Let’s say grace… At last, a thai official dares to speak the truth… and even more striking… the president of Thai Airways dares to speak the truth about the national carrier !
Fasten your seatbelt. And look for your life jacket.
The newly appointed head of Thai Airways was in London on a global road show to gather investor support.
“The management had not really been allowed to manage the company,” Mr Piyasvasti said in an unusually frank interview.
“The company had been interfered heavily by the board, by the politicians. That had substantially weakened the management of the company, and our response to the crisis.”
He has been the airline’s president for just four weeks. Mr Piyasvasti said it had taken months of negotiations to secure a strong enough mandate for his new job.
On Monday, the state-owned carrier reported a net loss of $121m (£71.8m) for the July-to-September quarter.
The results were worse than analysts had expected. They forecast another loss in the fourth quarter, traditionally high season for tourism. [...]
Mr Piyasvasti seems an unusual pick to run the national carrier. As a fund manager, he refused to own shares in the airline.
“Thai Airways was a company which did not provide transparent information to investors,” he said.
“Thai Airways management were not able to provide clear directions or policy to investors. Most of the big funds, whether in Thailand or outside Thailand, stayed away from Thai Airways stocks.”
[...]
He said one of the most serious problems was nepotism and favouritism in promotions and in the awarding of contracts.“When you promote people who have connections but no ability, initially it’s okay, but eventually it weakens the company, Mr Piyasvasti said.
“It reduces the quality of the work. That is what has happened to Thai Airways.” (BBC)
Indeed. A perfect diagnosis.
Let’s put it that way : this guy is a saint. Respect.
But on the other hand… we have to be honest : his chance of success are slim as the space between seats on Thai Airways aircrafts.
That’s the fatal beauty of the whole story : like an airplane losing its engines… you see the ground coming fast. No exit way.
You might ask me : why do I write so often about Thai Airways ? Because of course the company makes the headlines… but also because it’s a perfect symbol of Thailand, it’s a perfect microcosm of what is wrong in this country.
Unfortunately.
Anyway. Best wishes to Piyasvasti. And again : respect.

















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