Patee Sarasin ( th, พาที สารสิน; born 24 October 1961) is a Thai business executive, best known as the CEO of low-cost carrier Nok Air from 2004 to 2017.

Early life and career

A member of the

Sarasin family The Sarasin family (Thai: สารสิน) refers to a wealthy assimilated Thai Chinese business clan that rose to prominence during the 19th century. The family monopolised a number of bureaucratic offices and established a number of key busi ...

, Patee attended The King's School, Canterbury in England and went to university in the United States, receiving a bachelor's degree in business administration and computer science from

Clark University Clark University is a private research university in Worcester, Massachusetts. Founded in 1887 with a large endowment from its namesake Jonas Gilman Clark, a prominent businessman, Clark was one of the first modern research universities in the ...

in Massachusetts. He began his career in the Thai advertising industry, working at Lintas Advertising before returning to the United States to earn a master's in mass communication, film and video from

American University The American University (AU or American) is a private federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Its main campus spans 90 acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, mostly in the Spring Valley neighborhood of Northwest D.C. AU was charte ...

in Washington, D.C., after which he worked with the television network NBC for two years. He returned to Thailand in 1989 and joined SPA Advertising, then became general manager—and later CEO—of Bates Advertising Thailand in 1992.

Nok Air

In 2004, Patee was invited to become CEO of Nok Air, the new

low-cost carrier A low-cost carrier or low-cost airline (occasionally referred to as '' no-frills'', ''budget'' or '' discount carrier'' or ''airline'', and abbreviated as ''LCC'') is an airline that is operated with an especially high emphasis on minimizing op ...

being launched as a joint venture of

Thai Airways International Thai Airways International Public Company Limited, trading as THAI (, th, บริษัท การบินไทย จำกัด (มหาชน)) is the flag carrier airline of Thailand. Formed in 1961, the airline has its corporate h ...

. Patee oversaw the development of Nok Air's distinctive branding and eventually became its public face, using his own colourful, outspoken personality to represent and promote the airline. During his tenure, the airline went through several struggles, including the

2004 tsunami An earthquake and a tsunami, known as the Boxing Day Tsunami and, by the scientific community, the Sumatra–Andaman earthquake, occurred at 07:58:53 local time (UTC+7) on 26 December 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of northern Suma ...

soon after its launch, the 2008 oil price spike, and the 2011 flood, which inundated the airline's base at Don Mueang Airport. The airline returned to profitability from 2009 to 2013, but faced further crises including a collapse of its check-in system in 2015 and a pilot strike in 2016, which combined with increased competition from the launch of

Thai Lion Air Thai Lion Mentari Co. Ltd, trading as Thai Lion Air ( th, ไทยไลอ้อนแอร์), is a Thai low-cost airline, operating with Thai partners as an associate company of Lion Air of Indonesia. The carrier operates from Bangkok's Don ...

in 2013, saw Nok Air incurring heavy losses for several consecutive years, and Patee resigned from his position as CEO in September 2017.

Later ventures

After leaving Nok Air, Patee founded the online travel agency Really Really Cool in 2018. In 2020, he released an autobiography titled ''Smiling Through Turbulence'', detailing his time at Nok Air, and in 2023, he announced the launch of a new airline, titled Really Cool Airlines, which is expected to begin operations in 2024.

Personal life

Patee is married to former actress Pitipat Sarasin ( Piyawan Jittanatum), with two children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sarasin, Patee Patee Sarasin Patee Sarasin Chief executives in the airline industry Patee Sarasin Clark University alumni People educated at The King's School, Canterbury 1961 births Living people