A high-ranking official at Thai Airways has conceded that only serious reforms will save his airline from continued financial losses.
Thai Airways President Sumeth Damrongchaitham said his airline needs to restructure in order to “survive” in the “highly competitive aviation business.”
As it faces continued pressure in the domestic market from low-cost carriers like AirAsia and Lion Air, it plans to cede more of that market and focus on international flying. That’s hardly a new goal, but this time Thai is working with what has been termed “Team Thailand” (airlines including Thai, Bangkok Airways, Nok Air, and Thai Smile) to create a sustainable route schedule.
Nok Air and Thai Smile are Thai Airways subsidiaries; their inclusions makes sense. Bangkok Airways may be part of the team simply because it is a well-established full-service carriers that poses a lesser threat than the growing budget carriers.
The new initiative, which will impact the 2020 flight schedule, will feed connecting domestic traffic to other members of Team Thailand. Damrongchaitham added:
Our new schedule will provide support for customers who fly by Thai to Bangkok and have to board a connecting flight to other locations in Thailand or neighbouring countries. The new schedules will ensure passengers have enough time to catch connecting flights.
While that all sounds positive, it’s not like Thai Airways faces only competition on its domestic routes. In recent years, it has also scaled back its unprofitable longhaul network (including ending service to the USA) and faces a difficult situation in which 1.) only regional routes are generally profitable, but 2.) cutting longhaul and domestic flights would reduce traffic on those regional routes.
CONCLUSION
After two superb flights on Thai Airways earlier this month, I am really “rooting” for the airline to recover. Maybe this is the answer. But year after year we’ve seen grand aspirations of reform at Thai Airways only to be met with entrenched interests that perpetuate the status quo. Will that happen again this time? Only time will tell.
> Read More: Thai Airways Fails To Innovate, Loses Big Again
image: Thai Airways
Owning 8 of each type of airplane will create enough inefficiencies in fleeting to torpedo any airline. Their first step should be to harmonize their long haul fleet to lower their costs which should unlock more profitable long haul destinations to feed the domestic flights
You didn’t pay real money for those Thai flights; therein lies the problem: hardly anyone does, and for reasons well-known.
Having been something of a Thai loyalist, with regular travel 1970-2018, I’m sad about the decline but won’t be going back to them.
Fleet rationaIisation is a must for Thai. They have a good base in the A320, A330, A350 and A380 but the rest is mostly a mess. Even the 788 and 789 are configured to a hugely different standard but used interchangeably. Their 747s and many of the 777s are long past their best.
They just need to look at how Malaysia have turned their long haul service around using the A350.
But then there are the vested interests of the Thai government and others with influence. Tackling that makes the rest insignificant.
“After two superb flights on Thai Airways earlier this month, I am really “rooting” for the airline to recover.”
+1. I’ve only flown Thai on domestic and regional (short/medium haul) international, but I’ve always been very well looked after. I had my latest TG flight three days ago (HKG-BLK), only 2.5 hours but the service was excellent.
Don’t forget Thailand has been through almost a decade and a half of political turbulence which hasn’t helped (the country is still FAA safety category 2). Hopefully the current (relative) stability will help get some much needed overhaul of their national air carrier. And (as remarked above) their hotch potch of new aircraft orders is just a symptom of the lack of knowledge as to how to run a global carrier.
I can’t see how Nok Air plays into this unless they’re allowed to return to BKK. I’d never book a TG to DD “connection” that involves an airport change to DMK.
Last time I flew Thai was part of an award routing in Business Class from SIN-BKK-HND. The BKK-HND route was on an old 747 with angle-flat seats. But the service was friendly, the food good and the seats weren’t a problem for a mid-haul route. We quite enjoyed the flight which felt a bit retro compared to the sleek suites of more up-to-date aircraft.
I also hope they succeed, but they should do so in an economically rational manner. Too many state-supported airlines out there that are poorly managed!
I have flown in Thai airways several times. The inflight product is excellent on the newer fleet. I am flying them again in a couple weeks. They really need to take advantage of the growing Thai market in places like Vegas. LA is saturated, but San Fran would be excellent to code share with United and direct flights to smaller markets like Vegas would help. They have the fleet that has the legs but they really need to get off that FAA cat 2 as soon as possible.
As long as Thai is a playground of politicians, and full of favoritism I can’t see any future for this airlines.
The management team consists of people who are unqualified, incapable to run the airlines as they are all selected NOT because of their caliber. It’s NOT who they are BUT who they know.
Corruptions are every where in the airlines. It is sad and bitter truth that no one can change it’s poor culture.
I could write this comment as I had been working in this airlines for more than 30 years seeing a lot of disgusting conduct and behavior of it’s board and management up to the point that I couldn’t tolerate any more. I resigned long before my age of retirement.
Completely agree with you.
Thai Airways are my favourite airline. Good service, comfortable seats even in economy. I fly regularly between Chiang Mai and London. I flew once with British Airways. The economy class I had to upgrade to premium, it really was cattle class. The cabin crew were rude. I hope Thai find a way through.