A proposal to add two government officials as plan administrators at Thai Airways International (TG, Bangkok Suvarnabhumi) is encountering resistance from a labour union and some creditors. The proposal was expected to be waved through at a November 8 creditors’ meeting in Bangkok. Instead, voting on the matter is now deferred until November 29.
As recently reported in ch-aviation, the existing administrator wants to add Pholjak Nimwattana, deputy director of the Ministry of Finance's State Enterprise Policy Commission Office, and Panya Chuphanich, director of the Ministry of Transport's Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning, as additional managers.
The plan administrators oversee the progress of the airline's court-supervised business rehabilitation process. However, the newspaper The Nation reported that the Thai Airways labour union and certain creditors are concerned that adding the two officials would reflect increased government involvement. They argue that this could lead to political interference, especially around aircraft procurement decisions, and potentially compromise Thai's independence.
Reportedly, the push to add the extra administrators comes at the request of the Ministry of Finance, which cites the need for expertise and government support. The ministry currently holds 47.86% of Thai's shares, although this will reduce to 35.81% after an upcoming mandatory debt-to-equity conversion scheme. Other state-owned enterprises currently own 2.13% of the airline.
Following the airline accruing debts of THB245 billion baht (USD7 billion), the Thai Cabinet approved the proposed rehabilitation in May 2020, shortly after the onset of Covid-19. Bangkok's Central Bankruptcy Court then formally gave the rehabilitation plan the green light.
Meanwhile, Thai has reported a THB12.483 billion (USD360 million) net profit for the three months to September 30, 2024. Total revenue in the quarter was THB45.828 billion (USD1.32 billion). The profit figure was propped up by a THB2.612 billion (USD62.4 million) gain from restructuring, a THB539 million (USD15.5 million) gain from a ticket fee expiration adjustment, and a massive THB9.025 billion (USD260.3 million) gain on foreign exchange adjustments.
As of September 30, Thai operated 77 aircraft. In the third quarter, its aircraft had an average daily aircraft utilisation of 13.1 hours. Thai flew 3.94 million passengers during the quarter, up 20.5% from the comparable 2023 period. According to ch-aviation fleets data, Thai operates twenty A320-200s, five A330-300s, twenty-three A350-900s, five B777-200ERs, seventeen B777-300ERs, six B787-8s, and three B787-9s.
