THAI Chief Executive Calls for Unity Among Thai Airlines

Chief executive for Thai Airways International, Piyasvasti Amranand, said yesterday that Thai-owned carriers would benefit from uniting to take on foreign rivals particularly large budget provider AirAsia, which has an ever-growing base in Thailand. Dr Piyasvasti says that AirAsia’s rapid expansion is a threat to Thai -run airline providers. He continue emphasizing that Thai carriers should cease to fight for competition among each other and focus on stamping out foreign competition such as AirAsia.

Piyasvasti Amranand feels that many of AirAsia’s rapid expansion plans have recently taken away lots of customers who formerly would have flow Thai Airways or one of the other Thai-based carriers. Piyasvasti Amranand is currently in his sixth week as the president for Thai Airways International, and he is already making waves with his calls for co-operation among Thai carriers such as Bangkok Airways, which is owned and operated privately.

Chief Executive of Thai AirAsia, Tassapon Bijleveld, expressed surprise at the statements, stating his confusion on why foreign owned carriers should be discriminated against. Thai AirAsia is the sister counterpart of AirAsia, which is currently one of Southeast Asia’s largest carriers. AirAsia is based in Malaysia.

Many of the other budget and mainstream carriers in Southeast Asia have grown concerned at the rapid growth of AirAsia across the market. Since its founding seven years ago, the airline has managed to expand from two planes to more than 80 aircraft and 60 destinations. The airline serves around 75 million passengers since its conception.

THAI is gearing up for it’s 50th anniversary celebration next year, and currently boasts a fleet of 88 planes which serve around 20 million flyers every year. Currently, THAI offers 74 destinations around the world and employs a work force of 26,000 people.