Almost a month ago, MotoPinas.com shared the story of a Thai airline captain who found a new job after his airline closed. He turned an unfortunate situation into an enviable one by finding a job the let him help people and still ride his BMW R 1200 GS Adventure every day by being a GrabFood rider. Not only is his career change still helping his fellow Thais, he is also putting food on the table for his family in these trying times.
Clearly, the current pandemic has heavily impacted the airline industry. But thanks to Capt. Khantatatbumroong's inspiring example, we've found another cabin crew member that has decided to follow. Trading in his airline uniform (for the meantime) to keep the cashflow going is another flyer this time in a Ducati Multistrada 1200.
Kosit with Capt. Thanun
37-year-old Kosit Rattanasopon worked as cabin crew for Orient Thai Airlines until the coronavirus forced airlines to shut down. Like Capt. Thanun, Kosit rides around Bangkok delivering essentials. He supplements this by delivering food prepared by his father and sister to their customers who order online.
“I know things will not be the same again for at least another year, so I will have to keep doing this,” Kosit told Reuters.
So far, their network of former aircraft crew members earns a minimum of THB1,000 a day, or roughly PHP1,600. It's not a glamorous life by any means, nor is it some kind of publicity stunt. Finding a second rider in the same situation only shows how hard-hit the airline industry is by this pandemic.
Kosit during behind the scenes shoot for the Reuters story
But there's no wounded pride here. Like Capt. Thanun, Kosit is not averse to working as a GrabFood rider and is quite happy to have a job at all and still get to ride his Multistrada.
