Driving a BTS train

Chanchai Rungruang, the BTS's training specialist, has been working for the electric train service for 13 years. He started out as a driver. A year later, he was promoted to supervisor.

After four years in that job, he became the BTS training specialist responsible not only for training drivers but helping toscreen applicants.

Mr Chanchai, or Ouan, 40, said he first worked as finance officer for a construction firm after graduating. He spotted an advertisement for skytrain drivers in a newspaper and decided to go for it.

"I can drive a car and so I thought driving an electric train might be easier. When I got the job, I felt honoured and proud at being part of history."

Skytrain drivers must have a bachelors degree in any field and be between 27 and 35 years old. Applicants sit a written test and after passing they are extensively interviewed.

There is also what is known in the trade as a "safety mind test", the most important test for electric train drivers, before theyundergo health checks, Mr Chanchai said.

"The safety mind test will gauge your emotional stability. It will check whether one exhibits a tendency to cut corners orbypass steps."

Skytrain drivers are responsible for many lives.

Drivers are prohibited from working for more than four consecutive hours.

"This job is not limited to men. Female drivers are also accepted. The BTS currently has 14 women drivers," Mr Chanchai said.

Explaining a misconception about steering the trains, he said they are not always on "automatic pilot". Drivers do more than push buttons to open or close the train doors.

In fact, drivers drive the trains manually from the BTS's Mor Chit depot to Mor Chit station, from which point the trains are automatically engaged.

Driver Mongkol Subwichai, 39, said he had worked for the elevated train system for 11 years. He worked for a construction firm for six years before quitting and going into the garment business for about a year before applying to become a BTS driver. "I take pride in what I do. It's different from other jobs," he said.

Mr Mongkol said the job affords him a dramatic view of the city.

But safety takes utmost priority. Drivers must be cautious, particularly during rush hour.

They must see that no passengers are caught between doors when the train leaves the station while keeping to schedule.

Nichakul Ruomtham, 30, one of the 14 female drivers, said she has been in the job for four years. While a political science student, she was a trainee in BTS's human resources division. After graduating, she was employed on permanent staff at the BTS Siam Square station. After three years, she was recruited as a skytrain driver.

"This job is challenging. I was among 40-50 applicants applying for four driver positions and I passed the test,"she said.

 

Ms Nichakul said she did not tell her parents she was a train driver for the first two years. She was afraid they would think the job was dangerous for a woman.

However, when she broke the news to her parents, it was surprisingly well received. "Dad called me one day and said to send him a photo of me driving the train. It turned out his friends didn't believe I drive the skytrain and he needed proof,"she said.

Vocabulary


promote                    VI. เลื่อตำแหน่ง syn.
responsible               N. ความรับผิดชอบ  syn. accountable, liable
screen                      VT. คัดแยก syn. select, eliminate, sift
financial                    ADJ.เกี่ยวกับการเงิน
construction firm       N. บริษัทรับก่อสร้าง
spot                          VI. สังเกตเห็น   syn. see, sight, detect
honour                      VI. รู้สึกเป็นเกียรติ
proud                        ADJ. ที่ภาคภมิใจ syn. arrogant,haughty, conceit
tendency                   N. นิสัย ท่าทาง
cut corner                  PHAR. ทำสิ่งที่ง่ายที่สุด เร็วที่สุด ถูกที่สุด
bypass                      VI. หลีกเลี่ยง  syn. avoid, elude
depot                         N. คลัง สถานทีเก็บรถไฟ
garment                     ADJ.เกี่ยวกับเสื้อผ้า
pride                          N. ความภาคถูมิใจ
utmost                        ADJ. สุดขีด สุดเหวี่ยง syn. ultimate, highest
priority                       ADJ. ที่สำคัญเป็นอันดับแรก

Sky-high sisterhood

PG 924 from Suvarnabhumi airport to Phuket could have been just another flight if not for the pleasant but firm female voice emanating from the cockpit of the A319 jetliner. 

