Mumbai30 Nov 23 1 Traveller Economy
Showing International Flight from Phuket
About Phuket
Phuket, in Thailand, is one of the most popular holiday destinations in the world and a very affordable one at that, too. The white sands at the beaches, the picturesque cliffs and the aquamarine waters in Thailand will make you want to extend your stay. Travellers get a lot of options to choose from for their itinerary. If you want to spend your vacation relaxing, you can book a hotel in Phuket that is next to the beach and has spa treatment facilities. If you want to go on adventures, the city has a ton of water sport activities that you must definitely try. Phuket is also a very happening party place and the perfect place for you, in case you are or want to be a party animal. Not only are there luxury resorts in the city but you will also find a lot of hostels since Phuket has a lot of young tourists and backpackers every year.
Best Time to Visit Phuket
Phuket is most visited during winter and early summer. Any time between November to April is considered as the peak season and sees a lot of tourists. December and January are popular months to plan a trip to Phuket since this is when tourists get to attend the most parties in the town. The weather remains cold from November to February, making it a perfect time to hit the beach, try out all the water activities and go sightseeing. The frequency of flights to Phuket is quite high during this season since the demand is high.
March and April are summer months in Phuket. If you are okay with the heat during the day, you can plan your trip to Phuket during these months. However, stepping out in the middle of the day might be a bad idea. The scorching heat will only make you head back to your hotel room or dive into the pool. But it is a great time to plan a vacation if you are only in for sunbathing or not indulge in any adventure activities. Flight tickets to Phuket from India during this time will be slightly cheaper than it is from November to January. In fact, you can even book a hotel in Phuket at a cheaper rate during this time.
Monsoon hits Phuket from May to October, and it is not the best time to visit the city. You won't enjoy your visit to the beach, and a lot of water activities will also remain shut during this time. It is not exactly a popular time for tourists to go to Phuket. The heavy rains and the powerful waves will only keep you deprived of all the water fun you can have otherwise. But since it is off-season, you might even get lucky with flight deals to Phuket.
Places to Visit in Phuket
Since Phuket is a city that has a lot of beaches, you can spend your holiday visiting each one of them. Patong beach is popular and happening beaches in Phuket. You'll find a lot of shacks, cafes and pubs around the beach where you can chill with a glass of beer. You will also find locals selling beach mats and umbrellas so you can lie on the beach and soak in the sun. You can also rent the beach mats and the umbrella. They will charge around 100-200 Thai Bahts to rent the mats and umbrella. You can also go on an island tour to the Phi Phi islands, James Bond Island, Phang Nga Bay and a couple of more islands. You will find a lot of tour guides who will offer you a combined tour of the islands. Karon View Point is another very popular tourist spot in the city. You get a view of the Kata Noi, Kata Yai and Karon beaches from a height. You will also get to take pictures with tamed eagles here. Not to mention, this makes it a perfect place to take pictures. You can also indulge in beverages and local snacks offered here.
Big Buddha is another very popular tourist destination and the perfect spot to embrace spirituality. Wat Chalong, an old Buddhist temple, is also a popular spot. The Phuket Aquarium and the Tiger Kingdom are also some famous places in the city that you can visit. The city also has museums and a couple of boxing stadiums that you can add to your itinerary.
Things to do in Phuket
Phuket is the perfect place for any vacation. You can spend your weekend sunbathing at the beach or indulging in luxurious spa treatments and going to the fanciest places to dine. You can visit the beaches in the city and try activities like snorkelling, jet skiing, surfing, parasailing and other water activities. You can also plan an adventurous trip and one where you can please the party person in you. Full moon parties are a big deal in Thailand and if you love partying you must definitely be a part of one. You can also check the lunar calendar and the full moon party schedule in Phuket before you plan the trip. Don't fret if you somehow miss attending the Full moon party because the city also throws a half-moon party. If you have chosen to stay at a hostel, make sure you check with the hostel desk about any event that they are planning. A lot of hostels plan pub crawls, which is also something you can experience. Phuket is one of the safest cities in Thailand, but there's no harm in making sure you don't lose any of your belongings.
If you are an animal lover, you can volunteer at the Soi Dog Foundation. Though the shelter is shut on Sundays, it is open on the other days and will be a treat to all animal lovers. Another speciality in the city is the Bangla Night Market. It's a popular place to go shopping but make sure you bargain.
Foods and Restaurant in Phuket
Thai food is quite popular in the city. You can try the local street food, or you can dine at a fancy restaurant. Phuket also has a few Indian restaurants that serve really good Indian food. If you feel like trying out some Thai cuisine, Blue Elephant is a place you must try. You can also head to the Red Duck restaurant at Kata Beach for some great food and good service. The Odysseus Greek Organic Restaurant at Kata beach is where you go to try some delectable Greek food. The ambience and decor only add to a fine dining experience. You can always take a walk on the beach after dinner before you call it a night.
