Thai mulls yet another start-up
Credit: Bangkok Post (http://www.bangkokpost.com)
Thai Airways International (THAI) is spearheading the creation of yet another airline that would operate regionally in a bold move that would turn the national carrier into a family of airlines.
The new airline, tentatively called Thai Lite, would be part of a multi-brand strategy aimed at cashing in on the entire spectrum of passenger market segments.
Planned as a wholly owned THAI subsidiary, Thai Lite would operate as a full-service legacy airline on routes within a radius of six hours' flight time from Bangkok to destinations such as southern China, India and Indochina.
Ideally, it would fly to cities not being served by the parent airline such as Guilin, China and Siem Reap, Cambodia or possibly take over some slow-traffic routes operated by THAI such as to Hyderabad, India.
In principle, Thai Lite would compete directly with other foreign regional operators that have benefited from market segment differentiation, said senior THAI executives.
The proposed airline would be served largely by a fleet of new-generation narrow-body jets such as Boeing B737s-800/900s and Airbus A320s and A321s, as well as a number of short-haul versions of the Boeing B787 Dreamliner wide-body aircraft.
Patterned after Singapore Airlines' SilkAir and Cathay Pacific's Dragonair, the proposed Thai Lite has received strong backing from from THAI president Piyasvasti Amranand, who is aggressively pursuing an ambitious business growth plan for the 50-year-old state-controlled airline.
THAI planners see the new regional airline as a vehicle supporting its future business plan, which may be difficult to realise under THAI's existing cumbersome and costly operating structure.
The flag carrier hopes to see Thai Lite takes to the skies in the next year or two at the earliest.
Thai Lite's launch will very much depend on whether THAI can get Thai Tiger Airways (TTA), the new low-cost carrier owned 51% by THAI and 49% by Singapore-based Tiger Airways, off the ground.
The launch of TTA, THAI's first step in its multi-brand strategy, is fraught with controversy and opposition, especially from the Transport Ministry.
The ministry has continued to raise questions about TTA's legitimacy, which THAI top management considers a trivial matter that should not affect the the low-cost airline's start-up.
One lingering issue is a law prohibiting an employee provident fund from becoming a shareholder in an airline.
THAI management has proposed that its employee provident fund take a 1.2% share in TTA while THAI would hold a 49.8% stake.
"Only when TTA can take off and stay afloat in a healthy manner for a while can Thai Lite could move onto the launching pad," a senior THAI executive told the Bangkok Post yesterday.
Last month, Ampon Kittiampon, THAI's chairman, reiterated that the flag carrier has not been swayed by criticism of its partnership with Tiger Airways but admitted the start-up could be delayed by up to two months from next March as scheduled due to complications.
He said the TTA joint venture has received Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's blessings.
Mr Piyasvasti earlier said the worst possible scenario for THAI if TTA failed would be a loss of only 100 million baht, half of the total initial capital.
Credit: Bangkok Post (http://www.bangkokpost.com)
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