Thai Airways to serve Tehran and reinstate Moscow

Thai Airways’ president Charamporn Jotikasthira has revealed that the carrier will launch a Tehran service and resume flights to Moscow later this year. The Bangkok–Tehran route is slated to begin in October and the Star Alliance member expects to operate it three-times weekly. Following the lifting of economic sanctions, Iran has become an enticing new destination for international airlines, with both Korean Air and Thai Air Asia X poised to launch flights to Tehran later this year. Meanwhile, flights to Moscow, which were cancelled in March 2015, will resume in November with four weekly flights. Charamporn attributes reduced competition on the route as a key reason for the airline’s decision to reinstate the service. "Rivals who are low-cost already closed down their businesses, now the main destination for Russia is Thailand" he said to the Nikkei Asian Review, noting that only full-service carrier Aeroflot operates the Bangkok–Moscow route now. For more information, visit thaiairways.com Clement Huang