GoAir goes International-Phuket and Male

GoAir is soon going international.

GoAir International destination 1: Phuket, Thailand
So far there were no direct flights between India and Phuket. We had to fly one stop via Bangkok. GoAir is launching direct flight between India and Phuket- 3 days a week from Mumbai, 2 days a week from Delhi.

This is a good option to fly direct if your destination is Phuket and origin is Mumbai or Delhi- saves a stopover at Bangkok which is a common practice with any other airline.

You can fly one way direct to Phuket and may be go to Phi Phi, then to Krabi, then fly to Bangkok, spend some time and return to your home city via Bangkok- makes a very good Thailand trip. Indigo is also beginning Chennai-Bangkok and Bengaluru-Bangkok flights from October.

Because it is not a daily flight, if you chose a return flight you might be given a one stop flight via Mumbai or Delhi, if one the day of onward/return journey if there’s no direct flight.

GoAir is promising an intro fare of 18k-19k return- is this attractive enough? In my opinion it is a reasonable return fare, but not dirt cheap. Last year I had a Chennai-DMK-Phuket return trip for under 10000, booked under an Air Asia sale. So 18-19k is on a higher side, but for short term travel it is reasonable- as full service airlines cost around 25-30k for a return trip to Phuket. But point to be noted that the promo fare is not available on all days- was costing 300-400 USD or 25k for some of the dates I selected.

GoAir's Phuket service will start from 11th October Flight duration will be about 5 hours

Check my Phuket posts-

1 Phuket offbeat 3 day Bike tour itinerary

2 Plan your visit to Phi Phi Island

3 Maya Bay now closed
4 Big Buddha statue, Phuket
5 Phuket-Krabi 7 day optimized itinerary
6 Attractions to explore in Phang Nga national park area
7 Visiting James Bond Island on my own without package
8. The offroad- Phuket

GoAir press release has more details

GoAir International Destination 2: Male, Maldives
GoAir is also flying to Male (Maldives capital) from Mumbai and Delhi- again 3 days and 2 days a week. Male is currently served mainly by Srilankan which offers connectivity from most Indian cities via Srilanka and a few direct flights with Maldivian air, Air India and a one stop flight by Spicejet.

Again the return fare of 18-19k is on a reasonable scale. Cheapest would be around 12-14k during airline sales- Cheaper from Chennai and Kochi.

Check my Maldives posts
1. Seaplane watching in Male
2. Male island city tour and places to visit
3. Hulhumale, Maldives in Photos
4. Things to do in Maldives- complete list

Both Maldives and Thailand give visa on arrival for Indians-thus these destinations are convenient to visit.

Best wishes to Go Air.
Air Vistara is expected to begin international operations by end of this year. Curious to know which destinations they will chose first.