About

Part of the immensely successful and highly regarded AirAsia group, Thai AirAsia began operations in 2004 and has expanded rapidly since then, whilst at the same time maintaining a reputation for punctuality and best-in-class service in the low-cost carrier market. As of November 2017, the company’s legal team consists of five individuals led by legal department manager Sahachai Wibuloutai, a well-respected in-house counsel who was previously a senior corporate lawyer at Clifford Chance in Thailand. Wibuloutai explains how the team takes both an individualistic and collaborative approach to its objectives by capitalising on the personal qualities of its lawyers: ‘Each lawyer has his or her own work portfolios based on personal interest, expertise and clients. In structuring work assignments, I have given freedom to each lawyer to choose what area of expertise they want to develop based on the main categories of airline operations. With that said, all legal team members are encouraged to proactively take the lead in coordinating the efforts of all stakeholders in managing significant projects such as aircraft financing transactions’. In recent months, the team has been at the forefront of a number of important deals for the company, including the successful closing of a ‘complicated aircraft financing transaction involving original equipment manufacturers, foreign banks and external counsel from several jurisdictions’. Wibuloutai sets out what he believes to be behind the team’s successes from a cultural perspective: ‘In order to exceed our clients’ expectations, the legal team cannot only give purely legal advice but also be able to move the business forward by providing commercially-driven legal solutions as a business partner, with a view to getting the deal done successfully and in a timely manner’.