Thai Airways needs "drastic action" - President

President, Apinan Sumanasen, stated the airline needs to drastically cut costs to have any hope of turning the situation around, although staff cuts are virtually impossible given Thailand's complex state-owned enterprise employment rules. The only alternative left for Thai is to fly less as the economies slow in its key source markets, particularly Europe, China, Korea and Japan. Frequencies to these markets could be trimmed, while further route cuts have been foreshadowed, including services to Johannesburg.

Before the earnings announcement, Thai Airways' shares closed down 4.5%.