BUDGET AIRLINE INDUSTRY
AMORNRAT MAHITTHIROOK
The budget airline Nok Air, an affiliate of Thai Airways International (THAI), will cut 260 more jobs, citing operational losses and the high cost of fuel.
Patee Sarasin, Nok Air's CEO, said the airline is being restructured and all unnecessary costs will be cut to enable the airline to remain in business.
Nok Air has suffered losses in recent months because of fluctuating oil prices and the sluggish economy, Mr Patee said.
The airline will lay off 260 of its staff including pilots and cabin and ground crews. These will be voluntarily redundancies, he said adding that 20 million baht has been set aside for their compensation.
He denied there had been staff protests against the airline's move to cut its workforce.
Nok Air will have about 500 employees left after this downsizing, about half of its original workforce. The airline had earlier laid off 250 employees.
Mr Patee said the staff cut was necessary to solve the airline's operational losses. He said there would be no further staff reductions.
The airline could not cut costs arising from the leasing of aircraft at the rate of five million baht each a month.
Nok Air has three aircraft in service. It plans to acquire two more aircraft in November, Mr Patee said.
Chaisawat Kittipornpaibul, the permanent secretary for transport and chairman of the THAI board, said the national carrier, which has a 35% stake in Nok Air, would not be affected by the budget airline's losses.
He voiced confidence that Nok Air executives would be able to solve the airline's problems.
Meanwhile, the Aviation Department said it will send its officials to inspect the aviation and safety standards of all airlines.
Deputy department chief Wutthichai Singhamanee said officials will start inspecting Phuket Air and PB Air next month.
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