Thread: Airline News

Originally Posted by Yasojack

I reckon Thai should employ Bar girls, they give a lot better service

Nana Air?

Patpong Airlines?

Star of Light Flight?

Think you're onto a winner mate.

Originally Posted by Sumocakewalk

Thai Airways International today reported a consolidated net loss of 9,117 million baht for the first nine months of this year.

He attributed the loss for the past nine months to the tourism industry

Yeah that could be one problem

I’ve never had any problem with Thai Airways handling my luggage, but some people might. Video in the link: Link

A nice representation of the UK's "stacks", in which I've been caught way too many times!

Bangkok Post / AFP
November 20, 2014

KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia-based AirAsia, the region's biggest low-cost carrier by fleet size, said Wednesday its third-quarter net profit plunged a year-on-year 85% due mainly to higher financing costs.

Net profit for the quarter ending Sept 30 was 5.4 million ringgit (52.5 million bahtn), the company said, while revenue increased 3.1% to 1.32 billion ringgit.

It also blamed some of the lower profit on affiliate Thai AirAsia posting its second consecutive quarterly loss due to the unsettled political situation in Thailand, whose visitor industry was hit in the wake of a May coup.

AirAsia said the quarterly results demonstrated "the company's strong standalone performance at a time when most of the other airlines around the region are facing a challenging period and recording poor performances."

AirAsia is led by flamboyant boss Tony Fernandes, a former record industry executive who acquired the then-failing airline in 2001.

It has seen spectacular success and aggressive growth under his low-cost, low-overhead model.

AirAsia signed an agreement in July to buy 50 long-haul A330 jets from Europe's Airbus in a deal worth $13.75 billion at catalogue prices.

Meanwhile, AirAsia X, the budget carrier's long-haul, low-cost affiliate, announced its fourth consecutive quarterly loss on Wednesday.

In an earnings statement, Fernandes said AirAsia's outlook remained positive due to falling oil prices and more "rational" pricing by cut-throat regional competitors, which allows AirAsia also to command fares more advantageous to its bottom line.

Full article: AirAsia profit falls in Q3 | Bangkok Post: news

One from history



November 28 2014
Auckland, New Zealand:
Wreaths were laid near the shore of the Manukau Harbour today in memory of the 20 flight crew members who died in the Erebus disaster.

This year marks the 35th anniversary of the disaster, which saw the crew members and 237 passengers die when Air New Zealand Flight 901 smashed into Mt Erebus on Antarctica's Ross Island.

The 1979 crash remains New Zealand's deadliest peacetime disaster.

Friends, family members and colleagues of the dead gathered for a short ceremony at the Erebus crew memorial garden near Auckland International Airport.

Air New Zealand chief executive officer Christopher Luxon has recently returned from the last next of kin flight to Mt Erebus.

Airline Offers Tickets to Taipei for Just 520 Baht

Taiwanese budget airline V Air is offering 10,000 tickets for travel between Chiang Mai or Bangkok and Taipei for just NT520 (520 baht) each.

The sale begins at 9am Thai time tomorrow, and ends at 10.59pm on Thursday, Asiatraveltips.com reported.

V Air, a low-cost subsidiary of Taiwan's TransAsia Airways, will begin flights between Bangkok and Taipei on December 17 and between Chiang Mai and Taipei on January 7.

The sale is valid for departures until the end of next May, reports said. The fare excludes airport tax. To book, visit V-Air - V Air.

An Air India flight from Chennai to Paris was delayed for three hours amid high drama that saw the captain of the flight beating up an engineer and then locking himself up in the cockpit.

Air India has derostered Captain Manick Lal following the incident even as it has launched a probe into the entire episode.

The plane had arrived at Chennai from Mumbai and was scheduled to take off at 9.45 am to Delhi. The departure was first delayed due to a technical snag. A flight engineer was addressing the snag over which he entered into some argument with the pilot, according to an eyewitness account.

Air India has de-rostered Captain Manick Lal following the incident.The flight AI 143, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, got delayed due to the snag and that apparently angered the pilot. His argument with the flight engineer escalated and the pilot reportedly landed a punch on the engineer, identified as V.T. Kannan. The engineer, who was bleeding from his nose, reportedly insisted on filing an FIR with the police.

