Thai Airways banks on food business to cut losses

[webfact]

Thai Airways banks on food business to cut losses

By The Nation

 

 

The catering department of Thai Airways has teamed up with Amazon and LINE to expand Puff & Pine, its food delivery service, in a bid to cut losses.

 

Thai Airway recorded a net loss of Bt 6,800 million in the second quarter of 2019, increasing 122 per cent from the same period last year. The carrier will implement a restructuring programme for all units in the organisation. 

 

Its catering department generated Bt 8,400 million in income last year, compared with a total revenue of Bt 199,500 million for Thai Airways.

 

 

Warangkana Luerotewong, managing director of Aviation Catering, said the food business will continue to grow. It is divided into two areas: aviation (Bt7,600 million/year ) and sale of non-flight or "non-aviation" food ( Bt800 million/year). Revenue from aviation food is expected to reach Bt12,000 million in the next five years. 

 

Orders from airlines account for 90 per cent of Thai Airways's catering revenue. It currently serve 50 airlines and is looking for new customers in the European, US and the Middle East markets.

 

For the non-aviation food business, the goal is to grow 20 per cent per year to double the current income of Bt800 million to Bt 1,600 million per year, in partnership with Amazon and LINE.

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30377611

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2019-10-22

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[PatOngo]

Noodles to the rescue!

[scorecard]

 

 

Is this actually a statement from the President or from the catering manager?

 

Should the catering manager be making such media releases?

 

26 minutes ago, webfact said:

Its catering department generated Bt 8,400 million in income last year, compared with a total revenue of Bt 199,500 million for Thai Airways.

 

Only 199xxx million Baht total revenue, surely that cannot be correct.  

 

30 minutes ago, webfact said:

. Revenue from aviation food is expected to reach Bt12,000 million in the next five years. 

And that will get Thai out of it's financial mess?

 

Thai gets worse by the minute, needs to be closed.

[GinBoy2]

I would love to see the notes from this meeting...

 

"So Gentlemen, we have concluded that we are totally inept at running an airline.....so let's just focus on our restaurant in the airline food court!  That's bound to be a sizzling success. Soon we'll be outstripping those airlines making billions of $$, with our sure fire restaurant business acumen. Hooray for us, TG is saved"

 

You couldn't make this <deleted> up if you tried!

[Doge]

I don't see how they will increase profits. Raise prices?

 

Suvarnabhumi prices just as expensive as developed nations.

 

Suvarnabhumi inbound such a horrible experience.

Edited October 21, 2019 by Doge

[Somtamnication]

Mama Noodles here I come!

[Oziex1]

So the airline is a basket case, let's try food deliver to prop it up. 

I assume the usual entitled crowd have the number for free food and delivery. 

[ezzra]

People don't choose an airline because of the food, price, timetable and safety are the main concerns, no matter how tasty the food is when you're serving it in a crappy carton box it would still taste crappy...

[realfunster]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

The catering department of Thai Airways has teamed up with Amazon and LINE to expand Puff & Pine, its food delivery service, in a bid to cut losses.

 

The Nation isn’t improving, an obvious spelling mistake in the first sentence, impressive. 

[Cadbury]

 

2 hours ago, webfact said:

Thai Airways banks on food business to cut losses

Sadly this story illustrates why Thai Airways is in such bad financial shape and bereft of quality senior management.

[happy chappie]

The figures show it,anyone with a bit of sense knows it.thai air are going down the pan.theyve just this week abandoned half a dozen routes.thai air have had it too good too long.its a cut throats business out there and they are incompetent at running a business.  If one men like Richard Branson can do it why can't a country do it.

[Peterw42]

Selling airplane food on amazon, that should work a treat. 

Note to self: dont forget to buy some Thai airways shares.

[Thian]

6 hours ago, Doge said:

Suvarnabhumi inbound such a horrible experience.

also outbound since we can't smoke there anymore.

