THAI seeks more experts as ailing carrier looks to turn around in 2016

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THAI seeks more experts as ailing carrier looks to turn around in 2016
SUCHAT SRITAMA
THE NATION


Charamporn Jotikasthira, president of Thai Airways International.

BANGKOK: -- THAI AIRWAYS International is recruiting more experts to push sales as part of its plan to stem the bleeding by next year.

"Newcomers can be anyone, local or foreigner. We are seeking qualified persons to help us grow next year, the year of commercial and sales reforms," president Charamporn Jotikasthira said yesterday.

The national carrier is also considering resuming some routes to countries including the United States in the final quarter of next year or early 2017 that it had grounded under pressure from costs. It hopes to regain revenue from those long-haul markets.

It has been inviting locals or foreigners to join commercial and sales units to drive growth in the year to come.

The airline expects revenue will reach Bt200 billion, up from the Bt190 billion projected for this year. For the last nine months, it has racked up a loss of Bt16 billion, but expects the whole year's loss to moderate to Bt15 billion.

The airline needs at least one more specialist for revenue management and perhaps another for sales agents.

The airline has already hired four outsiders to overlook mainly the financial, sales, accounting and human-resources departments. Two of them are from CIMB, one from Berli Junker Jucker and one from Emirates.

A foreigner serving as an adviser to the president has seen his contract extended for six more months. THAI aims to boost revenue by 17 per cent in 2016 partially by improving its average cabin factor from the expected 73 per cent this year to 80 per cent.

Its yield should also go up by 7 per cent next year. Its current yield is lower than the market rates by 7 per cent. The company has set 2016 as the year of change, particularly in the commercial and sales areas, in a bid to drive growth faster.

"More competition is expected in 2016 due to lower fuel prices, so more promotions from competitors will be seen," Charamporn said.

The commercial department will invest in a new information-technology system within the first six months of the new year to serve digital and online media.

The airline aims to increase online revenue from 13-14 per cent to 20 per cent next year and eventually to 30 per cent, which many other airlines are doing.

It also plans to increase revenue from sales agents worldwide, as they contribute major income. The first step is to provide intensive training for 300 staff to initiate online sales and marketing platforms to reach social-media users.

"If we can achieve [improve] utilisation of aircraft and capacity, we should be able to increase capacity by 2-3 per cent next year and also resume flights to the US in late 2016 or early 2017," Charamporn said.

This year, despite closing four stations, discharging 20 aircraft and continuing cost-cutting exercises, the flag carrier expects its passenger numbers to increase by 2 per cent.

THAI plans to dispose of 42 aircraft this year and in the future. This year, 19 aircraft were sold, while more models such as 10 Airbus A340s and two Boeing 747s are being prepared to go on the market.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/business/THAI-seeks-more-experts-as-ailing-carrier-looks-to-30275815.html


-- The Nation 2015-12-29

[ezzra]

So the national carrier of Thai is asking for foreigners help in rescuing their sinking company

from disaster, and help reshape and organize the revenue departs and others,

that being very unusual from a country who's for long time now has made it abundantly

clear that they don't like foreigners and don't need foreigners....

[jaywalker]

Not ONE SINGLE mention of the word 'maintenance' in all that hot air.

[Emster23]

"THAI AIRWAYS International is recruiting more experts...." a tacit admission that those already in management positions were not hired based on ability or expertise?

[Thian]

Blahblahblah, just fill up them planes by lowering the prices or it won't work.....

[Robbie Dye]

Wow it finally occurred to them they need revenue management!! That needs a team not just one person!

[Searat7]

Selling the remaining 42 planes in storage will be a painful pill for THAI to swallow because it will involve significant losses but these planes will not increase in value (particularly the A-340's) as they clog up Don Muang and other airports.

They don't need more foreign advisors; they need an experienced foreign CEO who would be given a free hand to reduce staffing and make other changes without government interference. Until this is done the losses will continue.

[Prbkk]

Many of those who have been loyal Thai flyers remain troubled by the arbitrary changes to the ROP program last year. They represented a significant loweering of benefits. At that time many decided to walk away from Thai and although the changes were abandoned after the uproars, most frequent flyers have hedged their bets by getting 'status' with an alternative star alliance carrier.

Most people will use a third party site now for booking....Thai does not appear on any of them , at least not competitive in respect of fares. Do they believe people will pay a premium for Thai and for access to the dreadful ROP lounges with the stale and soggy crap they serve?

No clear sky ahead for TG. a pity because it used to be really good.

[Langsuan Man]

They can recruit all they experts they want but if they won't listen to what foreigners tell them in the first place you might as well be pushing a noodle uphill

Edited December 29, 2015 by Langsuan Man

[Srikcir]

Thai Airways International has much more basic problems that expertise. It is State majority-owned. It needs to be a 100% publicy-owned airways wherein its economic strategies are motivated by the market.

Short of a government bailout, there is no long-term hope of survival for TAI.

[millwall_fan]

A good start would be to 'promote' the ageing cabin crew to desk jobs and get some pretty young things handing out the drinkies - oh yes and keep the drinks flowing - a major flaw with Thai. Then get the cabins and food up to top class standard, then start getting your new competitive price deals on Skyscanner etc and reward your frequent flyers well. That will take time OR:-

Try to persuade Emirates or Singapore or Qatar to take you over. No easy task as they will know that there will be political interference. I gave up on THAI a number of years ago.

