Thai Airways reacts to global crises

The national flag carrier is facing global problems such as the continuing economic slowdown in Europe, the debt crisis in Greece, high risk of a financial crisis in China, the ongoing Russian economic problems, and a weaker Thai currency.

"I can say that there are many problems happening outside, but that not all of them have reflected on our business and operations yet," he said. However, the airline is watching the situations carefully and also preparing crisis management including adjustments to flights and routing, overall operations, and business plans if the situations get worse.

Asked how the airline will deal with the current stock-market crisis in China, as it is one of the most important markets for THAI, Charamporn said it could cut flights, as it did recently when South Korea was facing an outbreak of Middle East respiratory syndrome. As for the weakening of the baht against key foreign currencies, the airline is expecting to post a foreign-exchange loss.

Charamporn said THAI’s average load factor during the second quarter was 75 per cent, up by about 6 percentage points from same quarter last year. But yield dropped year on year because of low-fare promotions.

"The improved load factor so far is still lower than our projection that aimed at 80 per cent for the first half of this year," he said.

The airline projects an average load factor of 75 per cent for the entire year.

Meanwhile, Tourism Minister Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul does not expect this country’s tourism sector to be hit by global crises, including the Greek issue. The coming high season should see a lot of arrivals, she believes.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) said India was becoming one of most active markets for Thai tourism, and could compensate for declining markets such as Russia and Europe.

Recently, Bangkok topped the list of Asian cities most searched for as summer holiday destinations by Indians. Although London was the top-searched destination overall, Bangkok came in at No 2 globally, ahead of other favourite destinations such as New York, Dubai, Paris and Toronto.

In the first quarter of this year, Thailand welcomed 231,012 Indian visitors, an increase of 13.73 per cent over the same three months in 2014. TAT is projecting 1.05 million arrivals from India this year.

Indian visitors know Thailand as a hospitable and a year-around tourism destination with plenty of value-for-money products and services. Indians get visa-on-arrival facilities at Thailand’s international checkpoints.

Indian leisure travellers generally go shopping and sightseeing in Bangkok and Pattaya, with an increasing number also heading to Phuket, Chiang Mai, Samui, Chiang Rai, Krabi, Ayutthaya and Koh Chang. Recent years have also shown a marked rise in the number of Indian filmmakers, MICE (meeting, incentive, convention and exhibition) delegates, wedding parties and honeymooners.