Nadda Buranasiri, 51, is relatively new to the aviation industry. The former managing director of Warner Music (Thailand) currently serves as the CEO of Thai AirAsia X, Thailand’s first low-cost, long-haul airline. His primary focus is to make the affiliate of Thai AirAsia a household name.
“We will soon become the airline of choice — Thai AirAsia X has the same business model as Thai AirAsia, the only difference being that we fly to destinations that are between four to nine hours away, while Thai AirAsia flies to destinations within four hours,” he said.
The inaugural flight will take off June 17 from Bangkok’s Don Mueang International Airport to Incheon International Airport in Seoul, South Korea. In July, Thai AirAsia X will expand its network to Tokyo (Narita) with a daily flight service and to Osaka five times a week.
AirAsia X plans to extend its service to at least 10 destinations within five years.
“We are also interested in expanding our network to cover popular cities like Beijing and Shanghai in China. Our new destinations will be based on cities that are popular among Thai travellers,” Nadda said.
The carrier has rented two new Airbus A330-300s, each with a total seat capacity of 377, more than double the capacity of the Thai AirAsia’s Airbus A320s.
The airline offers 12 business class seats and a Quiet Zone cabin in the front section of economy class reserved for passengers over 12 years old.
The airline hopes its new service will help Thailand reach its ambitious goal of being a regional aviation hub of Southeast Asia.
What does the ‘X’ in AirAsia X stand for?
There are various meanings of the “X”. First, it stands for extra long-distance. “X” also means something extra. We will launch our marketing campaigns to fit with the “X” concept.
Why did you choose South Korea and Japan as your primary destinations?
Both countries are popular among Thai travellers. In addition, Thais can travel to these two countries without a tourist visa, which make it easier for people, especially the young generation, to go. Also, Korean and Japanese people love to visit Thailand because they like our hospitality. The majority of them are not first-time visitors. They know what to do and where to go. As soon as our political situation is stable, I am certain that the inbound market will rebound very quickly. We expect our load factor to be 80%, while our sales revenue should hit the 1 billion baht mark within the year.
What are the challenges of managing a new airline?
Political instability is the main factor for the current decline of the tourism industry in Thailand. During the first quarter of this year total international arrivals to the Kingdom dropped by 5.85%. So what we plan to do during this period is to build our brand. We will do this through marketing campaigns, online activities and advertising. I believe that because we are the first low-cost, long-haul carrier, people will remember us. And when the tourism industry picks up, we will be able to capture our market very quickly.
How do you use your past experiences to help you in current position?
Many people are under the impression that I have a strong background in entertainment — [10 years as managing director of Universal Music and about seven years as managing director of Warner Music in Thailand]. While that might be so, I define my work as being in the “creative marketing” business. So I can apply this to my current position. Both the entertainment and the airline industries are in the service business. However, there are differences when it comes to details in operations, which I think I can manage.
As a good leader, I know I can manage my team to believe in our vision, have direction and shape and encourage them to grow and be enthusiastic about their work. It is all about the basic rules of management.
In what capacity does Thai AirAsia X work with Thai AirAsia?
We share the same back office system. Our office is also located in Don Mueang airport, like Thai AirAsia.
But we have our own front office staff and crew, [180 people in total]. Our passengers can also choose the check-through service, which can facilitate travel for those who fly in to Bangkok and want to continue on to other destinations in Thailand or other countries in Thai AirAsia’s network. We also hope to capture about 10% of Thai AirAsia passengers. Together we will reach further destinations and still offer the same low fares, which are 15-20% lower than a full service airline.
Do you think the Malaysian Airlines MH370 disappearance and South Korea’s ferry tragedy will impact people’s decision to travel?
These situations are always unfortunate. We all know that these were unfortunate incidents that happened unexpectedly. This is a matter of concern, but business needs to go on. If we consider the percentage of aviation accidents, it is very low when compared to the total number of flights per day in the world. No matter what happens, people need to travel.
What do you think about the upcoming low-cost, long-haul airline NokScoot, a joint venture of Nok Air and Singapore-based Scoot?
Competition is good. It creates a benchmark. It is our duty to make our service good so that we can build brand trust. That will lead to customer’s loyalty.
