Newsmakers
Former THAI president dies at 82
May 1st 2015
Chatrachai Bunya-Ananta, a towering figure in civil aviation most famous for his development of the legendary Thai Airways “Smooth as silk” campaign, died on April 18 in Bangkok, aged 82. Read More »
As vice president for marketing at THAI for 14 years from 1972, Chatrachai was influential in making Thailand’s flag carrier one of the most admired airlines in the world, with service standards that were the envy of rivals.
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A man of great charm, he became the airline’s executive vice president in 1986 and before retiring in 1993, he served as the first civilian president at the carrier. By then, he and his team had built THAI into one of seven Asia-Pacific carriers in the top 10 most profitable airlines in the world.
Anyone who has flown with THAI will be familiar with the Chatrachai era magic: the Smooth as silk slogan, the symbolic logo, the purple orchids of Thailand, the traditional Thai uniforms on departure, modern attire on arrival - and great Danish pastries on an Asian airline.
The Smooth as silk campaign has been recognized as pivotal to the success of the carrier’s global marketing campaigns. It replaced “Get into it”, which was considered too suggestive.
As the public face of THAI, Chatrachai introduced an annual marketing activity plan in 1972, which drew in the airline’s representatives from across its widening route network. The meetings were thrown open to the media and promoted different regions of Thailand. Marketing Thailand as a destination was as important to Chatrachai as promoting THAI. Veterans at the carrier miss the enthusiastic national team spirit he inspired.
In 1993, after serving his term as chairman of the Orient Airlines Association, the forerunner of the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines, he told Orient Aviation’s founder, Barry Grindrod, in an interview in 1993, that he would chose exactly the same career if he had his time over again.
After he graduated in economics from Wales University, Chatrachai was working as a policeman, as part of his military service, when BOAC recruited him as a management trainee. “They were looking for graduates who already had a couple of years work experience. I was so excited when I was approached. All aspects of the airline industry were exotic in those days and BOAC had one of the best civil aviation schools in the world,” he told Orient Aviation.
He spent the next 12 years with the British airline, working in many Asian cities, before he joined THAI in 1971, where he eventually became the first civilian to run the carrier. Many in the industry regard the years that Chatrachai was in charge as the golden era of the carrier.
Chatrachai is survived by his wife, Shirley, daughter Tania and her daughter Alexia Traill, daughter Anna, son-in-law Tom Whitcraft and grandson, Nicholas Chatrachai Whitcraft.
