Thomson and First Choice are set to launch the first direct flights from the UK to the picturesque Thai island of Phuket. (Featured image is by ruifernandes)
The weekly service from the two operators, who are both part of the TUI brand, will operate on Thomson’s new 787 Dreamliner planes from November 2013, departing from London Gatwick.
Travellers will be able to begin booking flights on the route from November 2012, allowing passengers to get to the popular holiday resort, without the traditional stopover in Thailand’s bustling capital of Bangkok.
Shona Swain, general manager of long-haul product for Thomson and First Choice, said: “We are thrilled that we are able to offer an exclusive, direct flight to Phuket on the Thomson 787 Dreamliner and we are confident that our customers will love the destination and the hotels we will be operating to.”
Thomson and First Choice are also rebranding two of its existing hotels in Thailand. Khao Lak will have a Thomson Couples hotel while Phuket will have a SplashWorld property.
Speaking recently about the prospects for Thailand’s tourist industry, Suraphon Svetasreni, Governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, said he was hopeful that the sector would continue to go from strength to strength.
“We can already confirm that 2012 marked one of the highest achievements of Thai tourism related to Thailand’s economy. We experienced, this year, a slowdown in exports due to the global crisis affecting many countries,” he said.
“However, tourism continues to progress strongly, helping our country to soften potential economic problems. We will probably overpass the 20.5 million international arrivals this year.”
Thomson Airways will also become the first British airline to fly the Dreamliner in May 2013, operating on flights to Florida and Mexico from Manchester, Gatwick, Glasgow and East Midlands airports.
The Dreamliner is considered to be the world’s most environmentally-friendly plane, using 20 per cent less fuel than aircraft of a similar size and reducing levels of noise pollution by 60 per cent.
