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On Wednesday, Malaysian Airlines (MAS) came up with a similar announcement. It will offer 1 million zero-fare seats to all 10 Asean countries and the Chinese cities of Hong Kong and Guangzhou. Managing director Idris Jala said the airline would lose no revenue from this as the seats represent a 30 per cent surplus which would otherwise be unsold.

"This provides us with the ability to recover some of the fuel costs [through surcharges] which would otherwise be lost," he added. In January, MAS unveiled an ambitious target, saying net profit could hit 1.5 billion ringgit (Bt14.7 billion) in five years as it enters a new growth phase. Last year, it booked a record profit of 851 million ringgit, reversing losses in 2006 after sweeping reforms.

The free seats are not expected to lower the airline's net profit, as airlines remain to gain from fuel surcharges and administrative taxes, though ticket prices are scrapped.

You may wonder why MAS is so optimistic about its financial outlook while our national carrier, Thai Airways International, will suffer from lower profits this year, even without any seat give-aways.

THAI President Apinan Sumanaseni did not hide his disappointment when he said that this year's profit could be lower than last year's Bt6.34 billion. He cited higher jet fuel costs as the main culprit. This is against the fact that the cabin factor is as high as 80 per cent, meaning that there are fewer free seats left if THAI wants to follow MAS.

Many Thais are comparing THAI to other national airlines and criticising it for poor service. The cabins look dull and old, compared to the newer aircraft of other airlines. With old aircraft, THAI certainly can't afford to follow Singapore Airlines in launching a new business-class service. From Thursday, travellers to New York on SIA are offered personal space and privacy as the seats, convertible to flat beds, are arranged in a one-two-one layout, with every seat having direct access to the aisle.

As many other airlines are buying new aircraft and fitting them with the latest technology, soon the only passengers that THAI may be able to keep will be civil servants and politicians who fly at a discount.

I really love to use the sentence cited by Madonna in the "Evita" flick: "Where will we go from here?" Certainly, it's "we" since THAI, though privatised and listed, is still majority owned by the Finance Ministry - a reason strong enough to attract everybody's attention.