Thai Airways eyes return to profitability in 2009

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If its new business rehabilitation plan is a success, Thai Airways could see a seven billion baht profit for 2009, the chairman of the plan’s steering committee has asserted.

Pichai Chunhavajira, who chairs the committee stressed that the cooperation of the flagship carrier’s employees will be critical to the plan’s success.

He spoke about the airline’s potential profitability as compared with the loss of 21.38 billion baht last year – the first reported in 43 years. He also commented on the carrier’s severe liquidity problems and a need for reform.

Thai Airways revealed an ambitious cost-savings programme for the year of up to 10 billion baht, or 10 per cent of its annual 100 billion baht in operating costs.

The committee chairman stressed that profitability was achievable if the current rehabilitation plan, focused on the enhancement of revenue enhancement, the optimization of costs, re-building of confidence within the financial community and the cooperation of its more than 26,000 employees, bears fruit.

The airline is hopeful that with the plan it can persuade banks to come up with the 20 billion baht in loans that are necessary to solve the liquidity problem. The committee chairman noted that the carrier will once again approach local banks, including Krung Thai Bank and Siam Commercial Bank, which had earlier been reluctant to make the loans.

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