10.43-Thai Airways shocked by treatment from Mark and PAD, by Pukky, this blog’s neutral economic analyst

The Classy Thai Airways loves the clean and polite Democrats MPs, but sees other MPs as low-life

Thai Airways has run out of cash flow and needs a lot of money from the government. While many loves the airline and the airline loves many, debate rages at what to do with an airline that understands good service, but not competitiveness and producing good profit.

As debate rages to the cause of Thai Airways loss-from airport closure, to fuel futures, to global slump, to buying too many planes, or to even bad management and massive corruption-as far as this blog can remember back, Thai Airways people, from flight attendants, to captains, to service engineers, to middle and senior management-Thai Airways have always hated Thaksin’s guts.

Politically, the Democrats are trying to place the blame of Thai Airways losses on Thaksin, as a way to fend off criticism that in reality the closure of the airport, which the Democrat is a part of, is the cause of the airline’s failure.

• From his first days in the PM seat some 8 years ago, Thaksin had tried to improve Thai Airways operations. 

Back then, even when the economy was good, some-how the profitability of Thai Airways had never been there. Thaksin specifically wanted fewer engines types to cut service costs, wanted Thai Airways to shred its pioneering spirit in breaking open new routes that takes years to build up traffic for a profit, and wanted to buy planes, in standardize bulk, so the price would be comparable to what other airlines were paying.

All of Thaksin’s ideas, were rejected by Thai Airways and the airline rebuff Thaksin, accusing him of trying to take power and authority away from Thai Airways management-so that Thaksin himself can take under the table payments that came with buying planes.

• However, at the height of Thaksin power, even when Thaksin finally had control of much of the armed forces and Thai government, he could do nothing.

Thaksin argued with the air force that the rational for Thai Airways to have so many types of engine may be good to keep Thai service engineers prepared to service fighters jets, as the air force argued, but it was bad for business and Thai Airways was then a public company with share holders. Thaksin also argued with the Thai tourism industry that Thai can not and should not subsidize keeping internal routes open to support provincial tourism, because Thai Airways was loosing too much money doing it.

• And Thaksin saw long ago, that open sky and budget airlines were then coming trend to Asia.

Open Sky and Budget Airlines had already hit many other regions. So Thaksin put toge ther low profitability and future operational threat, as meaning changes had to occur at Thai Airways. And that is what Thaksin tried to do, with changing of the board to changing the MD. But those attempts were always met with rejection and protest at the airline. In one memorable incident, Thai employees went violent, in an attack on Thaksin’s  Transportation and Communications Minister car, beating it with bats, as the minister sat inside the car, as he tried at attend a meeting at Thai Airways HQ.

• So many times Thaksin tried to revamp Thai Airways, and all attempt failed.

Indeed when those in Thaksin’s influence finally decided to start up a budget airline, Thai Airways joined a chorus of criticism on Thaksin as the ”killer of Thai Airways.” Thaksin was even branded “the PM who sell out national interest.” because of the threat to Thai Airways. Thaksin gave the rationale that, “They have arrived and we might as well make a partner out of them and make money from them.” Typically, few criticising Thaksin over this, remember how Thaksin wanted to improve Thai Airways, for a long time already. 

• Not long after that, budget airline appeared all over Asia in a big way, including about 5 budget airlines in Thailand, and about 15 serving the Bangkok route.

The bad feelings between Thaksin and Thai Airways, developed to the point that not long ago, a Thai Airways captain threw MPs who supported Thaksin off the plane because he was not happy about how the PAD was treated over the Parliament blockade event. That refliected a long-time feelings at Thai Airways that Democrats MPs were polite and nice people, but other MPs were just rogue dirt covered un-civilized country folks. So on the other hand, in fact, there had always been a cordial relationship between the Democrats and Thai Airways, with support also given to PAD when it came into being.  

• Most at Thai Airways support the Yellow Shirt and Mark, even with the Thaksin government approving many plane purchases at Thai Airways-all cooked up with NESDB and got done-out of Thaksin reach. 

So it is rather telling really of how lucrative controlling Thai Airways could be, to see now how Thep Turk, a key Democrat MP and the king maker of the current government of Mark, is coming out and attacked Thai Airways, demanding a business plan and Thep Turk saying the government was on the verge of sending proxies to sit all over the place at Thai Airways. All of this sending in proxies, comes with lots and lots of criticism by the Democrats on Thai Airways, openly given to the Thai press, all of it talked about how the government will take care of the Thai Airways problems.

• If anything, Thai Airways has gotten its heart crushed and brokened, by the Democrat and the PAD for sure.