THAI to lose Bt100mn from cargo business
Thai Airways International may incur Bt100 million in losses from its cargo business this year on slowing demand due to last year's floods and weakening exports.
Pichai Chunganuwad, managing director of Cargo & Mail Commercial Department, estimated that this year's cargo revenue should be 5 per cent short of Bt30 billion target.
"Throughout this year, loss from the cargo business should be about Bt100 million," he said.
Today, the department signed a contract for a new IT system, which will be deployed on April 1, 2013. This is in line with the International Air Transport Association (IATA)'s agreement on electronic cargo. The system is estimated to cost THAI about Bt100 million on annual average, through the 8-year contract.
According to IATA, lower business confidence in many economies led to a fall in both passenger and cargo demand in July. While passenger demand dropped 3.4 per cent in the month, global freight demand was 3.2 per cent lower than the same period last year.
In line with subdued world trade growth, Asia-Pacific carriers saw a 7.6 per cent decline in demand in July compared to the previous year, the steepest decline for any region, while capacity dipped just 4.3 per cent. Asia-Pacific carriers have experienced virtually no growth in freight traffic since the fourth quarter of 2011.
