Thai Airways Faces Backlash Over Business-Class Seat Fiasco

[watchcat]

1 hour ago, findlay13 said:

It took me 3plus years to get a refund from them from a fare paid before covid !

 

Same whith other "transporters"

[Frankie baby]

If the complaints stand-up, well done to this guy. Hope he gets some real compensation & a bit of acclaim for standing up to Thai Airways. 

[CecilM]

Might the quality of the plane/service be in correlation to its destination?

[scorecard]

3 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

Indeed….  Pay that amount of money for a business class seat and it doesn’t recline he has every right to be upset - a full refund or equivalent miles should be the very least of the airlines response.
 

On numerous TG flights have had screens not working - no biggie as I carry and pad - low expectations!!! 

 

Seems strange that the biz section has been fitted with seats that can't recline.

 

In fact difficult to believe.

 

How could that be, and how come it's not been noticed before?

 

[RobU]

The airline suffers from the usual Thai disorder. Buy new and never maintain. The only reason the airframe and engines are maintained is because there is oversight by the international aviation authorities, i.e. they wouldn't be allowed to land at any foreign airport  without a valid airworthiness certificate. I suspect that reclining the seats and working video screens are not part of the certification process so like all Thai management they don't bother to maintain them because they are not forced to by an external body

[Flying Saucage]

3 hours ago, gargamon said:

Only has himself to blame. Why fly Thai Airways when there's many better airlines to use, EVA for example.

If you want a direct flight, the options are limited. For a flight from Bangkok to Beijing there might only be Thai and Chinese airlines available. Only in rare cases airlines from other countries are allowed to serve and can be chosen for direct flights. The rules for that are called "Fifth Freedom", and allow you to go from Bangkok to London or Schiphol with EVA. But these are exemptions.

 

For destination Beijing, I doubt any Chinese airlines is better than Thai Airways.

[RobU]

4 minutes ago, scorecard said:

 

Seems strange that the biz section has been fitted with seats that can't recline.

 

In fact difficult to believe.

 

How could that be, and how come it's not been noticed before?

 

If you read the article they should recline but didn't should also convert into beds but didn't i.e. not maintained so he was offered 5500 baht for the 'inconvenience'. If I paid business class I would expect these things to be working otherwise what's the point of travelling BC?

[proton]

My seat would not recline on Qatar business class, how ever that was the last thing I would have complained about, there was quite a list!

[georgegeorgia]

2 hours ago, ezzra said:

Thai have grown so big now, too big to remember how to provide the basics services, while every few days you read

how Thai are selling and buying new fleets of  planes in the billions...

 

Just recently had to jump through many hoops trying to re book my business class return from Melbourne to Bkk

endlessly waiting on the phone to speak to customer's service, unfortunately Thai is the only regular direct flight

from Melbourne to Bkk, (other than Jetstar) and not a fan of a stop-overs...

 

 

 

Qantas is a direct flight

Jetstar is a direct flight 

[Aviatorhi]

34 minutes ago, SportRider said:

Likely an individual seat or one row not reclining, next to emergency exit. 

 

Last month I tried the FlyDubai service from UTP to Dubai. Paid extra for more legroom.

 

Only to discover the seats don't recline because it's an emergency exit row!  For a 7 hr flight 🤬

 

Luckily the flight wasn't full and I moved. 

Didn't bother to claim back the fee for my 'special' seat booked. 

 

There are no (pax oeprabable) emergency exits in TG BC cabins. Most airlines avoid BC seating in those parts of the cabins for multiple reasons.

[georgegeorgia]

2 minutes ago, RobU said:

If you read the article they should recline but didn't should also convert into beds but didn't i.e. not maintained so he was offered 5500 baht for the 'inconvenience'. If I paid business class I would expect these things to be working otherwise what's the point of travelling BC?

I remember my Philippines airlines Sydney to Manila,looked like Premium economy,just seats only 

[RandolphGB]

Thais are a funny breed. Complain about their flag carrier's appalling service and outright corruption.  But refuse to hire a foreign management team with executive level aviation industry to reform the failing airline. 

 

Better still... sell the the airline to a group like IAG with license for them to do completely turnaround the airline how they see fit.

[jacko45k]

4 hours ago, gargamon said:

Only has himself to blame. Why fly Thai Airways when there's many better airlines to use, EVA for example.

Do Eva fly Bangkok to Beijing?

[Moonfire]

It's the land of smiles, not the sky of smiles! 

[Flying Saucage]

As a very frequent flyer, I can say there is not much to complain about THAI AIRWAYS. It's a good airline with good service, but not the among the very best. It's not on par with EVA. But compared to Malaysian Airlines, for example, I strongly prefer Thai. Not to speak about ALL these lousy European airlines.

 

IF you have a problem with THAI, however, the usual Thai behaviour of blaming the customer might destroy your day.

[Yagoda]

In my personal ratings, Thai is at the bottom near Southwest and Jetblue.

 

But those two daily flights to Frankfurt? 11 hours direct? Priceless for me. Get off the plane, get a room, go to an FKK, then next morning 9 hours to the USA via Iceland Air (loads of hot blondes there)

[spidermike007]

The appropriate response would be to offer him a refund of double the cost of his ticket. It means nothing to the airline. The 5,000 baht offer would be considered an arrogant slap in the face. 

 

The reality is, this airline has been substandard for a very long time. I rarely consider them for my travels. 

[Ben Zioner]

3 hours ago, jonclark said:

B5500 compensation. Cheap bastards. 

