Slash THAI fat

Re: “THAI workers eager to save airline”, (BP, May 9).

It is encouraging that the THAI workers’ union says it is committed to working toward rehabilitating the troubled airline and putting it on a viable footing for the future. Saving the beleaguered national carrier will require the full involvement of the employees and management — and major concessions from both.

It doesn’t bode well, however, to see the union flatly rejecting any consideration of privatising the airline or spinning off parts of the enterprise to operate independently. Rigid positions and unwillingness to think outside traditional boxes will undoubtedly result in yet another failed reform attempt.

Success will only be achieved with massive cuts in benefits for staff and their families, trimming fat at top management, eliminating privileges and free upgrades for government employees flying THAI, improving digital systems, and significantly cutting the number of staff — which currently stand at nearly twice the level of modern competitive airlines. Everything should be on the table, including privatization and spinning off viable units of the company.

SAMANEA SAMAN because we are viewed as tourists. I have a long-stay visa. I have the required insurance. I can get the Covid-19 test. I am prepared to do the 14-day isolation... if it means I can reunite with my family. I am not the only one in this situation — thousands of families find themselves trapped.

MARK