Regional Round-Up
Tough times ahead for new THAI chief
October 1st 2012
Thai Airways International (THAI) has appointed a political insider, 57-year-old Sorajak Kasemsuvan, as its new president. It follows the controversial sacking of Piyasvasti Amranand four months ago amid claims his departure was politically motivated. Read More »
A member of the government of former prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, who is living in self-imposed exile in Dubai, Sorajak was the only candidate for the job and is expected to start in November. He has no previous experience in the airline industry.
Sources in Bangkok said he was hand-picked by the ruling Pheu Thai Party and that his nomination was supported by former leader Thaksin.
Sorajak held advisory posts in the former Thaksin administration as a vice-minister of foreign affairs and later as a vice-minister in the prime minister’s office. He is currently chairman of the government-controlled Mass Communication Organization of Thailand, the operator of TV Channel 9.
Former THAI boss, Piyasvasti, was respected for steering the airline through troubled times and for making a strong stand against interference from the finance ministry, the carrier’s majority shareholder.
Sorajak faces a tough challenge. THAI suffered a loss of $330 million last year, but after moving back into profit in the first quarter of 2012, slipped back into the red in the second quarter.
This prompted the airline’s acting president, Chokchai Panyayong, to warn if THAI was not properly managed, its financial position could reach “crisis level” this year.
Separately, THAI’s first A380, which arrived at the flag carrier on September 27, was scheduled to fly on the busy Bangkok-Hong Kong and Bangkok-Singapore routes at the beginning of October. THAI plans to put the five remaining A380s it has ordered to work from the Thai capital to Frankfurt, Paris and Japan’s Narita airport later this year and into 2013. The aircraft are fitted to carry 507 passengers: 12 in first class, 60 in business and 435 in economy.