But that was after the commission of the manager who authorised the compensation.  

[Andrew65]

4 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

Indeed….  Pay that amount of money for a business class seat and it doesn’t recline he has every right to be upset - a full refund or equivalent miles should be the very least of the airlines response.
 

On numerous TG flights have had screens not working - no biggie as I carry and pad - low expectations!!! 

Many year ago I was on a Thai B747 upstairs in business class, I was in the rearmost seat, which wouldn't recline, it was placed in such a way that the rear bulkhead was so close behind it that it couldn't recline, it wasn't like there was a problem with the seat itself.

[Hamus Yaigh]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

Thai Airways is being criticized after a passenger claims he and his clients received poor service

Yet, if you do this with a hotel you risk being locked up.

[radiochaser]

https://thethaiger.com/news/national/thai-airways-slammed-for-defective-business-class-seats

[BusNo8]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

 

Thai Airways is being criticized after a passenger claims he and his clients received poor service, despite having expensive business-class tickets for a flight to Beijing. The passenger, Treerat Sirichantaropas, has publicly expressed his disillusionment and is considering legal action after experiencing issues with seats that could not recline or convert into beds.

 

The airline's attempt to appease Mr. Sirichantaropas, with a compensation of 5,500 baht, was rebuffed. Mr. Sirichantaropas instead plans to sue the airline’s management, appealing for their resignation over failure to resolve repeated complaints. He also plans to file a complaint with the Transport Commission to prevent such defects occurring on Thai Airways flights.

 

His viral post has ignited a conversation about the airline’s management, accountability, service commitment, and the strain these issues place on the airline’s employees. Mr. Sirichantaropas, a regular customer, claimed that the airline’s disregard of customer service and neglect were affecting passengers’ comfort and employees' morale.

 

This incident has negatively impacted Thai Airways’ reputation, creating doubts about their service quality. The unfolding events invite increased scrutiny from the public and regulatory bodies. The outcome of this case may influence how customer complaints and operational failures are handled in the aviation industry, particularly with national carriers, whose standards are seen to represent those of the country. 

 

TOP File photo for reference only.

 

-- 2024-04-30

Get our Daily Newsletter - Click HERE to subscribe

 

Thai Air

 

What a wonderful airline

 

 

 

25-30 years ago

[Dart12]

4 hours ago, stoner said:

 

you'll take the 5500 and be happy with it or we will sue you. 

I, too, was wondering how he's getting away with making a public complaint, even though it's factual.

[connda]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

The airline's attempt to appease Mr. Sirichantaropas, with a compensation of 5,500 baht, was rebuffed. Mr. Sirichantaropas instead plans to sue the airline’s management, appealing for their resignation over failure to resolve repeated complaints. He also plans to file a complaint with the Transport Commission to prevent such defects occurring on Thai Airways flights.

If this was a farang, the airline would have already filed a defamation case against him.

[Peterphuket]

1 hour ago, proton said:

My seat would not recline on Qatar business class, how ever that was the last thing I would have complained about, there was quite a list!

It's all misery with those airlines, you complain about Quatar airlines, recently I flew with Emirates, my neighbour was noisily professing the Koran, that doesn't make you happy, imagine it happening to you in Business class.

[khunjeff]

3 hours ago, 2long said:

There has to be more to this. I smell some exaggeration. 

Was it one faulty seat, or more seats that never recline? Surely the plane cant have been designed to have non-reclining business class seats and if it was, then we would have heard of it before (from others complaining).

I get the feeling there's another side to this story, and maybe the customers expected more than he deserved.

 

If you read more detailed articles about this incident, there were several broken business class seats on this aircraft. The flight attendant told the passenger that they had been reported as malfunctioning months earlier and he (the FA) couldn't understand why they were still being sold.

[Lazybones]

6 hours ago, gargamon said:

Only has himself to blame. Why fly Thai Airways when there's many better airlines to use, EVA for example.

 

The report I read on MSN said it was Singapore Airlines?

[Maitdjai]

12 minutes ago, connda said:

6 hours ago, webfact said:

The airline's attempt to appease Mr. Sirichantaropas, with a compensation of 5,500 baht, was rebuffed. Mr. Sirichantaropas instead plans to sue the airline’s management, appealing for their resignation over failure to resolve repeated complaints. He also plans to file a complaint with the Transport Commission to prevent such defects occurring on Thai Airways flights.

If this was a farang, the airline would have already filed a defamation case against him.

Could be!. The good times of TG are decades in the past, anyway. Not only with them.
The offer of 5500 THB is an arrogant slap in the face, but also typical for the common culture of self entitlement, and infallibility,
you can realise in so many contexts.
On the other hand, these overreaching ridiculous “announcements” of the customer, are just confirming a widely spread “Kindergarten” mentality.
Of blowing up any little BS with warm air. In the end, after some negotiations, there is silence, and beside a “misunderstanding” nothing left. Zero!

[proton]

19 minutes ago, Peterphuket said:

It's all misery with those airlines, you complain about Quatar airlines, recently I flew with Emirates, my neighbour was noisily professing the Koran, that doesn't make you happy, imagine it happening to you in Business class.

 

That does sound like hell, I would have had a drink in my hand while he was doing it! Odd how a husband can turn up with veiled women behind him, hand over their passports and get waved through with nobody asking to see their faces.

[Peabody]

7 hours ago, webfact said:

...particularly with national carriers, whose standards are seen to represent those of the country. 

Probably the most accurate line on AN today.