[steven100]

this will really bring in millions of baht …. not  !  lol

[Fex Bluse]

What else to expect from a pig and rice farming country 

 

Pity them 

[colinneil]

What a load of hog wash, this is just a gimmick to deflect attention away from the more serious problems Thai airways face.

Make a bit of a show about food, then it looks like we are tackling the problems.

[Fex Bluse]

55 minutes ago, Cadbury said:

 

Sadly this story illustrates why Thai Airways is in such bad financial shape and bereft of quality senior management.

Expanding, it illustrates why Thailand is in such bad financial shape ????????

 

These people often represent the country's best and brightest. 

[Sealbash]

What else to expect from a pig and rice farming country 
 
Pity them 

No other nations have had airline bankruptcies


Sent from my iPhone using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[Fex Bluse]

Just now, Sealbash said:

No other nations have had airline bankruptcies


Sent from my iPhone using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

Given persistent losses and lacking ability to restructure towards profitability, bankruptcy can be a reasonable option. 

 

What is not reasonable is hemorrhaging losses on account of not wanting to lose face. 

 

Also, Thai Airways is but a single, though very visible, reflection of pervasive Thai mismanagement, corruption and cronyism that stifles the entire countries economy. 

[holy cow cm]

Well they certainly don't make their domestic flight snack food for economy. It is farmed out to Alredeo. 

[GinBoy2]

4 minutes ago, Sealbash said:

No other nations have had airline bankruptcies


Sent from my iPhone using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

The difference is;

 

In most countries, of course airlines have failed, but one of two things happen

 

They either go into bankruptcy protection, Chapter 11 in the US case, while they attempt to restructure their business, or they simply become insolvent and go out of business.

 

Two examples of those two examples. United Airlines in the US which went into Chapter 11, and after fundamentally changing their business model now makes billions of $.

 

Thomas Cook in the UK, which failed to restructure and just folded.

 

So, of course airlines get into trouble, it is after all a tough business, invest millions to make pennies.

 

But TG isn't a real company, it's now a zombie company living with the second highest debt of any airline in the world, and saddled with some of the most incompetent management in the world.

 

....so yeah, the catering biz will save it! LOL 

[Orton Rd]

1 hour ago, realfunster said:

 

The Nation isn’t improving, an obvious spelling mistake in the first sentence, impressive. 

There again pine might be more edible than some of their pies ????

[RichardColeman]

Maybe they should try larger meals to attract customers than arty f*rty plane food.

[cmsally]

They are seriously relying on pastry puff pies to rescue them. Geez!! Actually Krispy Kreme would be a better bet, but I don't think they own that one.

 

http://www.puffandpie.com/puffandpie/en/about/

[Orton Rd]

You can buy this 'food' around town they have shop at Victory monument, don't recommend the apple pie!

[Burma Bill]

Amazing - anything other than personnel "downsizing"! It is going to take a lot of food to cut losses before even considering buying one new plane!!

[Dogmatix]

Actually this catering business is called Puff and Pie, not Puff and Pine. There has been a small Puff and Pie shop outside the Thai Airways office near Democracy Monument (formerly the HQ of the independent Thai Airways domestic airline) as long as I remember which is decades and it has always looked the same with the same logo. They sell not very pleasant Thai style bakery products which also haven’t changed in decades.
 

Fat chance that this legacy business is going to somehow leap out of the gutter and put billions on the bottom line of this corruption riddled company.

[klauskunkel]

Thai Airways' Board of Directors counts on Catering Department to keep their salaries going a bit longer

[DLock]

That's all great.

 

But revenue doesn't necessarily mean profitable.

 

The food business may be contributing to the loss, so expanding it may contribute further loss.

 

Anyway it's a stupid idea by idiots. Hope that helps.

[mikebell]

Why don't they just cut out the hi-so freeloaders and lower prices? I'd love to fly Thai but my UK frozen pension prevents me from throwing money away.