One-two-go Forced To Suspend Operations

[iang]

The skies over Thailand just became a far safer place! The land too - at least that part of the land directly under their flight path!

Couldn't be happier

[chrislarsson]

The skies over Thailand just became a far safer place! The land too - at least that part of the land directly under their flight path!

Couldn't be happier

On average there are about 1 casualty per year due to air accidents in Thailand. In contrast, there are about 30,000 casualties in traffic accidents.

It's surely much safer now

[zepplin]

They could change the name to One Thats Gone

How about one-two-gone

It,s not just the domestic situation, which incidently effects many thousands of Thai and foreign visitors alike.

If we could fast forward to a year from now, unless the situation changes and returns to levels that are manageable, the international costs of flying that effect many of us worldwide, will be out of reach for many who vsit their home countries for whatever of the many personal reasons.

It doesn,t look encouraging at all, i,m sad to say, and will only get worse IMHO

marshbags ened by the prospect.

YES THE GOVERMENT SAID 17 MILLION VISITORS CAME HERE LAST YEAR,THEY HAVE DOWNGRADED IT TO 15 MILLION BUT THAT IS WILDLY OPTIMISTIC I THINK ,IN SAMUI WE ARE DOWN AT LEAST 30% AND THATS WITH THE PEOPLE WHO BOUGHT TICKETS 6-12 MONTHS AGO..ITS GOING TO GET ONLY MORE EXPENSIVE IF OIL KEEPS RISING.THE THAIS LIKE TO COMPENSATE THE FEWER PEOPLE WITH HIGHER PRICES,WHICH DOENT HELP... OH WELL TIME FOR A MASSAGE AND A BEER..

[catmac]

The demise of 1-2-die (I do like that name, most fitting!) really has nothing to do with the price of oil and everything to do with their cavalier attitude towards safety. I predicted elsewhere on this forum that their days were numbered, and like most of you I'm pleased to see the back of them!

LCC should in theory be no more vulnerable to rising fuel costs than any other airline, less so in fact as they are often far more flexible in matching their routes and capacity to actual demand. Too many of the big "flag" carriers are operating on routes that will never be profitable out of feelings of National pride and prestige.

[jbhh]

I like all the names you people came up with

Here's one more 1..(that had).. 2... go..

My parents just canceled their plans to come over for christmas, due to the ticket prices

At least they booked for Eastern now, let's just hope they don't come up with the idea to add fuel charges at a later point of time.

Al this crap reminds me of the "water car" introduced last month by the Japanese, which piggy back rides on meyer's water car from the 80s. Instead of cutting down flight, why don't these big companies move in together an develop their own hydrogen powered jet engines, with Meyer's electrolysis technique used by the japanese in their car now, they could simply put water in the wings and convert it to hydrogen "on the fly"

Edited July 19, 2008 by jbhh

[mahtin]

I like all the names you people came up with

Here's one more 1..(that had).. 2... go..

My parents just canceled their plans to come over for christmas, due to the ticket prices

At least they booked for Eastern now, let's just hope they don't come up with the idea to add fuel charges at a later point of time.

Al this crap reminds me of the "water car" introduced last month by the Japanese, which piggy back rides on meyer's water car from the 80s. Instead of cutting down flight, why don't these big companies move in together an develop their own hydrogen powered jet engines, with Meyer's electrolysis technique used by the japanese in their car now, they could simply put water in the wings and convert it to hydrogen "on the fly"

Water wings

Why didn't Leonardo da Vinci think of that?

[frodo]

Do not Pass Go, Do Not Collect 200baht

[THAILIBAN]

The skies over Thailand just became a far safer place! The land too - at least that part of the land directly under their flight path!

Couldn't be happier

couldnt agree more !!!!

what a lovely day !!!!

lets hope their innocent staff will be able to find new jobs in the aviation industry soon.....

and lets hope scumbag UDOM will never have anything to do with aviation is his life.... except being a paying passenger.....

