Apinan Sumanaseni, who has spent 30 years at the company and is currently head of the airline's operations department, will become THAI's new president.

THAI's chairman, Wanchai Sarathulthat, said Apinan was selected from among four internal candidates. He will replace Kanok Abhiradee, who was demoted after the airline's poorer-than-expected performance. Apinan's term will be four years, starting from the beginning of next month.

Acting president Somchainuk Engtrakul will hand over his responsibilities to the new president at the end of this month.

Apinan, 56, graduated as a flag officer from the Royal Thai Air force Academy and joined THAI on August 1, 1975. He is currently executive vice president of operations.

The new president will face a difficult job in turning around the national carrier's fortunes after the airline recorded its worst-ever quarterly loss, totalling Bt4.78 billion, in the second quarter of last year. Analysts say THAI is facing challenges from rising oil prices, a price-cutting war with budget airlines and political intervention.

Apinan will be THAI's 14th president and the second pilot to take over the top job. As president, he will handle the airline's three most vital business areas: finance, marketing and commercial.

He will also reorganise the company in order to support long-term strategies.

"My vision is to run the company with sustainable growth, without paying too much attention to the size and expansion of aircraft," Apinan said.

He said caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who called for the airline's recovery in order to compete with other major airlines, had been satisfied with his plans.  "I will also try to solve internal conflicts," he said.

Analysts say the new boss must quickly tackle pressing problems of high oil prices. "Oil is the biggest challenge for the company. About 30 per cent to 40 per cent of the company's operational cost is oil," Sukbir Khanijoh, an economist at Trinity Securities told Agence France Presse.

Soaring fuel prices slashed Thai Airways' net profit by 33 per cent to Bt3.8 billion in the three months ended December 31, 2005.

Apart from oil, Choosak Ratanachaichan, an economist at Kasikorn Research Centre, said Thai Airways was facing tough competition from Southeast Asian budget airlines. "Like any other airline, severe competition from low-cost carriers has affected Thai Airways. They [low-cost operators] are eating into the market share of traditional airlines," he said.

Sukbir said THAI was also burdened with internal management problems.

"One of Thai Airways' biggest problems is that there is a lot of political interference," he said, pointing out that the Finance Ministry is the airline's biggest shareholder, with a 54-per-cent stake.

THAI called for applications for the post of president in December and January. It received 11 applications, from both within and outside, but only four internal candidates passed the preliminary screening.

The other three finalists were Chinawut Naressaenee, executive vice president for customer service; Norahuch Ployai, executive vice president for standard and general administration; and Supachai Limpisvasti, managing director of the airline's technical department.

Apinan said his salary and allowances, as well as his employment contract, would be based on company regulations and resolutions of the board. The contract, expected to provide a salary of between Bt700,000 and Bt1 million per month, will be sent to the Finance Ministry for approval. 

Suchat Sritama

The Nation,

Agence France-Presse