Thai’s turnaround plan

THAI Airways has released a plan to cut costs and increase revenue in response to “external crises” which have seen a decline in tourists, reduction in customer purchasing power and delayed engine repairs.

The carrier listed the strong baht, US-China trade war, sluggish global economy, and temporary closure of Pakistani airspace as key factors which have led to the corporate group to incur an increased net loss in the last quarter.

Under the strategy, Thai Airways will work to “better serve the online customer” through regular digital media promotions.

The carrier said these would particularly benefit passengers who use its mobile app.

Thai Airways will also ask its passengers to suggest solutions for the company through a “#SaveTG” campaign and ask its staff to propose ideas and suggestions to management. A zero waste strategy has been presented, with Thai currently cooperating with FoodInnoPolis to develop an action plan and in the fourth quarter, a new marketing strategy will be implemented to launch direct flights to Sendai, in Japan.

A business alliance to collaborate with Cafe Amazon to expand business in Thailand and the Asian region was flagged, along with a stronger route network to be implemented in Q4.

Thai Airways President Sumeth Damrongchaitham said “I have been President of Thai for 11 months and there was never a day without a problem.

“With these aforementioned strategies, we believe that Thai will return to its position as one of the top world class airlines although not as soon as we hoped,” he added, calling on Thai passengers to fly with the airline and use its services.