. The Bangkok-bound flight will depart at 15:25 and arrive at 18:40.
Xi’an is a historical city in northwest China, famous for the Terracotta Warriors of Emperor Qin Shi Huang, which have been proclaimed as the eighth Wonder of the World.