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AVIATION & TOURISM
BOONSONG KOSITCHOTETHANA
Thai Airways International (THAI) is bracing for a second straight quarterly loss in the July-September period but says the amount would be less than the 9.25 billion the national carrier lost in the preceding quarter.
President Apinan Sumanaseni yesterday confirmed that the airline was still in the red but declined to specify figures pending a formal report to the Stock Exchange of Thailand. He did say the loss would narrow from the second quarter.
Though he cited only one reason - the decline in passenger bookings caused by the anti-government protests that peaked in August and September - for contributing to the expected loss, industry analysts said high fuel prices and operating costs were major factors.
According to THAI executive vice-president Pandit Chanapai, the airline was able to fill just 70% of its seats in the third quarter and was forced to cut back on flights during the political turmoil.
It would be a big surprise if THAI did not report a loss in the third quarter given fuel cost pressure and slowing traffic demand worldwide.
With passenger traffic growth continuing to weaken due to the Wall Street meltdown and high fuel prices, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said the global airline industry was heading for a cumulative loss of US$5.2 billion this year.
While oil prices had dropped recently, fuel remains 30% higher than a year ago and contributes to a third of airlines' operating costs, the Geneva-based industry body said.
The Sydney-based Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation said earlier that THAI's second-quarter loss, the worst since the Asian financial crisis of 1997, stemmed from its lack of progress during restructuring in recent good times.
Analysts polled by Reuters expect THAI to post a loss of 9.6 billion baht for all of 2008, against a net profit of 1.83 billion baht last year.
For the first half of this year, THAI posted a loss of 7.04 billion baht, partly due to foreign-exchange losses.
THAI shares closed yesterday on the Stock Exchange of Thailand at 12.20 baht, up 20 satang, in trade worth 22.61 million baht.
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