Thai Airways ponders bankruptcy as it enters rehab

[Greg O]

In my humble opinion one of the reasons they've extended the flight ban now until June 30th has nothing to do with Covid. They are simply buying time in an effort to re-structure and get up and running and have to protect their departure and arrival slots and don't want the competitors to get a foothold on the slots and gates. Bankruptcy is the only viable option to stop the hemmoraging. A complete restructuring of Fleet types, routes and staffing needed to take place yesterday. That doesn't mean buying new airplanes which Thai loves to do as there are massive "incentives" and kickbacks from the manufacturers and component suppliers but also incurs massive debt which can't be serviced even if they had 100 percent load factors. Then the payments come due. Most popular in Thailand isn't it? Buy a car on credit with no intention of repaying the loan or the ability to repay. If the government maintains the draconian measures for Air travel they're doomed and will Vaporize. I'm sure Air Asia and Viet Jet ( I mention them because their revenues are not solely dependent on Thailand traffic and they have their own extensive overseas route networks.

 

Bankruptcy is not a sign of failure but a wise business move when required to fend off the creditors, lessors etc and allow employment agreements, pensions etc to be revised or renegotiated but they need to do it now..

[wombat]

scrap aluminum is worth 20 cents lb and all the planes are parked up at Alice Springs ....the options are out there.

[holy cow cm]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

Meanwhile, the Thai PM, Prayut Chan-o-cha has agreed to the moves towards rehabilitation for Thai Airways.

And Deputy PM and Health Minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, said that several internal rehab plans have been conducted, but with no success

Get the military away from it. Military should not be in Government or business. That goes for retired as well who still are military.

And then they have bozos like Anutin able to talk about it. Why on earth is the clown even in the picture.

 

[HuaHinHim]

2 hours ago, OnTheRun said:

They should bite the bullet and appoint a non Thai as CEO. I'd suggest they approach the Japanese guy who turned JAL around, he worked miracles there.

They would need to replace more than just the CEO. They really need to replace most of the top management with non Thai’s and then let Thai’s compete against foreigners for the top positions. It’s going to be very difficult to survive even if they change management but it’s their past management that put them in a bad position before coronavirus came along to begin with. I feel sorry for the front line workers, who, in my experience do a good job. At least that has been my experience flying Thai

[Greg O]

Yes I've been a long time customer both as a passenger and user of their technical services at Thai and they have great deal of experience and expertise in their ranks. Let's hope those professionals will be able to retain their jobs. 

[sead]

Dont ya worry. Government is NOT going to give away this goldmine. Everytime some billions are injected into this company someone is getting rich. 

[peter14]

Save face LOL  .. admit amit in your knees 

 

Thai.. I  believe we can fly

[globalspark]

3 hours ago, tribalfusion001 said:

Don't really a national carrier with no tourists coming.

We all know there are too many mouths in the trough.Need an outsider as somebody has already mentioned example Alan Joice at Qantas.Use to be a top airline but it has been evident on my last few trips that they are cutting corners in the cabin service,God only knows what is going on with maintenance.

[Guderian]

It'll survive one way or another, a question of national pride. Even supposedly-rational Western governments in Europe refuse to let their flag carriers go broke. Perhaps they can cobble together something like the Air France/KLM merger, perhaps Thai and Singapore or Cathay Pacific, or even Thai and EVA, though that would anger the government's mentors in Beijing, lol.

[Mak25]

2 hours ago, keithkarmann said:

Still waiting for my refund 4 weeks now.

Usually, it takes airlines to process refunds around 6 weeks. During Covid it might take even longer now.

[DPKANKAN]

5 hours ago, kotsak said:

Amy Winehouse's song Rehab springs in mind.. ????

Because they are talking about 'rehab', is that the reason the retard Anutin the health minister is making comments about business??? <deleted>!!????????????????????????????????

[aussienam]

Thai Airways - could start operating to allow all of those people who normally live in Thailand but are currently locked out - to be allowed back.  Many of us are locked out paying rent still, others own condos, etc.  Retirees. etc.  Help get us back with a dedicated airline and have all the COVID19 measures in place to ensure we board with negative test results, and when arrived we quarantine as well as an extra measure.  I believe there are now enough risk prevention measures in place to enable for this to be efficiently and safely.  And Thai Airways is a great airline.  Would be very sad to see it go.  I am in Australia still with my suitcase and carry on ready to return.  ready to book a flight, read to get the insurance, ready to get the test and certificate and get to the airport pronto!  Thanks you. 