Edited July 19, 2008 by THAILIBAN

[whopper]

I won;t miss that md-80 coming over my house. it was very loud, windows rattle etc.those planes had to have been about 25 years old, what junk. good riddance, happy day in my ears.

[AoNuDa]

Or what about the system of institutionalized theft the West calls 'banking'. Banks print money, then lend it out against assets the do not have. For this, they charge we mugs a percentage. When we can't pay back, they lend us (including our governments) more paper at compounding interest charges. When the debts as a whole reach towards un-pay-back-ability, the pack of cards collapses - look around you.

Then (this is a killer), 'our' governments bail out the banks & put the charge on our tax bill! Old git Tom

So true. A good whack on a bunch of nails' heads !! Thanks for that. Governments and banks share the same bed.

[geriatrickid]

When will TG, Nok & Bangkok hike their airfares?

The reduction in capacity will certainly benefit their Pax loads.

Never flew the "Wings of Death" but they helped keep airfare from entering the gouging zone.

Gonna be brutal for some people this christmas season.

[henryalleman]

Thai big shots have a way of avoiding responsibilities by changing affiliations.

TRT polititians tried doing that when they saw they'd have to face the music for the misdeeds - they just quit the party at the 11th hour and, presto, no responsibility (the next day, they can say; "I'm no longer a member of TRT, so that's the end of it.")

Even Thai gov't ministers slip from responsibility - by saying, in effect, "I no longer hold that office, so how can I be held accountable for what happened earlier? Ask the new minister, if you've got a contentious issue."

So it will go for Mr. Udom and 1-2-Gone - at least from his perspective.

Also Phuket airlines is banned in France, due to unsafe airplanes.

see also airlines blaclist

http://www.travel-images.com/airline-blacklist.html

http://www.1001crash.com/index-page-liste_noire-lg-2.html

[Garry]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

More BS from Udom's office!

Quote;

Relatives of the victims in the Phuket crash have started a web-site, www.investigateudom.com , to campaign for an investigation into Udom's business conduct. is the reason.

It has nothing to do with the price of oil (or fish)

Let's hope this gangster never has anything to do with aviation again.

BTW, does Phuket airport have rain channels in the runway yet?

I think not.

One to Go fitting name. They fly junk anyway, glad they are gone before one fell out of the sky and killed a plane load of people

They did...http://www.investigateudom.com/

“After the crash of Flight OG 269 resulting in 90 deaths........

[lifeisadream]

I am surprised (shocked!) that so many readers have negative feelings toward one,two, go. It suggests that there is a consensus that AirAsia, Bangkok Air, and Nok are considrably better than one, two, go was in mos ways.

The way I looked at it. One,two,go provided the most straight-forward, cheap transportation from the better airport. Theey ween't looking to scam anyone for any exra money (priority boading, baggage, etc.)There aircraft may have been old but air worthy. The added risk in that department were minimal.

Ther promotions provided the cheapest and easiest to obtain seats. The ground staff and cabin crew looked fresh and happy.

Comparing them with AirAsia. There ticketing structure is purposefully deceptive. They look for ways to sell your seat another time or see to it that any charge costs are prohibitive (even though adjusted automatically by their computer). The staff are harried, rumppled, and confused. They are paid peanuts...for the presige of flying. They run their seating protocol like a 3rd class bus. They NEVER bend their rules (I saw them refuse to board a slow walking person because they arrived at the gate too late). There is no contact number to call to complain. Their vibration is greed.

Bangkok Air! My god. They are the most expensive per mile, greedest airline on the planet. There airport destroyed the envirnment within 3 kilometers of their airport in Ko Samai. They charge crazy "airport-tax" for their own airport! Their flights to Siem Reap were in partnership with Hun Sen who gave them monopoly and opportunity to charge "Ko Sami fares".

I wouldn't focus too much on an opinion that the airlone was run to launder money. I tend to consider "what was the flying experience like". Considering all the anxisety around security, geting there on time, finding a parking space, having your I.D. with you, etc. Seating in an assigned seat along with flight attendents who are "jy yen" always made me feel like I made the right choice.

