TG president warns airline on brink of collapse, staff must work harder

[Baggy]

5 hours ago, Thian said:

If they collapse, will they refund the sold tickets?

The longer they trade the bigger the debt, what happens when suppliers stop supplying, (now insolvent) a serious crime in most countries.

[craigieboy1973]

Thsi have done it yo themselves <deleted> planes high ticket prices and <deleted> service 

 

Good bye

[poohy]

26 minutes ago, Peterbilt said:

Partially true only.
He also used to fly BKK-MUC on a TG 744 always seated on seat 1A. The ban on smoking was waived on those flights - at least in F.
Of course the F-cabin was cleared of other pax (not belonging to him) who had to be downgraded to C/CL

According to Mr Andrew M M  TG was used for delivery on last this eventful excursion

[Huckenfell]

32 minutes ago, baboon said:

That was rather my point...

Sorry , i misread you.

[hobz]

5 hours ago, Garybaldy said:

Far too expensive try this formula

lower prices to beat competition+get rid of dead wood management = full aircraft= Profit made.

It's hard to lower prices when the price is set in a very strong THB. Salaries, tax, etc, all paid in THB.

[bronzedude]

If the airlines collapses, it is the Thai way not to give refunds. I don’t think credit card companies will refund a purchased ticket. Who would want to buy an advance ticket on Thai with this impending doom? I actually took Thai 3 times in the last 3 years to go skiing in Hokkaido. Thai was the only non stop. It was mediocre service at best. Next time I’ll bear with the extra 2 hours trip, the change of planes in Tokyo and take JAl which will be actually cheaper.

[hobz]

8 minutes ago, craigieboy1973 said:

Thsi have done it yo themselves <deleted> planes high ticket prices and <deleted> service 

 

Good bye

The currency policy of the government is to be blamed. The strong THB is what makes the ticket prices so expensive!

Nothing Thai airways can do.

 

I hope the government comes to it's senses and takes drastic measures to weaken the baht again.

[baboon]

6 minutes ago, Huckenfell said:

Sorry , i misread you.

No worries.

[Peterbilt]

3 minutes ago, hobz said:

The currency policy of the government is to be blamed. The strong THB is what makes the ticket prices so expensive!

Nothing Thai airways can do.

 

I hope the government comes to it's senses and takes drastic measures to weaken the baht again.

I did read in another forum (german frequent flyer board) that the Chinese are the ones, who are inflating the Baht.
My be somebody here has more information or can tell that this are just rumours.

[Bassosa]

I hear many say that TG need to bring in veteran CEO, not from Thailand.

Problem is, I don't think anyone worth their salt would want to touch TG. 

 

Trying to change a culture that's so deeply engrained and so incredibly dysfunctional?

 

Not going to happen, the powers that be won't let him/her...

[hobz]

6 minutes ago, Peterbilt said:

I did read in another forum (german frequent flyer board) that the Chinese are the ones, who are inflating the Baht.
My be somebody here has more information or can tell that this are just rumours.

It's probably true in some sense. Lots of Chinese investment = strong baht?

[madmitch]

Many successful Thai companies are run on the basis of having a near monopoly in Thailand and this has then enabled expansion overseas.

 

It odes appear that large Thai companies do not like competition and unfortunately for THAI the competition in the airline industry is cutthroat and only the strong survive.

[GinBoy2]

3 hours ago, smutcakes said:

Outbog interese how many US airlines have filed for chapter 11 bankcruptcy? Maybe many of then would if gone the same way if they did not have that protection.....

 

Are they also run for hi so's etc.....

 

I bet Thai wishes they had that type of protection you can get in the US.

 

Those in glass houses.....

I think you're missing the point.

 

Most countries have as part of their bankruptcy laws some form of third party oversight while a company tries to reorganize its business.

In the US it's Chapter 11, in the UK it's Administration.

 

In both cases a company is given time to restructure it's debt and operations. It then has to be approved by in the US the Bankruptcy Count, in the UK the Creditor.

 

In neither case does it prevent the company from ultimately closing the doors if they can't find a solution. 

 

So Yes, in these cases it provides temporary protection but it certainly isn't as you suggest a 'get out of jail free' card. In the US this temporary protection can only be a maximum of 18 months, after which if they haven't proved that they can become solvent then they cease operations. The list of US airlines which have closed after Chapter 11 is long and extensive

 

A case in point. 

 

United was a total basket case when it filed for Chapter 11 after 9-11. But the airline that emerged from bankruptcy bore no relationship to the airline that entered Chapter 11. 

 

People, staff may not have liked what happened, but those fundamental changes have made it one of the most profitable airlines in the world.

 

Without TG being forced to made those kind of hard and difficult changes it's never going to change.

[Straight8]

10 hours ago, Samui Bodoh said:

This may or may not be true, but...

 

I stopped flying with Thai Airways a long time ago because of over-priced tickets and lousy service.

 

 

Strangely enough my last 2 trips to Thailand, I was able to snag the best prices at the time of booking on Thai Airways, for a direct flight from Sydney to BKK.

 

They can be cheaper than Qantas, and I'd much prefer Thai.

[DJ54]

10 minutes ago, GinBoy2 said:

A case in point. 

 

United was a total basket case when it filed for Chapter 11 after 9-11. But the airline that emerged from bankruptcy bore no relationship to the airline that entered Chapter 11. 

 

People, staff may not have liked what happened, but those fundamental changes have made it one of the most profitable airlines in the world.

 

Without TG being forced to made those kind of hard and difficult changes it's never going to change.

Excellent point .... Top down needs to be on board and if not replace the .... old habits need to be replaced with proven and new ideas...

