Malaysia-based LCC Air Asia is soon planning to make Bangkok a hub for south Indian tourists who want to explore south East Asia. Currently, Air Asia flies only to Kuala Lumpur from south India.

Air Asia, which made a profit of $ 400 million last year, wants to start a low-cost carrier in India.

"Around one million people are traveling by trains in India. So, there is huge potential for low-cost flights in the country," Tony Fernandez, chief executive officer of the airline said.

The airline has found that Thailand a popular destination for Indians from southern states. Air Asia, which has been successful in south east Asia and Asean (Association of South East Asian Nations) countries, is planning to aggressively promote the airline in south India as per report in TOI.

"A huge number of Indians fly to Bangkok which is less than two hours from Chennai and other cities in south India. So, we are planning to start services from Chennai, Coimbatore and Trichy to Thailand by the end of the year," said Tony Fernandez.

Kuala Lumpur is nearly four hours from Chennai; yet the route was successful for the airline as a majority of Indians who wish to travel to south east Asian countries, China and Korea fly via the Malaysian capital. "Typically, more than 80% of the seats are booked in the route," he added.

"We are considering flights to Phuket and Lankawi, two of the most popular destinations in Thailand for Indian tourists. The airline has been getting a lot of requests to fly direct to Lankawi," Fernandez said.

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