Edited May 18, 2020 by aussienam

[Mikeasq60]

My feeling is the govt of Thailand sealed Thai Airs fate by not opening up Thailand to air travel instead of extending the shutdown. Whats Thailands justification for that, their following the leftist guidelines for reopening the country if they ever do, what then Thailand?

[PatOngo]

3 hours ago, trainman34014 said:

'Pondering' is not going to solve the problems; we all know what needs to be done including the Half Wits at the Airline and in the Government....so why not just get on and do it ?

Because they like to ponder! ????

[ubon farang]

3 hours ago, OnTheRun said:

They should bite the bullet and appoint a non Thai as CEO. I'd suggest they approach the Japanese guy who turned JAL around, he worked miracles there.

Mayhbe look at the wages structure at the top to see if they change things lol Oops maybe not? If they start that rot then they must starting looking at their own wages structure lol eg generals pay and benefits and government officials also The pit is never ending is it

[ThaiFelix]

3 hours ago, OnTheRun said:

They should bite the bullet and appoint a non Thai as CEO. I'd suggest they approach the Japanese guy who turned JAL around, he worked miracles there.

Yes it makes you wonder how one ice cream stand can make a profit and expand while another suffers massive losses year after year?  Management or lack of?

[Nigel Garvie]

1 hour ago, Guderian said:

It'll survive one way or another, a question of national pride. Even supposedly-rational Western governments in Europe refuse to let their flag carriers go broke. Perhaps they can cobble together something like the Air France/KLM merger, perhaps Thai and Singapore or Cathay Pacific, or even Thai and EVA, though that would anger the government's mentors in Beijing, lol.

The China merger is maybe the only one that would get the support. China are masterful at buying up foreign countries by putting wads of notes into the pockets of corrupt leaders. China exploits the ordinary people of the country by buying influence at the top. Take Hun Sen for example, or Shri Lanka.  The generals and Hi-Sos will only accept a radical solution to TA, if they can keep their personal revenue streams intact.

[whitfield]

2 hours ago, Pinot said:

This isn't promising to hear from a business that owes me B40000 for cancelled flights. I imagine my equity position is somewhere near the bottom of the dumpster

 

You should be so lucky, I've been waiting 7 weeks for 180,000 Baht!!

[Magenta408]

Thai Airways should be euthanized. It was once a good airline and it has been reduced to rubbish, the fault being entirely of its own making. Government should not be bailing out these failed entities. There are far many other priorities. 

[scorecard]

2 hours ago, Dukeleto said:

I hate to say this but put anyone else in to run the thing except a person who's nationality is the same as the carriers name and who isnt beholden to anyone there or in the government and tasked specifically to turn it around and their renumeration based soley on their success.

Sooo it will be bankrupcy or bailout with the cycle of abuse and missmanagment uninterupted. Wash, rinse and repeat!

Sure, all good points, but there are so many roadblocks already deeply entrenched in the 'normal' behaviors, attitudes and operating processes of Thai Inter., backed by very powerful factions inside Thai and in broader government and in sectors of the outside community.

 

These folks have enormous power, and they will have no hesitation to intimidate and remove anybody/team who try to make change. And they don't care, and they don't consider the bigger picture of what it should be. 

 

For many years I was a local director of a famous and very credible international management consulting company in Bkk, we won many large/very large consulting projects to help Thai redesign, rebuild various parts of the organization (the fees charged for these projects were typically US$5, 10, 20million and more.

 

Progressively through each part of the projects my senior Thai staff made very detailed presentations by sectors of what must change (as agreed in the detailed project contract and deliverables) and why, and what each sector must look like after the change had been implemented, and what the new outputs must be/what they must look like etc., etc.

 

Although senior/mid-level managers had all been instructed to closely manage the changes in their sectors many never turned up, some came but just sat outside the room drinking coffee, some sat in the conference room and chatted loudly with friends sitting near or sitting on the other side of the room, and they walked in and out all the time .

 

Bottom line, zero to very little change ever happened. We were told again and again to never approach individual managers (any level) to query their progress etc. 

[Abmong]

It's not just Thai Airways. Financial Times and Bloomberg are reporting most carriers face bankruptcy by end of May. Thai is merely the first since if was in poor financial health even before the pandemic. Most Airlines are in deep doodoo

[Cadan]

Won’t be able to pay the salary of a non thai national. Rather have 5 thai guys. I say what you pay is what you get. By the way Avianca has double the aircrafts than Thai with same number of employees. That sums it up 

[Gary Maneval]

Regardless of what they end up doing, if they do not restructure airline ticket costs more in line with the rest of the airlines, they might as well just sell their airplanes.  They have been so out of touch with prices against what other airlines charge, why would anyone want to fly Thai Airways.  That is my opinion.

