THAI president enjoys honeymoon

BANGKOK, 10 October 2012: Thai Airways International’s new president told local media at his first press conference, yesterday, he would submit a revised business plan for 2013 by end of this year. Sorajak Kasemsuvan, was enjoying his first day in the top office, while the honeymoon with the local media got off to a good start at a media briefing later in the day. But it is likely to be short lived honeymoon as the airline remains tangled in politics at the top and has just embarked on an expensive re-fleeting in a belated bid to catch up with its traditional competitors Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific Airways. The new president will meet the board 12 October to receive directives on policies and targets that he is supposed to achieve, while he will have to co-operate with executives to map out a business plan for 2013 to submit to the board by 31 December. Sorajak Kasemsuvan “I cannot give today a target for profit and revenue and other concrete plans to generate revenue because I have just taken up office. I have to learn the job and discuss the business prospects with other executives,” said Mr Sorajak. That is his biggest challenge; learning the job and ensuring he gains from the management team unbiased facts to allow him to make the right choices. The national airline has in the past been held back by infighting, factions and a lack of team play as groups fight for control or attempt to undermine their perceived enemies. But this is day one so he believes in THAI’s future based on its valuable assets – human resource and good time slots in many destinations. “Importantly the airline now has competitive products as new aircraft as well as retrofitted aircraft roll into the fleet. THAI has to work on improving service quality and emphasise more on Thailand branding to differentiate itself from its competitors. “We need to build the Thailand brand as it will be our competitive edge — top notch Thai food and Thai hospitality. The difference will generate revenue. I am also thinking of bringing OTOP products on board and would love to promote handicrafts and fabrics as well,” he elaborated. Nothing new there; former president, Chatrachai Bunya-ananta adopted that policy back in the 1980s long before OTOP was a gimmick. He introduced local coffee and ingredients in the in-flight galley and Thai fabrics were used in cabin interiors. He was the only president to succeed in uniting the airline’s management, mainly due to the fact he was an early recruit when the airline was still young and aggressive and grew with it, moving up the ranks to be the first non-air force appointed president. During his tenure the airline to engaged and financed national tourism promotions in partnership with the Tourism Authority of Thailand. That sense of national team work in tourism has not been seen since. Can this president revive team work? Mr Sorajak did talk of flexible pricing to help improve revenue and hopes to increase online sales which is still relatively low compared with other airlines. “We need innovations and we need to respond promptly to volatile markets. This does not mean gadgets and gimmicks, but improvements in human resource development, sourcing revenue from other business besides air fares… We have to encourage staff at all levels to voice opinions and present ideas that will help the company develop,” the president said. On ASEAN travel “Although low cost carriers flourish in ASEAN markets, THAI still has opportunities …China, India, Russia and Japan are not saturated and will not be for a long time. If the strategies are right, we can earn a lot.” ASEAN travel agents and tourism promoters would have preferred a stronger commitment to ASEAN travel in the approach to 2015. Read between the lines and you have a president who appears to have waved the white flag in the direction of low-cost airlines that are now dominating regional travel. If Thailand is to achieve its goal to become the premier leisure travel gateway to ASEAN then the national airline has to offer at least double daily flights from all of the 10 capitals and also from major destinations such as Bali, Ho Chi Minh City, Siem Reap, Luang Prabang and Mandalay. To do otherwise will be to concede ground and lose all grounds to claim gateway status for travel and trade in ASEAN, a market that will ultimately be on par with Europe in the not so distant future Sourced: ttrweekly