Airline staff work humble side-gigs amid huge pay cuts

Working for a living: Kritee delivering coffee as a side job to supplement his income in Bangkok. — AP

Restrictions on air travel imposed on airlines in Thailand have brought a lot of turbulence into the lives of flight and cabin crews, but they’ve been trained to cope with emergencies.

More than 200 furloughed staff, facing reduced incomes from big pay cuts, have formed a car and motorbike delivery service, earning vital money and winning fame on the doorstep.

Just a month ago, Kritee Youngfuengmont was flying commercial jets. No longer hauling passengers, he now jockeys a Honda scooter around town to deliver food, documents and even hot cups of coffee.

It’s not glamorous, but for the 36-year-old pilot on half-pay who has debts to settle, the work is a financial lifeline. The roughly 1,500 baht (RM200) he earns per day should keep him going until the pandemic passes.

“Life is unpredictable. The unexpected can happen anytime. You could be enjoying good times and all of a sudden, you’re falling apart, ” he said. “When that happens, you have to figure out if you are going to give up, or fight and find something to hold on to while you figure a way out.”

Thailand’s airlines began slashing services and salaries in late March to try to slow the spread of the coronavirus, surrendering to the reality that entry bans around the world make most passenger flights money-losers. Staff at the country’s flag carrier, Thai Airways International, took pay cuts and were put on leave until the end of May.

At least a couple of other Thai airlines plan to resume domestic flights on a limited basis this week, but at the same time are seeking a collective soft loan package from the government of at least 25 billion baht (RM3.35bil).

Kritee and others saw the lean times coming and set up “Delivery by Pilots and Crew” as a social media group just before the shutdown hit. Since then, they’ve swapped their smart uniforms for the humdrum garb of delivery staff to shuttle food and goods around Bangkok.

Delivery services, especially food, are an important industry in Thailand. The biggest, Singapore-headquartered Grab, began as a Uber-style ride-hailing business, but has since taken the lead in food delivery, and is said to use 150,000 drivers nationwide.

The idea of dashing pilots forced into making an earthbound livelihood has brought them media attention, turning them into minor celebrities.

“I suppose people have the image of us with high-flying, glamorous careers, ” says Thanun Khantatatbumroong, one of the group’s administrators.

“But everyone forgets that we are just regular human beings with responsibilities and expenses, just like everyone else.” — AP