Thai Airways Ticketing Scam

Pilot prompts probe into `ticketing scam'

Fraud costing carrier B10bn a year, he says

BANGKOK: Thai Airways International will launch an investigation into a pilot's allegations that fraudulent ticket sales are costing the national carrier at least 10 billion baht a year.

Cpt Thanit Pongsathit lodged his complaint on Thursday with the senate committee on administration, claiming some travel agents were afforded unreasonably high discounts on ticket prices.

Cpt Thanit said he discovered the airline's commercial department had sold return tickets to Delhi for as little as 13,100 baht for adults, and 8,700 baht for children.

Recommended prices for the tickets were 22,935 baht for adults, and 17,205 baht for children.

Cpt Thanit said he also found the airline had given away free tickets in one 10-day period amounting to 1.3 million baht.

He estimated the loss in revenue at no less than 10 billion baht per year, saying the airline had been plagued by corruption for several years.

In addition, Cpt Thanit said after raising the issue to no avail with the airline's former chairman, he reported it to THAI president Kanok Abhiradee.

However, he later found himself to be the subject of a slander lawsuit, filed by one of the airline's ticketing staff in Phuket.

Mr Thanit said the lawsuit was based on the content of the report he had sent to Mr Kanok.

``I felt I was being blackmailed,'' he said.

THAI executive vice president in charge of ticketing, Suthep Suebsantiwongse, said yesterday he would investigate the matter next week, after returning to Bangkok from Chiang Mai.

Senate committee chairman Maj Gen Intharat Yodbangtoey said he had received three prior complaints of corruption at the airline, including one involving privileges for business-class tickets.

--Bangkok Post 2003-11-29