BANGKOK, July 15 — Low-cost airlines are quickly acquiring planes and launching new routes ahead of the formation of the ASEAN Community.
Nok Air that was celebrating its 10th anniversary by accepting another lased aircraft, a Boeing 737-800 with 189 seats, in Seattle last week.
It became the 16th plane of Nok Air’s fleet.
Next year the airline will acquire 15 more aircraft to replace old ones and support route expansion.
Rivals such as Thai AirAsia earlier received 39 Airbus A320 planes.
The airline plans to acquire a total of 60 planes within 2018.
Both low-cost airlines were acquiring new aircraft to maintain their competitiveness.
They were about to launch new local routes as well as those connecting to neighboring countries to serve passengers whose numbers are expected to grow thanks to the formation of the ASEAN Community next year.