Sam's Steaks and Grill at Patong is another popular restaurant that promises value for money. It's not too expensive, and it is completely worth your time. Head over to Green Tamarind Kitchen for good burgers with toppings that will be a treat for your taste buds. Do make sure you go to the Quip Sky Bar in Phuket Old Town for a fun night. It is the town's first rooftop bar, which makes it a highly recommended place. Wassa Homemade Bar in Patong is another rooftop bar that will serve you the best cocktails and a breathtaking view of the sunset. You can also visit the rooftop bars inside the hotels that you are staying in Phuket.
How to Reach Phuket
Direct flights to Phuket International Airport from India are quite limited. GoAir is one of the only airlines that fly directly to Phuket from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai. Bangalore, Delhi and Bangkok are the popular routes to Phuket via connecting flights. Overall, the flight connectivity to Phuket is excellent, and you will get better flight deals to Phuket after January since November to January is high peak season. Thailand offers visa on arrival to a couple of countries, and if you are one of those who qualify for this, you might have to wait in line after you land before you get out of the airport. But the authorities do try their best to reduce time. Also, if you have forgotten to carry your passport sized pictures by any chance, there is a photo booth right near the Immigration section. You can take a picture and pay for it in Thai Bahts. Not to mention, make sure you look out the window while you land to spot the beach on one side. You will get a ride to your hotel or your hostel at the airport, and it won't be too expensive. Make sure you also get a local temporary sim card that will be available outside the terminal. It will only help you access the internet without having to look around for WiFi. You will get cheap flight tickets to Phuket if you book during the off-season or by the end of the peak season. Getting around the city is not too difficult, either. You can either opt for public transport or go for a tuk-tuk or hire a taxi to get around Phuket city.
About Nok Air
Nok Air is a low-cost carrier that operates in Thailand and mostly caters to the domestic route services. The airline came into existence in 2004 and has been part of the industry since. It has its hub at Bangkok's Don Mueang International Airport. Thai Airways has also invested a huge margin into Nok Air and is the second-largest shareholder in the airline venture. The airline came into existence in 2004, under the now-defunct Sky Asia Co. Ltd. The operation of the airline commenced in 2004. In 2007, it employed about 130 staff. Eventually, the number of recruits reached to 1,400 in 2014. Nok Air's first international route services were to Bangalore in India from 2007. However, later the same year, the daily flights to the Indian city were suspended. In fact, later the same year, Nok Air stopped flights to Bangalore altogether. While internationally, Nok Air does not have a massive reach, it is one of the best regional airlines in Thailand with strong domestic route connectivity. The airline serves about 24 domestic routes in Thailand, making it the largest number.
Although Nok Air largely operates as an independent airline, it does have some influence from Thai Airways. The clash of interest resulted in some notable friction between the two airline companies. Intending to gain more control over the domestic airline, Thai Airways tried its best to purchase more of the airline's shares from other shareholders of Nok Air. The idea was to snag the most shares of Nok Air from Krung Thai Bank, a nationalised bank in Thailand. Interestingly, Thai Airways and Krung Thai Bank are both controlled by the Thai government and work under its finance ministry. Krung Thai Bank refused Thai Airways' proposal to purchase Nok Air's shares. The purchase would have moved Thai Airways' stakes from 39 per cent to 49 per cent in Nok Air, instantly giving it the higher power. Thai Airways started diluting its shares in Nok Air, something that came into light in 2017. The airline was basically declining interest in Nok Air and started diluting its shares to 21.57 per cent. With Thai Airways losing interest in Nok Air, Thai investor Mr Nuttapol Chulankul shelled out more money and became the largest shareholder in Nok Air, with about 23.77 per cent in the airline.
The airline changed its name from just Nok Air to Nok Airlines Company Limited, as it had ambitions to be listed in the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET). During its initial entry in the stock market, the airline witnessed another name change as Nok Airlines Public Company Limited and the symbol for trading was revealed as NOK. In 2013, the airline announced that a plan to form a consortium with Scoot Airlines (a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines) to form NokScoot, another low-cost regional carrier to be based out of Don Mueang Airport in Bangkok was announced. With the merger, the company shared its slogan, 'Smiling Across Asia', which came to be known in 2016. The hint behind the slogan is the airline's persistent strategies of gradually turning into the dominant regional carrier across Asia. The airline underwent a controversial incident when multiple flights started getting cancelled. The issues regarding Nok Air was issued. Many employees, including 17 pilots, resigned from their duties, which further led to more flight cancellations. The issues between Nok Air management and the cockpit staff continued with charges of nepotism and lack of increase in salary were some of the issues raised. Eventually, Nok Air brought in foreign pilots to take over the airline's cockpit.