Sources said the pilot got angry as he was not satisfied with the manner in which the technical snag was being addressed and expressed his inability to fly the Dreamliner. He was reportedly not convinced about the snag being rectified.

The whole episode led to delays, leading to an ordeal for the 122 passengers on board.

Airport officials said the pilot was also angry over the fact that too many people from the ground staff crowded the cockpit. He asked them to get out.

It was not known what actually led to the scuffle but there were arguments between the ground staff and the pilot.

The flight finally departed around three hours after the scheduled timing with another pilot at control. Manick Lal was directed to stay back. The aircraft finally arrived in Delhi at 2.50 pm and the Paris leg of the flight was delayed by 30 minutes.

Sources said it was not known why the pilot had locked himself in the cockpit. Air India officials said it would probe the incident thoroughly before taking any action. Till the time he was cleared in the probe, the pilot will not fly, the airline has said.

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is known to encounter snags. Many such incidents have been reported on the aircraft in the past too. Air India has not specified the nature of the snag that resulted in the delay on Saturday.

"All the aspects are being probed," said an airline official, refusing to elaborate further.

Air India grounds pilot after fight inside cockpit : India, News - India Today

Looks look Business Air may be about to go tits up

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

Sources said it was not known why the pilot had locked himself in the cockpit. Air India officials said it would probe the incident thoroughly before taking any action. Till the time he was cleared in the probe, the pilot will not fly, the airline has said.

They would have to be completely nuts to ever trust him with a plane and passengers again, but since it's India nothing would be surprising.

Originally Posted by toslti

Looks look Business Air may be about to go tits up

Shame

Business Air, a Thai low-cost charter airline, was ordered to suspend operations on Sunday due to unpaid debt owed to the Department of Civil Aviation.

The suspension stranded passengers at the airline's hub in Incheon, South Korea and at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Thailand.

The Thai Ministry of Transport ordered that the company find other means of transporting the stranded passengers.

Business Air insisted on Facebook that it was closed unfairly by Thai authorities.

The airline incurred debt to the Department of Civil Aviation for its daily ground operations.

The Bangkok Post also reported that the company failed to return leased planes in December after the contract had expired.

According to the Department of Civil Aviation, Business Air was also unable to pay for plane maintenance, leaving it with one operable aircraft.

Unbelievable really, they have this huge office at Swampy, they don't need swanky property in the middle of Bangkok.

And with most people shifting to online buying, they can sell the stuff overseas as well.

And as for cancelling loss making routes, that should have been done ages ago.

Like everyone else, they're getting murdered by the Gulf carriers, and they have too many hangers on sucking the lifeblood from the company.

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

Unbelievable really, they have this huge office at Swampy, they don't need swanky property in the middle of Bangkok.

And with most people shifting to online buying, they can sell the stuff overseas as well.

And as for cancelling loss making routes, that should have been done ages ago.

Like everyone else, they're getting murdered by the Gulf carriers, and they have too many hangers on sucking the lifeblood from the company.

It's come down to living on their Thai image and saving face.

A shame they don't have a decent business acumen - driving the airline into the ground.

All the subsidies and hidden support won't help if you haven't a clue as to how to operate the business.

^ They're really no different than the post office, a government enterprise that will be around no matter how incompetently it's run.

^^^ Looks like a Super DC-8 I would not mind that flying experience one last time.

Thai Airways needs strategic rethink and network restructuring after dismal 2014.

Thai Airways is considering further capacity cuts following a dismal 2014 when passenger numbers dropped by 17%. RPKs and load factors were down significantly across all regions with the domestic and regional international performance particularly weak as LCC competition intensified.
Thai has faced very challenging market conditions as international demand in Thailand plummeted due to a prolonged period of civil unrest, leading to a 7% drop in visitor arrivals in 2014. But it also faces long-term internal structural issues which can only be addressed through a major restructuring.
LCC competition in Thailand will continue to intensify in 2015. Thai’s share of the domestic and international markets slipped significantly in 2014 and will drop further in 2015 with LCCs filling most of the void.


Thai Airways passenger numbers dropped to lowest level in a decade

Thai Airways passenger numbers were down 17.4% to 17.759 million, its lowest level since 2004. Thai’s annual passenger numbers had increased for three consecutive years, from 2010 to 2013, and surpassed the 20 million mark for the first time in 2012.


