Stories tagged with nok
-
Nok Air lays off 260 more staff
In response to the continuing slump in customer demand and the high price of fuel, budget carrier Nok Air has announced it is laying off 260 staff, including ground crew, cabin crew and pilots. After laying off 250 employees earlier this month, the airline is now down to half of its original workforce.
Nok Air's CEO, Patee Sarasin, told reporters that the airline is undergoing a major restructuring and will trim any unnecessary overhead costs to keep the airline flying. Patee admits that Nok Air has suffered huge losses in recent months, and this latest round of staff cuts was needed to bring the company’s operational losses back into balance. He claims there will no additional staff cutbacks.
The most recent layoff of 260 is a voluntary redundancy. Patee stated that the airline has set aside 20 million baht to compensate those who choose to take an early retirement. Rumors have been swirling that Nok Air’s employees have been protesting over the staff cuts, but Satee denies this.
With 500 employees remaining and three aircraft currently in service, Nok Air hopes it can weather the storm. In a sign of optimism, the carrier has placed an order for two additional aircraft, set to arrive in November.
Posted by: Andrew on 27 Sep 2008, 05:24 -
Nok Air suspends flights to Phuket
In another blow to Phuket’s tourism industry, Thai low-fare carrier Nok Air has announced it is suspending all of its flights to the resort island for the indefinite future. With Thailand’s tourism high season kicking off in November, this is bad news for both travellers and industry operators.
Nok Air’s Chief Executive Officer told the Phuket Gazette by email that “we have suspended flights to Phuket for this month. We will resume [flying to] Phuket in the very near future after we have arranged our new TPI [timetable planning] for the coming high season.”
Fortunately for Phuket, Nok Air is eager to resume flights as soon as passenger demand returns to profitable levels. Beach town Patong’s Phuket Carnival, which happens on 1 November is the unofficial start of the island’s high season.
With Thailand’s other budget carrier One-Two-Go still grounded by the Civil Aviation Authority until October, there are fewer flights than ever to Phuket. Travellers can always take a VIP bus to the island, however, and a number of flights still operate out of Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi International Airport.
Posted by: Andrew on 19 Sep 2008, 05:38 -
Nok Air Latest Thai Carrier to Scale Back Operations
Reflecting the ongoing escalation of fuel costs and inflation, Nok Air announced that it was cutting back both its fleet of aircraft and its staff. In an attempt to survive the recent fuel hikes in Thailand, flights were being reduced by 25 per cent and unprofitable routes dropped altogether.
Just as Thailand’s low-cost carriers were picking up steam, the global price of oil has brought them crashing back to earth. Nok Air is the latest budget airline to downsize its operations to help cope with the fuel hikes.
As oil reached US$146 a barrel, Nok Air CEO Patee Sarasin said the airline could no longer absorb the impact of these high prices. “Every single dollar increased per barrel of oil is adding up to five million baht on our operation cost,” he stated.
To help the popular Thai budget carrier survive, Sarasin said that shareholders and board members of the company had approved a survival package which is now in effect. Under the new plan, all staff of Nok Air will have their salaries cut by 20 to 25 per cent, even pilots and supervisors. Nok Air will also cut back its flights from 108 to 73 per week, and operate only from its most profitable domestic routes: Chiangmai, Udon Thani, Hat Yai, Trang and Nakhon Sri Thammarat.
Posted by: Andrew on 25 Jul 2008, 03:53