Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra wants Thailand to become a low-cost airlines hub in the 10-member Association of South-East Asian Nations (Asean), Thai News Agency (TNA) reported.

Yingluck said this during her meeting with AirAsia chief executive officer Tony Fernandes at Bangkok’s Government House today, where they discussed Thailand’s potential to become an Asean low-cost hub to support regional connectivity.

She said that her government also supported the construction of Thailand’s new airports in major tourist destinations and the development of existing airports in major provinces and cities to serve direct international flights. She was referring to existing airports in Chiang Mai in the north, Udon Thani in the north-east and Krabi in the south.

The prime minister also promised to expand air, road and rail transport systems to better connect Thailand with neighbouring countries, including China, India, Japan and South Korea, saying that she has asked Transport Minister Chadchat Sittipunt to discuss new flight routes with AirAsia for better connection to the neighbouring countries.

Meanwhile, Fernandes told the prime minister that AirAsia plans to increase its investment and flight services in Thailand. He said that Thailand is a strategic location in Asean and has comparative advantages in regional tourism, especially after the formation of the Asean Community (AC) by 2015.

The transport minister said that Thailand has comprehensive services for AirAsia, including aircraft maintenance and training of pilots and aviation engineers, and that AirAsia has agreed on his proposal to sell Thai food and other products aboard its flights.

- Bernama