Airline President Sumeth Damrongchaitham said the factors include the strongest Thai baht in seven years, leading to a difficult competitive environment due to its inability to reduce the ticket price. The 5% increase in the value of the baht since beginning of the year also cost the national carrier lose 5%.
Mr Sumeth also said that the airline’s revenue is being affected by the conflict between India and Pakistan, which means the airline lost a number of Pakistani passengers.
Other factors included the falling number of Chinese tourists due to the appreciation of the Yuan compared to Thai baht, reflecting a change of destination choice from Thailand to other countries such as Japan, South Korea and Vietnam, he said.
For external factors, Mr Sumeth blamed 12 aircraft being grounded for maintenance, which has led to a decrease in the number of flights being made available, as affecting the airline’s profitability during the quarter.
However, the airline plans to open a new route to Sendai city in Japan, as the Japanese market accounts for one third of the total revenue of the carrier, Mr Sumeth said.
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