Thai Airways International has revealed plans to sell a number of properties it owns in Thailand as well as overseas which are currently unused or not fully utilized, according to Travel Daily News Asia, The decision is based on property management principles that will help benefit the company and comes as the major airline continues to look at ways to cut costs and save money.
Charamporn Jotikasthira, Thai Airways president, said in a prepared statement that property management is part of the company’s transformation plan in order to reduce repair and maintenance expenses. The company’s intention is to optimize property management, as it is not part of the airline’s core aviation business. The board of directors at Thai Airways approved the selling of the property on 19th October and 28th December of last year.
The company will put a number of properties up for sale including office buildings and residences for staff in Thailand and overseas that are no longer necessary or are not being fully utilized by the airline. There are currently nine properties in Thailand that have not been used by the company for several years and do not feature in the airline’s long term planning. All nine are likely to be put up for sale and include properties in Mae Hong Son, Phitsanulok, Udon Thani, Nan, Trang, Surat Thani, Phuket, and two properties in Hat Yai.
An additional ten overseas properties including staff residences in London, Jakarta, Copenhagen and two properties in Singapore as well as sales offices in Sydney, Rome, Madrid, Hong Kong and Penang will also be sold. Thai Airways does continue to serve these destinations but the buildings are no longer suitable for current business operations. In many cases they are either too large or not necessary and need repair that will necessitate further investment.
The management of Thai Airways is looking to hire a property assessor and realtor as the company hopes to begin the process quickly and transparently in line with airline’s goals. In addition, the company also plans to adjust property utilization by allowing the rental of office space in its current buildings.
