BANGKOK: It has been more than a year since Captain Dejphon Poolpun last took to the skies.
The Thai Airways pilot has not received any flying allowance at all, while his basic salary was cut as the company suffered billions of losses.
The hiatus in flying has meant a complete change in his lifestyle. These days, he spends much of his time in the kitchen of his Bangkok home, where he bakes tray after tray of brownies for his online shop Flying Sweets. The business has found a sizable group of loyal customers.
“In the past year… I made more than US$3,000 a month,” he told CNA. “In one day, I could sell 300 brownies when the business was booming.”
Due to the pandemic, he lost 60 per cent of his salary as a pilot.

Captain Dejphon Poolpun makes brownies in…