THAI was 'fat athlete': Carrier's president

THAI president Charamporn Jotikasthira has likened the carrier's previous performance to that of a "fat athlete" competing against "Olympic-class" competitors among Middle Eastern and Southeast Asian airlines. The carrier’s restructuring plan, focusing on boosting revenue, reducing costs, and improving revenue management and customer service, will enable the airline to compete with rivals, Jotikasthira said Tuesday. He says the first stage of the plan, dubbed "Stop Bleeding", was completed in 2014. THAI is now in the "Strength Building" phase until the end of this year. The airline will look to achieve sustainable growth from 2017 onward. Costs have already been cut roughly 10% by stopping the "don'ts", says Jotikasthira. Some of these savings were achieved by the mutually agreed early-retirement of a number of staff. <br/>