The man at the helm of troubled THAI tells Suthichai Yoon how he can turn the airline around
If given a choice, Piyasvasti Amranand might prefer life in the cockpit rather than as president of Thai Airways International, and the great responsibility of navigating the national flag carrier out of financial storms, internal politics, scandals and shrinking public confidence.
But on a short flight from Bangkok to Chiang Mai on Friday, he was upbeat and optimistic while giving an interview to The Nation about all plans for the airline's future. Here are excerpts from the interview, the first in a two-part series:
Q: How can you convince the board, the staff and the airline's customers that THAI can come back to be Number One again?
A: We have got many things started and the public will keep seeing implementation and changes. The changes range from the food to on-board entertainment to financial reforms. A Bt5-billion investment plan has been approved and the board on Monday will consider a project to purchase a new fleet of aircraft. We are in the process of kick-starting our 15-year plan.
We want to become a five-star airline, not four star as is currently the case. Sometimes we have lapsed into trying to compete with low-cost airlines but it's time to go back up where we belong.
Q: What improvement will the public see?
A: We are promoting kiosk and Internet check-ins, which are very convenient but most people remain unaware of. This really saves time and ensures we don't need more manpower in this regard. People tend to think THAI is a huge labour-intensive company but we only have 28,000 employees or a little more than 30,000 if you count outsourced contracts. This may sound a high number to you but THAI includes every activity under one umbrella, like airline kitchens and so on.
Q: There have been complaints about "upgrading" privileges.
A: We have rules and everyone knows them. Problems occurred because the rules were not respected. So we have adjusted them to make things more clear-cut and realistic. I have been told my name has been cited as well, so I told them let's put every request on the record. It's undeniable that there have been requests from senior people or monks so the rules should be simple - that leniency must be given to people who deserve it, not to people who don't. And there must not be discrimination affecting our customers.
Q: What about the board?
A: Initially, board members got 15 first-class tickets each per year for overseas flights and another 15 tickets for domestic flights. That number has been brought down to 7 tickets for just about everyone, and 15 tickets for MD, VP and EVP, will be subject to further review and probably decrease further.
Executives are being subjected to downgrading from first class to business class unless there are really seats available for upgrading to first class. These measures combined with other factors have resulted in better financial figures. They affect only highest-ranking executives, not junior employees, who in fact need better fringe benefits.