[Supaporn]

I am surprised (shocked!) that so many readers have negative feelings toward one,two, go. It suggests that there is a consensus that AirAsia, Bangkok Air, and Nok are considrably better than one, two, go was in mos ways.

I was initially surprised at the comment.... but the 'dream' name put it all into perspective! If you had ANY knowledge of 'one,two, go' and their management's practices you might find yourself 'shocked!' by your own positive feelings for that, hopefully, defunked airline.

.... oh, dream on - life is happier that way.......

[Flatouthruthefog]

I am surprised (shocked!) that so many readers have negative feelings toward one,two, go. It suggests that there is a consensus that AirAsia, Bangkok Air, and Nok are considrably better than one, two, go was in mos ways.

I was initially surprised at the comment.... but the 'dream' name put it all into perspective! If you had ANY knowledge of 'one,two, go' and their management's practices you might find yourself 'shocked!' by your own positive feelings for that, hopefully, defunked airline.

.... oh, dream on - life is happier that way.......

Yes 1,000%!

"What was the flying experience like" for those 98 poor souls who perished in Phuket thanks to the criminal practices and negligence of this sham airline? The tragic answer is another aeronautical expression: it was terminal.

Dream on - or read the blogs from so many people who really do know!

[Crushdepth]

Dodgy airlines with crap safety standards and second-rate pilots shouldn't be allowed to fly in the first place.

[sibeymai]

1-2-Go's license to fly was suspended by the Thai Department of Civil Aviation about a week prior to Udom's announcement that the airline was suspending operations due to "financual restructuring", according to the investigateudom website. !-2-Go was given an extra week before the license was withdrawn, apparently so Udom could concoct a face saving story.

Udom has been caught lying again.

Anyone who now contemplates flying Orient Thai must be crazy. The question being asked now is if 1-2-Go is not safe to fly, and it shares management with Orient Thai, how can Orent Thai still be flying ?

[nothingleftbutfaith]

1-2-Go's license to fly was suspended by the Thai Department of Civil Aviation about a week prior to Udom's announcement that the airline was suspending operations due to "financual restructuring", according to the investigateudom website. !-2-Go was given an extra week before the license was withdrawn, apparently so Udom could concoct a face saving story.

Udom has been caught lying again.

Anyone who now contemplates flying Orient Thai must be crazy. The question being asked now is if 1-2-Go is not safe to fly, and it shares management with Orient Thai, how can Orent Thai still be flying ?

Good riddance. Udom you are a typical piece of hi-so Shit

[catmac]

I am surprised (shocked!) that so many readers have negative feelings toward one,two, go. .......... Seating in an assigned seat along with flight attendents who are "jy yen" always made me feel like I made the right choice.

I know this will sound cynical, but I suppose having "asigned seating" might have made the job of identifying the charred corpses of those poor souls who flew to Phuket a little easier!

Scum like Udom should never have been allowed to operate an airline in the first place, I hope that there will now be a full investigation into why:-

1) It took so long after that fatal crash for the Thai Authorities to suspend its licence?, and

2) How did they ever get their licence in the first place?

I know it's just wishful thinking, and we can all probably guess the answer to the second point.

Edited July 20, 2008 by catmac

[cloudhopper]

On average there are about 1 casualty per year due to air accidents in Thailand. In contrast, there are about 30,000 casualties in traffic accidents.

I forget who once said "There are, lies, damned lies and statistics" but this is an example of all 3.

[cloudhopper]

1-2-Go's license to fly was suspended by the Thai Department of Civil Aviation about a week prior to Udom's announcement that the airline was suspending operations due to "financual restructuring", according to the investigateudom website. !-2-Go was given an extra week before the license was withdrawn, apparently so Udom could concoct a face saving story.

Udom has been caught lying again.

Anyone who now contemplates flying Orient Thai must be crazy. The question being asked now is if 1-2-Go is not safe to fly, and it shares management with Orient Thai, how can Orent Thai still be flying ?

THAT is certainly the question. Hopefully or I guess I should say wishfully this process will continue and bring greater transparency and accountability to the budget airline industry.