[shackleton]

This is a airline which will never make a profit as to many people in high places have the their fingers in the pie

To many free flights  to family members friends ect

I have flown Thai airways and found their service first class but expensive 

Compared to others

[Acrylic]

4 hours ago, RandolphGB said:

The only answer is for the airline to be sold to an experienced foreign group. They’d turn it around within a year and it would become profitable. 
 

Of course, that would never happen as it would it would expose the systematic corruption and cronyism rooted in the airline, which no sensible business group would tolerate and immediately set out ending. 
 

Plus, the loss of face would be too much to bear to have foreigners running their national airline.

 

I think they won't do that because it's national carrier airline. Not many country want to lose their national carrier airline. It's the same with MAS, Garuda, PAL, etc. 

[Sydebolle]

Nothing will change, as long as all those absolute ignorant arrogant d1ckhaeds are putting their opinion in. The government, lead by Uncle Too, is putting its nose into each and every pie and has not the slightest clue, what it is all about.
Anutin (the "dirty farang" harasser) is adding his unqualified comment and one of the statements read, that Thai Airways (TG) would have to table a rehab plan by end of May (i.e. in 12 calendar days). 
 

A rehab plan takes weeks if not months by proper unbiased and non-corruptible experts and they will have to use their beams and torches for each and every corner in this most corrupted, inefficient and incompetent private company - listed on the stock exchange of Thailand. 

The problem is not aviation, the problem is in house by a revolving door at the DD's office, a permanent messing around by absolute incompetence from the government and the attitude that TG is a supermarket without a cashier at the exit. 

You can find B748 aircraft previously owned by TG all over Thailand decorating amusement outdoor parks (Chic Chic Nong Khai, Bangkok's Sukhaphibal 3 Road etc.) which with any other airline would still be airborne. If you look at the flying hours per 24 hours day and compare that with Air Asia then you can see, where the answer lies. Overpriced, fighting against Thai Smile (owned and operated by TG), dominance at Suvannaphum Airport, arrogant HiSo cabin service by some university graduates who think their are the next best thing after sliced bread. 

Compared to what TG was 30 years ago - then a sparkling star on the aviation skies of Asia - with today ......... Long gone the professionals like Chatichai Bunya-Ananta, Nils Lumholdt, Lennard Holmgren who took a joint venture between the Scandinavian SAS and Thai Airways (TH) into TG. Politically killed and looted by government officials and employees alike. 

Clean up the mess by starting, that each and every employee would have to reapply with TG and state, why (s)he should be hired and what benefit TG would have with her/his employment. Forget about offloading aircraft for the time being, the world is parking 8'000 aircraft for good these days and TG would not even get the scrap value. 

Redefine flying, put all of them on profit share with governmentally dictated minimum wage (like the rest of Thailand), clean up the mess with participations in Thai Smile (WE) and the stake in Nok Air (DD), streamline services in professional exchanges with Air Asia, Bangkok Airways etc. and also explain, why the Vietnamese Vietjetair enjoys 5th freedom traffic (i.e. transporting passengers within Thailand, i.e. Bangkok-Udon). 

But yeah, that requires honest professionalism dedicated to the case and that is - as we all know - a very difficult task = challenging days ahead. 

Even if the company is not declared bankrupt; the discussion on the subject will keep even loyal passengers away for quite some time until TG proved to be a reliable transportation partner again. Good luck! 

[fvw53]

5 hours ago, OnTheRun said:

They should bite the bullet and appoint a non Thai as CEO. I'd suggest they approach the Japanese guy who turned JAL around, he worked miracles there.

I remember the good old days when TG provided world-class service with management and technical support from SAS from 1960 till 1977.  I wonder if TG could sink so deep if SAS would have continued the management cooperation (= transparent accounting)

 

[tomacht8]

The whole Thai Airways structure is financed with tax payers money. Has had massive 3digit million Doller losses for years. Thai Airways has become a self-service shop for connected people. Upper class free flights, dividend payments despite losses, fat management salaries, fat pensions and everything for little work.
A declaration of bankruptcy would be a blessing for the taxpayers.

[bodga]

7 hours ago, webfact said:

recorded a net loss of US$66 million in 2017, US$361 million in 2018 and US$374 million last year

I see  a  pattern  here.

[Canuck1966]

Thai Airways to file for bankruptcy after green lighted by SEPO

 

The company will likely default on its debts by the end of this month.