Nok Air to see overhaul
New chief executive Piya Yodamani has been tasked with turning the airline around. By Boonsong Kositchotethana
Nok Air’s new supremo says his task is to stop losses at the cash-strapped budget airline and turn its business around in no time.
“My preoccupation is to stop the bleeding and ensure the business turnaround plan is brought to fruition as soon as possible,” Piya Yodmani, who succeeded Patee Sarasin as the chief executive of Nok Air last Thursday, told the Bangkok Post.
Restoring confidence among employees and consumers in Nok Air’s brand, which has been bruised over the past few years, is another priority, said Mr Piya.
There will be some reallocation of duties among members of senior management shortly so that they contribute more effectively to the business transformation.
But that will not entail an extensive reorganisation or a purge of current members, Mr Piya insisted.
A new reporting system, information sharing, a revised decision-making process and a workcentric team structure will also be introduced, Mr Piya said.
He is due to present his business plan to Nok Air’s board of directors on Sept 27.
Mr Piya would not commit to any specific time frame for turning Nok Air profitable, which suffered combined losses of 4.93 billion baht from 2014 to June 2017.
“To make any suggestion to that nature would be a breach of the SET [Stock Exchange of Thailand] rules,” he said, though he stressed he was eager to see Nok Air become profitable soon.
Over the past two years, Nok Air was rocked by a series of shocks, the most significant of which was the pilot shortage triggered by the February 2016 exodus of pilots after a bitter organisational dispute that led to a mass cancellation of flights.
The consequence of the fallout was public outcry due to frequent flight delays, which dented Nok Air’s reputation.
That pilot disruption sunk Nok Air to a record loss of 2.79 billion baht in 2016.
Nok Air has since actively addressed those issues while cost reductions, revenue increases and improving yields are being vigorously pursued.
Mr Piya’s “gentle” and “hands-on” management style is perceived to be key in helping him steer Nok Air onto a profitable course, insiders said.
In particular, he should be able to work better with flag carrier Thai Airways International (THAI), which is the second-largest shareholder of Nok Air with 21.57%.
Mr Patee was disliked by certain players at THAI who wanted to oust him over the past few years, criticising his work performance.
On Friday Mr Patee told the Bangkok Post he was not under pressure to call it quits as Nok Air chief executive, the position he had held since the airline’s inception 14 years ago.
Mr Patee described his resignation as his own suggestion to the Nok Air board on Thursday, as part of the changes being taken to refresh the organisation for a new future.
Mr Piya, who earlier served as deputy chief executive of Nok Air, was nominated by Mr Patee and endorsed by the board.
Mr Piya last Friday also tendered his resignation as chief executive of NokScoot, the medium-tolong-haul budget airline owned by Singapore’s Scoot and Nok Air, to allow him to devote his full attention to the new position at Nok Air.
NokScoot chairman Chokchai Panyayong has been tasked as acting chief executive of NokScoot until a permanent successor is named.
A senior executive of Nok Air who is a Thai citizen was tipped to fill in the post at Nok Air, in compliance with the rules set by the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand applied to Thai-registered airlines.