Fly AirSuperCheap - now everyone can die.

[Krungthepian]

Story from the Times in London:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/worl...icle4364087.ece.

Families blame lax safety for budget airline crash

Britons are joining a £125m lawsuit over the Phuket disaster

From The Sunday Times

July 20, 2008

Michael Sheridan in Bangkok

LAWYERS for the British and American families of victims of an air crash in Thailand are seeking £125m compensation in the US courts in a case that may shed a harsh light on cost-cutting and safety standards at some budget airlines.

The lawsuits follow the disaster on the holiday island of Phuket when an MD82 airliner operated by One-Two-Go, a Thai low-cost carrier, crashed on landing in heavy rain and wind on September 16 last year.

Eight Britons were among the 89 people who died. There were 41 survivors, some of them badly burnt after the plane slewed off the runway, hit an embankment and caught fire.

The captain, Arief Mulyadi, 56, from Indonesia, and his Thai co-pilot were killed on impact. Thai press reports say government investigators have reached an initial finding that pilot error was to blame.

Since the accident the airline has denied allegations by some of its former pilots that crews worked excessive hours and that maintenance standards were lax.

“We believe the air crash was completely avoidable and those responsible should be held to account,” said a statement from the parents of Alex Collins and Bethan Jones, a British couple who died.

“While we accept that nothing can bring Alex and Bethan and the other people who lost their lives back, we are keen to make sure we prevent this from happening again.”

Some British relatives of the victims have lent their names to an internet campaign by Bonnie Rind, an American whose brother died in the crash, calling for prosecutions in Thailand. Rind is also asking for an inquiry by the US National Transportation Safety Board.

She has obtained numerous documents, including what she says is a transcript of material from the flight recorders. Rind said she was confident that the chilling details of the transcript, which appear to show confusion on the flight deck, were accurate.

Flight OG269 from Bangkok was buffeted by heavy weather as it came in for landing. After a warning from the control tower of wind shear - a sudden, violent gust - the Thai co-pilot, who was flying the aircraft, opted to “go around” for a second approach.

However, according to the transcript provided by Rind, neither he nor Arief engaged the correct controls after retracting the wheels. As the MD82 continued to sink towards the runway, the co-pilot’s last words were, “You have control.” There was no response from Arief.

For 15 seconds the engines could be heard idling as the MD82 descended, then for four seconds they roared to full power as an attempt was apparently made to save the aircraft.

Two seconds before the crash a wind shear alarm went off. Then there was silence.

“It was clearly pilot error,” said Rind, a software engineer with a background in aviation. “There was no evidence of anything wrong with the plane.” She believes the captain was incompetent and was probably suffering from fatigue.

Arief had a history of freezing at the controls during crises and had been working excessive hours, according to a documentary by Australia’s Channel Nine television.

Crew rosters showed that at the time of the crash Arief had worked longer than the 110 hours a month allowed by Thai regulators. These rosters were handed to the authorities by the makers of the documentary.

The programme interviewed François Wurst, a former pilot for One-Two-Go, who said he was flying with Arief on a charter for the United Nations in 2006 into Kabul to pick up Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, when the Indonesian “mentally froze” during rough weather on the approach.

Other former pilots gave hair-raising stories of shoddy maintenance and pressure to work excessive hours as the airline cut costs when tourism collapsed after the 2004 tsunami. They claimed there were constant faults with electronics, hydraulics and engines on the fleet of MD82s and Boeing 757s.

Udom Tantiprasongchai, the founder of One-Two-Go, has firmly denied the allegations.

James Healy-Pratt of Stew-arts Law, a London firm acting for six Britons, said: “The families and victims are taking action in the US courts to force One-Two-Go to prove that they are not a low-cost, low-safety airline.”

The American courts are involved because the Thai airline has business connections in the United States and the plane was made by McDonnell Doug-las, later bought by Boeing. The MD82 that crashed was first delivered to American Airlines in December 1983.

US lawyers intend to name Boeing in the lawsuits, along with One-Two-Go, its parent company Orient Thai Airlines and Grandmax Group, a company connected to them which leased the doomed aircraft.

