Kan Air furious with Thai aviation authority
Kan Air is very angry with the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) for making the airline's financial problems public. Kan Air is therefore going to file a libel report. Director Somphong calls the publication "unethical" and "damaging the credibility of the company."
Kan Air flies a 75-seat ATR 500-66 turboprop and a single-engine Cessna Grand Caravan 208B to mainly domestic destinations. It is one of four charter airlines whose license may be suspended by the CAAT due to alleged debts. The CAAT is afraid that due to the poor financial position of the airlines, safety cuts may be made.
Somphong denies this and says that the outstanding bills at Aeronautical Radio of Thailand and Airports of Thailand have now been paid. Kan Air says they are not the only ones with debts and that the CAAT of all airlines registered in Thailand should have known the figures. Now there is discrimination.
Since the publicity surrounding the debts of some airlines, Thai travel agents no longer book flights with the said companies. Chairman Suparek of the Thai Travel Agents Association of Thailand (TTAA) says that most agents are now switching to scheduled airlines. The financial problems have damaged their image and the confidence of tourists.
Source: Bangkok Post
Would these be actions to strengthen the competitive position of Thai airways?
Or maybe Thailand solves the problem of lack of qualified personnel?
Dear Ruud,
The first seems more likely to me. If I understand correctly, Thai Airways is already in financial difficulties. The more competition, the more disadvantageous for Thai Airways. Note: I have nothing against Thai Airways. I have flown with it a few times and am very satisfied with the service of the staff.
That Thai Smile. Is that the new Thai Airways Inter. for the future on domestic flights and neighboring countries? Young cabin crew who, smiling and singing like in their promotional clips, get to work for little? I think Kan Air is trying to fill in the crumbs on routes that are not really profitable. It's nice to start an airline, but making money in that industry is not easy. Kan Air is one of the few to fly to Hua Hin/Chiang Mai, but the rest of the airlines are in no hurry at all with flights on that route.
Kan Air once started building an airport on Koh Phangan, but it will take some time before it opens because it turned out that it is partly in a national park, and where they have already cut down quite a few trees.
I think Kan Air does have a case against the CAAT. Making this known to the world does not deserve a beauty prize and there would be "alleged" debts. The implication that it may lead to safety cuts is also an assumption without additional evidence. What this shows is fodder for lawyers. It raises questions. In addition, this publication has a snowball effect that is unparalleled. For Western standards, this looks like libel cq, libel writing. In any case, it is clearly discrediting this society. It's not a good idea to approach it in this way and make it known to the world. It is true that the CAAT naturally has a task in this to tackle excesses in the context of flight safety, etc. To be continued on the news, I imagine. Do we have something to read again?