"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. On behalf of Bangkok Airways and my crew, I would like to welcome you on board," it announced as the aircraft with 100 or so passengers, mostly foreign holidaymakers, prepared for take-off. 

Meet Kanchala Campos-Tortosa, 49, one of a handful of female pilots working in Thailand's male-dominated airline industry. 

If Thai female pilots flying commercial airliners are rare - numbering between 30 and 40 - it is rarer still for them to achieve the rank of full-fledged captain like Captain Kanchala (merely four).  

Those numbers are tiny for a country celebrating its 101st anniversary in aviation this year and a nation with a thriving airline business and strategic position as the region's air hub. 

Industry experts estimate that there are 4,000 Thai nationals working as cockpit staff for Thai and foreign airlines. 

Clearly the cockpit is not the place most Thai women prefer in the aircraft cabin, judging from the tens of thousands already working for Thai and international carriers.

It has also been the case that airlines are always overwhelmed with applications whenever vacancies open for cabin attendants. It is common to see an airline flooded with thousands of applications when 40-60 positions are available. 

For most young Thai women, being an air hostess, as they prefer to be called here, is a dream job with social status, relatively good pay and a chance to see the world.
 
Only two scheduled airlines in Thailand, Bangkok Airways and Thai AirAsia (TAA), have female pilots working, while Thai Airways International, the flag carrier and the country's largest airline, has been strictly a male club throughout its 51 years of existence. 

The last count for women working at the no-frills TAA found 17 in the cockpit, all co-pilots - a small minority of the 261 flying A320 jets there. 

One of TAA's female co-pilots is Chananporn "Nod" Rosjan, who was crowned Miss Thailand Universe in 2005. 

There are 14 [women working in the cockpit] at Bangkok Airways, with three of them bestowed the rank of captain,recognisable by the four golden stripes on their shoulders and their sitting in the left seat of the cockpit. Combined cockpit staff at the airline numbers 176. 

It has been only in the past six or seven years that Thai airlines began to see more female entrants in the piloting ranks but still at a negligible rate - not more than five a year, said Capt Kanchala, who was licensed as Thailand's first female co-pilot 22 years ago. 

"There is a slow but insignificant trend of women moving into the cockpits," said Puttipong Prasarttong-Osoth, the president of Bangkok Airways, the privately held airline that was the first to open the door to Thai female pilots more than two decades ago. 

He said piloting aircraft is simply not a popular career among Thai women, who prefer the less stressful duties in the back of the aircraft.

"I don't see any handicaps that may restrict women from flying commercial airliners as long as they are trained andqualified," said Capt Puttipong. 

Capt Kanchala, who became Thailand's second female pilot to earn the rank of captain after clocking 3,000 flight hours, said many Thai women tend to think the opportunity to become a pilot is not open to them. 

"Thai women are capable of doing things, and we're seeing more and more of them becoming leaders and chief executives of organisations," she told the Bangkok Post. 

"I believe many Thai women would love to fly like me and turn their dreams into reality," said Capt Kanchala, who is also a pilot instructor at Bangkok Airways. 

Both Capt Kanchala and Capt Puttipong agree some other established Thai airlines unofficially prefer to hire only male pilots, as their organisational cultures were built that way. 

Those airlines would argue that the supply of male pilots in the country remains plentiful, and men are easier to manage without subjecting them to feminine sensitivities. 

Capt Kanchala disagrees, pointing to the gender discrimination that still exists in some airlines' management, particularly concerning maternity leave. 

"A female pilot is entitled to 12 months of maternity leave, and that is seen as a drawback," said the mother of an 8-year-old girl and a 12-year-old boy. 

Bangkok Airways does not prohibit female cockpit staff getting married or pregnant. The airline's president recognises that certain senior male pilots, who control the pilot rosters at Thai airlines, are still uncomfortable having their men work under a female captain - part of a Thai cultural complex that promotes masculine superiority. 

Capt Kanchala says she gets different looks when wearing her uniform.

