Rating agency sees stability for Thai airlines

The credit rating agency has predicted steady growth in air traffic in the next few years, including a recovery in the number of Chinese tourists.
However, some airline operators may struggle for profitability due to rising fuel prices and tough competition, the agency said on Monday. Fuel prices are likely to climb in 2017.
Some new airlines are using a strategy of deep price cutting to quickly gain market share, the agency noted. TRIS Rating expects airline debt to increase in the short-term as they invest in needed fleet capacity and efficiency.
The key factors to airline success are cost management, route accessibility, the price-quality ratio, and customer relationships, said the agency