The action will be closely watched in the London aviation insurance market because One-Two-Go and Orient Thai are insured by syndicates at Lloyd’s, plus other insurers.

Udom said the company had paid medical expenses and other costs for survivors and had settled claims in 26 cases.

“We, with our insurers, are trying to resolve the remaining claims as quickly and fairly as possible,” he added.

Yesterday Thai media reports said One-Two-Go is to cease flying “temporarily” due to cost pressures caused by oil prices and market conditions.

Additional reporting by Holly Groom

=========

I believe Ms Rind thinks Orient Thai should also close because it shares the same management and mode of operation.

[Ollie]

I think everyone should thank and applaud those challenging this shoddy tale of corruption and abuse from afar.

Little support was offered from within this sorry state of a corrupt society and it was clear it was hoped it would go away. They were ably supported by the state run media and others scared of upsetting the status quo, including ex-pats.

But sometimes, things have a momentum of there own and various forums, the Australian documentary and individuals prepared to risk livelihoods have all contributed to what could be the first of many changes forced upon this Countries rulers/elite if it is to retain the respect and support of the wider international community.

Its just been announced that statistically, for Brits, Thailand is one of the most unsafe Countries to visit, what else is around the corner?

[Robbie Dye]

They could change the name to One Thats Gone

How about one-two-gone

Nok will be next and we should all care, even Thai Air Asia appear to be getting themselves in to trouble. It is good for all of us who travel that the low cost airlines thrive, otherwise the big boys will just put the prices up even more !

[sibeymai]

Udom, you are about to get what you deserve. Don't think this ends here. It won't end until you are in prison. The US, UK and others will not let you run away. There is nowhere for you to go. The Thai government can not save you. Thai Airways will not be sacrificed for a piece of shit like you.

[b19bry]

"It is good for all of us who travel that the low cost airlines thrive"

Yeah, so long as they don't do that on the back of low safety, the fact that 'one two are gone' is reason for applause all round, the next one should be Orient Thai.

[Tango7]

What about Destination Air ? The Air Shuttle service that flies from Phuket to Phi Phi and other areas ? Anyone know about this one ? It's website is http://www.destinationair.com but not sure if it's legit or not. Will this or has this survived the fuel issue ?

[lapamita]

there is a 700 mio ç courtcaseagainst the airline in the us.. this is the mainreason and they would loose the courtcase, not in the ammount of 700 but maybe 200 or 300 mio usd.

i never understood why they get a licence,and i am happy they stopp operating,and i hope the next one who stopp is the mother company of oriental thai,,,,who is the same dangerous aiirline.

you know as well, that AIR ASIA PLC * airasia.com signed on planes) is not teh same like THAI AIR ASIA LTD.

wjat diffrent

airasia PLC, is a piblic company in malaysia with high capital and brand new fleet, thaiairasia is a LTD, with mostly up todaay old 737-300 aircrafts. and oriental thai ltd is a daughter of thaiairasia

why daughter companys and LTD bcs of respnsepility.

who you can see the diffrent of the planes from airaisa

1. malaysian airasia plc are signed with airasia.com..and fly a320,,, thaiairasia, wirte on the planes THAI AIR ASIA and until now fly 737-300 ( aprox 20yr old series)

[Johpa]

Udom, you are about to get what you deserve. Don't think this ends here. It won't end until you are in prison. The US, UK and others will not let you run away. There is nowhere for you to go. The Thai government can not save you. Thai Airways will not be sacrificed for a piece of s**t like you.

What does he deserve? He will never spend a day in prison. Maybe he won't be able to visit the US or the UK, but most HiSo Thais don't like visiting the US anyways. They will still be welcome throughout Southeast Asia and into China (note how his wife uses her Chinese name as head of the Grand Caymen based airplane leasing company) And if things get too hot they can always abscond to some luxury hotel-casino along the Cambodian border until things cool down a bit. And let's not even talk about Thai Airways, although, to their credit, despite their business incompetence does maintain some safety standards.