Politcal fortunes and airline prosperity

The two don’t mix for some carriers

The rumour mill in South East Asia has been working overtime and the chatter, not surprisingly, involves two of the region’s major full-service airlines that have, to put it mildly, given their Government shareholders a rocky ride in recent times.

It’s a familiar story for Malaysia Airlines (MAS) and Thai International Airways, both state-owned. You only have to glance at their financials over the past decade to recognise that fiscal stability has not been one of their redeeming features. In Kuala Lumpur the grapevine suggested government was running out of patience and privatisation moves were being considered… again. Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak flatly denied that. In Bangkok, Transport Minister Chadchart Sittipunt called in the airline’s Board to explain why it has plunged into the red… again. The future of chief executive Sorajak Kasemsuvan is said to be in doubt, after just 10 months in the job.