NOK Air is expanding services to China and investing in pilot training as CEO Patee Sarasin looks to overcome his “toughest year emotionally” at the helm.
Nok Air will launch thrice-weekly flights from Bangkok to Kunming in November, but Patee said the airline will also tap other regional markets as it aims to get back in the black.
“Everyone seems to think China’s a goldmine, for now, and it is – we’re talking about over 10 million people coming in from China, and our charter flights are packed every day,” he said.
“But I do not believe it’s going to be long-lasting. As the domestic market in China grows and as more airlines want to get in, you’re going to see a slowdown in that growth. Our expansion has to cover more areas, such as India.”
The price war among LCCs and a pilot shortage meant while passenger loads were in the 80-90 per cent range daily, Nok Air’s yields were down significantly.
Patee said Nok Air had more than replaced the 14 pilots who left in February, but more is needed to prevent the same fiasco from happening again.
“We will be producing more pilots as we go. We are thinking much more long-term than just a short-term fix,” he said.
Meanwhile, eight Boeing 737-MAX aircraft are on order for the next three years, and Patee said these would replace older stock as Nok Air aims to increase capacity while keeping maintenance costs down.
“The order of the aircraft has been designed for conservative growth rather than explosive growth as Thai AirAsia and Lion Air have been doing. I believe our competitors are feeling the pinch with all these aircraft with nowhere to fly to. We don’t want to be putting ourselves in that situation.”
As for ramblings that the airline is in need of a leadership shake-up, Patee said he would see Nok Air through its current difficulty before planning any departure.
“There will be a time when I will have to hand over to somebody else. We’re looking into how we can plan this correctly. It’s not going to be my face forever – it’s bloody tiring, running an airline is not an easy task.”