Thai Airways needs strategic rethink and network restructuring after dismal 2014 | CAPA - Centre for Aviation

^ I returned to Europe on Thai Friday night. They are trimming down to the minimum, it would seem with no peanuts/snack to start, no meal menu and no between-meal snack. It was simply chicken or fish and hide away until breakfast. The worst service I have had on this flight for over 15 years.

However, the flight was totally uneventful and I arrived fresh as a daisy so can't complain about the important bit.

Originally Posted by Bettyboo

^ local politics must be very damaging; mob closure of the national airport, junta taking over, violence and political turmoil in the capital. Their main hub must have been negatively affected; drastically so.

Prices - they just aren't competitive; equal and better airlines are cheaper on the same routes; recently, I've flown, Oman Air, Cathy Pacific and Korean Air on routes I would have bought Thai Air tickets if they'd been competitive instead of 30%-50% more expensive... I've also done several Air Asia flights which are decent and half the price of Thai Air.

The obvious corruption; 'high-sos' demanding privileges such as upgrades and extra baggage; all cuts into airline costs.

Almost a perfect storm for Thai Air. A shame, it'd be good to see a decent management team (non-Thai) be put in place and make the airline competitive again once the junta have farked orf...

All true....yet, we witness this same state sanctioned corporate model the world over and apathetically accept it because they have deemed it is what it is.

Originally Posted by Bettyboo

Thai Air tickets if they'd been competitive instead of 30%-50% more expensive

From the UK Thai are around the same price maybe £20 more and Gert likes flying with Thai.
We are booked with Thai at the end of April if they last that long to be honest this will be our last flight with them.
Who knows when the axe will drop no confidence that Thai will still be in business and if they are saving money,whats the maintenance schedule like on their aircraft these days.

Originally Posted by klong toey

Originally Posted by Bettyboo

Thai Air tickets if they'd been competitive instead of 30%-50% more expensive

From the UK Thai are around the same price maybe £20 more and Gert likes flying with Thai.
We are booked with Thai at the end of April if they last that long to be honest this will be our last flight with them.
Who knows when the axe will drop no confidence that Thai will still be in business and if they are saving money,whats the maintenance schedule like on their aircraft these days.

I might be cautious towards flying with any carrier that is deeply troubled and cutting back considerably......as their prime concern is not safety and maintenance.

Thai Airways are going nowhere KT.

They're not as badly run as some think, they have their own budget brand Thai smile now and have forked out on new planes and also taken losses on planes that have come to the end of their commercial flying life.

Even if it was in the mess some have stated on here it will be bailed out like Malaysian Air is

My mates wife has a business in Bali and fly's to many destinations in Asia.

She fly's Thai exclusively and has one of those membership card thingo's. Gets to use there lounge, priority boarding, extra luggage and what not.

Thing is she pays a fokin shit load for the flights when many other airlines are heaps cheaper.

Originally Posted by terry57

She fly's Thai exclusively and has one of those membership card thingo's

That'll be Star Alliance, meaning she could choose to use anyone of the following airlines to gain points or use her miles on, not just Thai:

Member Airlines
Adria Airways JP
Aegean Airlines A3
Air Canada AC
Air China CA
Air India AI
Air New Zealand NZ
ANA NH
Asiana Airlines OZ
Austrian OS
Avianca AV
Brussels Airlines SN
Copa Airlines CM
Croatia Airlines OU
EGYPTAIR MS
Ethiopian Airlines ET
EVA Air BR
LOT Polish Airlines LO
Lufthansa LH
Scandinavian Airlines SK
Shenzhen Airlines ZH
Singapore Airlines SQ
South African Airways SA
SWISS LX
TAP Portugal TP
THAI TG
Turkish Airlines TK
United UA

I get a free upgrade once a year with a Star Alliance Gold card, plus two 50% miles off flights

^

She has always raved about Thai and it would not be a wise move to try and tell her that any other airline is better.

Because of her believes, every time my mate fly's with her its on Thai and cost him a shit load of money.

The great thing about flying Thai from Thailand, if you have that gold card ; there is a hidden fast track lane, on the most left side of departures, right behind that Thai Airways/Royal orchid Plus check in.

from entering the front door at swampy, it's rare i'm not in that Biz lounge necking spirits and eating curry puffs within 5 minutes