[Sydebolle]

It took Nils Lumholdt, Lennart Holmgren and some other professional Scandinavians from SAS to put a bright star called Thai Airways International (TG) onto the aviation map of Asia.

The "mother company" Thai Airways (TH) was merged with the big daughter, Thai experts like Chatchai Bunya-Ananta, Capt. Yothin and other dedicated, honest professionals led TG to become a leading carrier on the planet.

1992 Chatchai was "invited" to take his mandatory retirement on turning 60 and from then onwards TG was gliding into the mess it is now. Successive incompetence, nepotism and rampant corruption on all fronts, marred with absolute aviation and airline ignorance let to today's ruins.

if you cannot compete them, join them - Thai (TG) went into Nok Air (DD) and Thai Smile (WE) competing their own product rather than streamlining the TG product, keeping it up to date, see what others do and listen to customers. While you cannot be everybody Darling you also should avoid being everybody's enemy.

Get the spirit back into this airline, all business is people. Move the old toads into retirement, clear out one to two floors on head office, rid the system of those chunking-styled owls hick hacking on the younger ones and forget about Thai and Farang. Some things Farangs are better, likewise some things are better left in Thai hands. Operating a professional intercontinental airline takes professionalism which, regretfully, is in total shortage with TG for the last years.

Look for the Chatchais, the Yothins and think-alikes to re-introduce a professional airline with an impossible to beat product bearing a Thai touch; it was possible before and, given the right staff force, will be possible again !

[jaywalker]

They can recruit all they experts they want but if they won't listen to what foreigners tell them in the first place you might as well be pushing a noodle uphill

YES. You hit the NAIL ON THE HEAD there.

They'll grin at you all day long, nod their heads in solemn agreement and go right back to the way they've always done things.

I was teaching them how to rebuild some ground equipment engines for the RTAF.

Nod, nod. yeah yeah, smile, smile. They ignored me.

First time I let them do it alone, they bent a piston rod, and quite sheepishly asked me to show them again just how this was done???

That was my last EVER contract working with Thai's.

I'd rather be beat in the ass with a mad rattlesnake than try to get them to actually listen to me.

Pushing a wet noodle uphill......GREAT analogy!

[spidermike007]

For only a 1,000 baht fee, I would tell them to lower their prices in line with comparable quality airlines, improve the attitude of staff and improve the food. Job done. More tickets sold.

[steven100]

I use to spend 30k baht every 3 weeks on thai flights for 12 months ... I stopped using them ..

tickets prices way too high

food is crap

service is crap

[Taffyfromflint]

I use to spend 30k baht every 3 weeks on thai flights for 12 months ... I stopped using them ..

tickets prices way too high

food is crap

service is crap

I was doing the exact same for 2+ years. I now use Cathay Pacific Premium for less cost, better service and no hyper inflated prices between December and February. Loyalty does come at a price, but not here anymore.

[peteregion]

So the national carrier of Thai is asking for foreigners help in rescuing their sinking company

from disaster, and help reshape and organize the revenue departs and others,

that being very unusual from a country who's for long time now has made it abundantly

clear that they don't like foreigners and don't need foreigners....

Nonsense. Many Thai companies are run by foreigners or have foreign senior managers. Maybe you are a mountain tortoise always with the head inside the shell and unable to see anything outside.

[natway09]

Can not agree with you on this one Peteregion.

Some of the really major companies are run by Farangs,

As a Government partially owned Thai operation they did not want foreigners, just have a look at the way they got rid of all the

Farang pilots at the time They became so hell bent on doing this that they actually put lives in jeopardy for some years.

Where are the maintenance engineers discussions on employment of Farangs?

[Snig27]

Many of those who have been loyal Thai flyers remain troubled by the arbitrary changes to the ROP program last year. They represented a significant loweering of benefits. At that time many decided to walk away from Thai and although the changes were abandoned after the uproars, most frequent flyers have hedged their bets by getting 'status' with an alternative star alliance carrier.

Most people will use a third party site now for booking....Thai does not appear on any of them , at least not competitive in respect of fares. Do they believe people will pay a premium for Thai and for access to the dreadful ROP lounges with the stale and soggy crap they serve?

No clear sky ahead for TG. a pity because it used to be really good.

Absolutely agree. I'm a gold card member on Thai but won't use them anymore on my weekly international flights for reasons of service, cost, slashing benefits and the fact that they seem completely unable to answer any emails to their customer service address.

I fly Emirates, SQ or JAL now as preference. It's an odd day when SQ offer better value.

[spidermike007]

So the national carrier of Thai is asking for foreigners help in rescuing their sinking company

from disaster, and help reshape and organize the revenue departs and others,

that being very unusual from a country who's for long time now has made it abundantly

clear that they don't like foreigners and don't need foreigners....

Nonsense. Many Thai companies are run by foreigners or have foreign senior managers. Maybe you are a mountain tortoise always with the head inside the shell and unable to see anything outside.

Could you please cite some examples of companies that are Thai owned, not multinationals, and use Foreign CEO's or CFO's? I know of very few. I am not referring to foreign owned companies operating in Thailand. Many of those have chosen to use foreign talent. And I am not referring to foreign owned five star hotel chains, or even internationally recognized five star hotels, where a local franchise is owned by a Thai company. In many of those cases, the parent company will insist on a foreign GM, and F & B person, to maintain internationally acceptable standards.