Thailand: Airlines seek meeting with Prayut

Seven airlines are seeking to meet Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha to ask about the government's stand on their request for long-awaited soft loans. The Thai Airlines Association said on Wednesday it would like to discuss with Gen Prayut any progress on the proposal, which if granted, would throw domestic carriers their much-needed financial lifeline. Seven local airlines -- Thai AirAsia and Thai AirAsia X, Bangkok Airways, Nok Air, Thai Smile Airways, Thai Lion Air and Thai Vietjet Air -- have sought 14b baht in soft loans to sustain their operations. Even that sum was a substantial reduction on the 24b baht they requested last year. The meeting would be a follow-up session from the previous meeting the airlines had with the prime minister on Aug 28 last year. Wutthipong Prasartthong-osod, the association president and its executives, decided to also ask about the loans in writing. The association said the bottom line for Thai-based domestic airlines has changed for the worse since their last meeting with the prime minister. The current, third outbreak of Covid-19 has resulted in airlines cutting back on flights, biting deeper into their revenue.<br/>