 

[Straight8]

10 hours ago, BestB said:

wait, let me get this right. Staff must work harder to avoid airline collapsing? Not the management should work harder? not the management should take pay cuts, but the staff should work harder????

And you're surprised by this???   It's the Thai way.

[dundas]

I find Thai fares are usually quite competitive between Melbourne and Osaka (with a BKK stopover); strangely they offer a much more competitive fare for this longer route than they do for just flying to Bangkok. I would rate service between Bangkok and Osaka as normally excellent (I did hear a pilot once saying something about 'hand-picked crew' so that might explain it), service between Melbourne and Bangkok is normally pretty good, too, and I enjoy the A350. Legroom at 32" is still better than a lot of other airlines (I'm talking to you, Qantas and Jetstar), and the last time I flew in a Thai 777 it was still 9 across. I hope they don't go broke. 

[natway09]

I always use Thai direct to Auckland & have never had a complaint.

On time, service is OK (I do not want to be bothered every hour) & if want something stretch my legs & go to the galley where always get with a smile

[Just Weird]

10 hours ago, Chelseafan said:

I prefer Thai as it's direct and their ground services are better even though Emirates on board services beats them hands down. Thai are generally £800-1000 more expensive than Emirates in F and on occasions I'm the only passenger in the cabin. No wonder!!

They need outside help. The Saudi's realised this and got Tim Clark to turn the airline around

"The Saudi's realised this and got Tim Clark to turn the airline around..."

What have "The Saudis" got to do with THAI, Emirates and Tim Clark?  Emirates is the UAE airline and Clark has no connection to Saudia.

[cyril sneer]

Never knew any of the information provided in this thread.

 

I’ll be sure never to use them again thanks 

[Swen]

From a business point of view, Thai airways have less seat than other competing carriers, and they can still not fill up their airplanes due to high prices. That’s not a staff problem. It’s a management problem.

Thai Airways business class on a B-777-300 have 4 seats abreast. Example KLM got 6. Thai Airways Economy class have 9 seats abreast, but KLM have 10. This makes 50 less seats in Thai. If flying with an average of 85% load factor Thai cannot make money. Example applicable towards most other carriers.

[GinBoy2]

33 minutes ago, Swen said:

From a business point of view, Thai airways have less seat than other competing carriers, and they can still not fill up their airplanes due to high prices. That’s not a staff problem. It’s a management problem.

Thai Airways business class on a B-777-300 have 4 seats abreast. Example KLM got 6. Thai Airways Economy class have 9 seats abreast, but KLM have 10. This makes 50 less seats in Thai. If flying with an average of 85% load factor Thai cannot make money. Example applicable towards most other carriers.

You make a very good observation.

 

I work for Delta, and the load factor is the key factor in achieving a profitable flight.

 

TG may claim an 80% load factor, but if the total available load is 20% less than a competing airline on the same route, thats a problem.

 

TG's answer to this conundrum has consistently been to increased seat pricing to compensate, which in turn depresses' the total load factor.

 

The airline business, while massive in revenue, works on super thin margins. Something that TG management has yet to comprehend. 

[zydeco]

Do they even fly to the US anymore? Don't think so. So, who cares.

[Almer]

1 hour ago, Straight8 said:

Strangely enough my last 2 trips to Thailand, I was able to snag the best prices at the time of booking on Thai Airways, for a direct flight from Sydney to BKK.

 

They can be cheaper than Qantas, and I'd much prefer Thai.

Maybe 20 years ago it was a dream to fly Thai, good corporate standing attractive well dressed ladies but it seems to have gone, maybe its me i had more money 20 years ago and now if EVA are £100 cheaper i would fly with them, excellent staff and for me  a 777 long haul is fit  for purpose not least a fully loaded 777 can still cope  with 30 kg 

[NanLaew]

10 hours ago, Sandy Freckle said:

But, Thai flights slowly, incrementally changed  some few years ago when 'trailer park' families, groups and couples started bypassing Bali and flying TG from Perth, directly into 'Bangers' to get their third world jollies. TG flights became chockers with them.

I don't know how TAT could possibly have missed all those hundreds of thousands of Bogans.

[Swedenlars]

No wonder they will soon be bankrupt as long  the first class is filled with members of the royal family and politicians flying for free.

[RJRS1301]

2 hours ago, Straight8 said:

Strangely enough my last 2 trips to Thailand, I was able to snag the best prices at the time of booking on Thai Airways, for a direct flight from Sydney to BKK.

 

They can be cheaper than Qantas, and I'd much prefer Thai.

Methinks you were very very lucky

[nong38]

Brexit is the cause of Thai Airways current problems, well it could not be anyone in Thailand or anyone who has anything to do with the airline. I would rule out Mount Etna as a factor or indeed the price of muesli in Tesco.

[windas]

Hi 

We stopped using Thai Air years ago because of the arrogant attitude of most of the staff. The in plane service and meals were no better. The planes are old and tired. We fly Business class, Thai Air BC is attrocious compared to other airlines.

It was quite noticeable on the amount of Thais in economy being upgraded free to BC as against the nil upgrade for farangs.

Those bloggers that think Thia Air are wonderfull, have obviously not tried other premium airlines that are more cost effective with better attitudes & service.

[Chelseafan]

3 hours ago, Just Weird said:

"The Saudi's realised this and got Tim Clark to turn the airline around..."

What have "The Saudis" got to do with THAI, Emirates and Tim Clark?  Emirates is the UAE airline and Clark has no connection to Saudia.

If you had read the thread rather than being a smart-ass you would of seen I had already corrected myself.