Fleet size of Nok Air
As of 2020, Nok Air has a fleet size of 23 aircraft. Currently, the airline has 15 aircraft of Boeing 737-800 type and 8 Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 NextGen. While these aircraft are currently being used for air services, Nok Air is also awaiting orders of seven Boeing 737 MAX 8. While the Boeing 737-800 can handle 189 passengers, Bombardier Dash 8 has the capacity of 86 passengers. So far, the airline has never suffered from any aircraft glitch or even a major accident. In fact, it hasn't undergone an accident of any kind. Along with air transport, Nok Air is also known for providing ferry services to some of the nearby domestic islands around Thailand. Interestingly, the ferry service also crosses sea borders by coaching services to Pakse and Vientiane, both located close to Laos. The airline has been in conjunction with some of the tour operations for the same. No updates on whether the airline plans to invest more in the fleet have been stated. In fact, the airline is predominantly a regional carrier and hence, requires to be handling operations within Thailand. Although, the airline has undergone some serious controversy regarding the payment of their staff and how the airline completely eliminated its previous staff to bring in new pilots.
Baggage Allowance
According to the website of Nok Air, the baggage allowance depends heavily on the type of ticket chosen from the passenger. The weight of the baggage can range from anywhere between 10 kg to 30 kg. For passengers flying from Nok Air's Lite Ticket, the airline does not provide any sort of baggage allowance. In fact, the passenger would need to purchase additional allowance from the airline, if they need to check some baggage. The passengers who are flying from Nok X-tra and Nok Max ticket, which is mainly a domestic flight, the airline allows 20 kg baggage weight per passenger. For passengers who are travelling by Nok Air in their X-tra and Nok MAX ticket, basically, flights which are domestic but also have international flights, are allowed to carry 20 kg in check-in. As for passengers travelling by X-tra and Nok MAX ticket, these fly only to international cities, they allow a baggage weight of 20 kg. It is essential not to carry fragile items or perishable goods in the check-in baggage. The airline doesn't have provision for carry-on baggage facility.
In-flight services
Despite being a low-cost regional airline, Nok Air has been making quite an impact on the passenger's thanks to their decent in-flight services. They have enabled comfortable seating as well as catered to exquisite in-flight meal combos that can be purchased either when booking a Nok Air flight ticket or onboard.
Popular routes and top cities for Nok Air
Nok Air is extremely well connected within Thailand. Despite facing serious competitions with several low-cost carriers such as Thai Smile and Bangkok Airways, to name a few, Nok Air has managed to maintain a name and reputation in the aviation sector. Much of its domestic route connectivity is worth mentioning. Passengers can simply book affordable and cheap Nok Air flight tickets and be able to reach several island destinations with an airport, within Thailand. As of 2020, Nok Air's domestic route connectivity and operations take place in 24 destinations. Names along with airport names are as follows - Bangkok's Don Mueang International Airport is the hub for Nok Air. The other destinations in Thailand are Buriram, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Chumphon, Hat Yai, Khon Kaen, Krabi, Lampang, Loei, Mae Hong Son, Mae Sot, Nakhon Phanom, Nakhon si Thammarat, Phrae, Phitsanulok, Phuket, Ranong, RoiEt, Sakon Nakhon, Surat Thani, Trang, Ubon Ratchathani and Udon Thani. Along with Thailand, Nok Air further has a handful of destinations to serve in China as well. Some of the places that Nok Air flies to from Thailand are Chengdu, Hefei, Nanning, Nantong, Yancheng and Zhengzhou.
The airline further has services in Vietnam's Hi Chi Minh City, Myanmar's Yangon, Japan's Hiroshima and India's Guwahati. The services to Guwahati though, have been temporarily suspended, as on April 2020, owing to the Coronavirus pandemic.
Why travel by Nok Air?
Nok Air has proven that it can offer the best of facilities and at affordable rates. Even though their logo of 'smiling across Asia' is a double entendre to how they might be taking over the domestic market like heroes, the title certainly adds up. Over the years since its genesis, the airline has managed to make quite the mark in the aviation industry of Thailand. Nok Air has provided Thailand and travellers with some excellent domestic route connectivity to enhance their own stance in the low-cost carrier game. Despite the towering presence of Thai Airways, Nok Air managed to ward them off. While these are commendable reasons to celebrate and choose Nok Air, there are other benefits too.
The airline has enhanced the travelling scene of Thailand's domestic market. They have also upgraded their website to cater to the pressing needs of travellers who cannot always directly reach the airlines. Nok Air has introduced web check-in facilities on its website and also reserved space for Nok Air's flight schedules and flight status. Booking a Nok Air flight from their website is easy and very convenient now. Not to mention how they have explained all the baggage allowance policy and in-flight services that passengers can enjoy.
