Road to Recovery

It ’s been a difficult time for Asian carriers. Business Traveller talks to Thai Airways as it charts its post-Covid flightpath

- By Hannah Brandler. Photographs Istock and Fabian Gysel

At The Peninsula Bangkok’s Sakuntala Ballroom, the message was loud and clear: “Our willpower will generate the force we need to take off,” it said, as images of new generation aircraftand striking Thai landscapes were projected across the lavish room. The mission statement was part of a promotional video for Thai Airways International’s ‘Discover Brand New Sky’ seminar in early December, which reunited the company’s executive management team with local and overseas travel agents, travel trade and tourism partners, and a small number of international media for the first time in 18 months.

It was a highly optimistic occasion, with friendly faces (masked, of course) welcoming various delegates, and a sense of anticipation for 2022 following the country’s reopening to vaccinated travellers from 63 countries last November.

The Covid-19 pandemic has been tremendously difficult for all airlines but it came at an especially bad time for Thai Airways, which had been struggling financially since 2012, with debt ballooning to £9.44 billion in 2020. That year the airline posted a record loss of THB141.1 billion (£3.14 billion) and filed for bankruptcy protection in May 2020, with the Central Bankruptcy Court of Thailand approving a Rehabilitation Plan in June 2021 to fully restructure the company and regain profitability. The details of that rehabilitation plan – from cost-cutting measures and fleet efficiency to service improvements for business class passengers – will decide whether the carrier can indeed prosper in 2022 and beyond.