Thai Airways hopes for baht to stabilise
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Thai Airways International accepts that the baht's appreciation poses a threat this year, but believes the company will be able to manage it successfully.
The main problem for the company is the baht’s fluctuation. The company requires currency stability to operate efficiently, said THAI president Sorajak Kasemsuvan.
He said the company was fortunate in that it deals both in baht and foreign currencies, especially the US dollar. The airline pays for fuel with dollars, and fuel accounts for up to 40 per cent of total costs.
At present, 30-40 per cent of THAI’s revenue is denominated in baht. The company is looking for ways to earn more income in baht, probably through more domestic flights.
“Overall, the outlook for THAI is still positive this year, if serious problems like wars and epidemics do not take place. The company believes it will achieve its business projection,’’ Sorajak said, adding that its performance was backed by the growing number of foreign tourists into the Kingdom.
He said that at yesterday’s board meeting chaired by Ampon Kittiampon the directors were happy with THAI’s financial results in the first quarter, which were on target.
During the period, its cabin factor was 79.8 per cent, about 1 percentage point better than expected based on the same period last year.
Next month, the firm plans to spin off its sub-brand Thai Smile as an independent company.
This is being readied by the Ministry of Transport for the Cabinet’s approval.
Thai Smile’s capital will be Bt1.4 billion. The company’s structure will be designed to raise its business performance. The aim is for the airline quickly to capture a bigger share of the regional market with narrow-bodied aircraft.
Spinning off Thai Smile is aimed at making it more competitive with other airlines in the same segment such as Singapore Airlines’ Silk Air and Cathay Pacific’s Dragonair.