"Some look at me admirably, some enviably, but some with a doubtful look questioning the competency of a woman to be a full-fledged captain," she said.

She remembers vividly when she walked past some male captains of a major Thai airline who gave her ugly looks. 

"I was not angry, but I was aware that it was the stereotype reaction from a society that put men in front of women," she said, although that is changing now. 

Capt Kanchala has been obsessed with flying since graduating with a bachelor's degree in economics. In addition to the A319 jet, she can command the propeller-driven Dash 8 and ATR 72. 

Aircraft were not designed exclusively for men, nor for females with "tomboy" traits, but for anyone trained and certified capable of handling them, she insisted, referring to a misconception that seems to persist worldwide.

Capt Puttipong said in addition to bestowing social status, working as a pilot for a Thai commercial airline can befinancially rewarding, with a monthly salary of 160,000 to 200,000 baht.


Vocabulary


sisterhood                  N. เกี่ยวกับสิทธิสตรี
avaition                      N. เกี่ยวกับการบิน
emanating                  VT. ฟุ้งออกมา ส่งผ่าน กระจายออกมา syn. emit, radiate, send out

cockpit                       N. ที่นั่งคนขับ

crew                           N. ลูกเรือ syn. company, gang, work party

on board                    VT. ขึ้นยานพาหนะ syn. get on

holidaymakers           N. นักท่องเที่ยว syn. tourist, foreigner
take off                      PHRV. บินขึ้น syn. depart      
handful                      N. ปริมาณเล็กน้อย
dominate                   VT. ปกครอง มีอำนาจเหนือ มีอิทธิพลต่อ syn. govern, rule, overshadow
strategic                    ADJ. เกี่ยวกับยุทธวิธี กลยุทธ์     syn. diplomatic, tricky    
estimate                    VT. ประมาณ syn. appraise, evaluation
aircraft cabin              N. ห้องโดยสาร
carrier                        N. คนที่เป็นพาหะโรค บริษัทที่ทำธุรกิจเกี่ยวกับการขนส่ง
overwhelm                 ADJ. ที่มีมากมาย
thrive                         VI. เจริญ ก้าวหน้า รุ่งเรือง       
flag carrier                 N. บริษัทขนส่งท่เป็นของประเทศ (การบินไทย)            
minority                     ADJ. จำนวนน้อย
bestow                       VT. ให้ มอบให้ สละให้ syn. donate, confer
recognizable             ADJ. สะกิดใจ เตือนใจ จำได้ syn. memorable, understandable
entrant                       N. ผู้มาใหม่ ผู้เข้าทำงานใหม่ 
negligible                  ADj. ที่ไม่สำคัญ
as long as                 CONJ. ตราบเท่าที่
hire                            VT. จ้าง
remain                       VT. ยังเหลืออยู่ คงอยู่ syn. continue
plentiful                     ADJ. มากมาย อุดมสมบรูณ์ syn. fruitful
discrimination             N. การเลือกปฎิบัติ การฝึกฝนในงานเฉพาะอย่าง
maternity                    N. ความเป็นแม่
entitle                         VT. การให้สิทธิ มีสิทธิ์ syn. authorize, empower, permit
drawback                    N. ข้อเสียเปรียบ ข้อด้อย อุปสรรค syn. fault, foible, hindrance 
masculine                   ADJ. เกี่ยวกับเพศชาย syn. manly, virile, man
enviable                     ADJ. เป็นที่หน้าอิจฉา  syn. desirable
competency                N. ความสามารถ syn. capability, skill
ugly                            ADJ. น่าเกลียด ขี้เหร่
stereotype                  N. ทัศนคติของกลุ่มสัคม
obsess                       VT. ครอบงำ ฝังแน่นอยู่ในจิยใจ syn. possess, haunt 
insisted                      VI. ยืนยัน ยืนกราน  syn. upon
persist                        VI. ยืนกราน syn. endure, persevere
misconception             N. ความเข้าใจผิด