A New Low For Thai Airways

[yabaaaa]

I always steal all the razors, toothbrushes, combs and other goodies when I go to the toilet..............in business class, I usually manage to get at least 10 of each!! I like my money's worth and at 4-5 times the cost of economy rightly so!!

[hawthorne]

Throw her in jail and put the child up for adoption.

The common thief.

[NanLaew]

My observation based on the dozen or so blankets that I have lifted over a dozen or so years from a dozen or so airlines is, the quality is not there anymore. There's BA and KLM blankets from 10 years ago that still make excellent wraps for chilly evenings. The newer ones are smaller, thinner and despite being easier to hide, are not worth it.

[welbymd]

Hmm. Let's see. The lady in question could afford the ticket, but couldn't afford a blanket (50 baht) for her kid? Who has a baby and doesn't have a blanket, much less leave home without one.

[flightcrew1]

I always steal all the razors, toothbrushes, combs and other goodies when I go to the toilet..............in business class, I usually manage to get at least 10 of each!! I like my money's worth and at 4-5 times the cost of economy rightly so!!

And it's people like you who complain to me because there are no razors, toothbrushes and other toiletries in the toilet because someone like you has been selfish and instead of taking one each have selfishly stolen the whole lot before you managed to do so yourself. So next time you fly and you go to the toilet and their are no "goodies" to steal complain to your travel companion as they probably have taken the lot.

It's amazing what people try to take of the airplane. Toilet paper, sanitary napkins, pillows, life jackets, food trays, utensils and anything basically not nailed down. As flight attendants we are responsible for making sure what went out comes back. In the long run all it does is add on to the cost your airline ticket.

[smokie36]

Hmm. Let's see. The lady in question could afford the ticket, but couldn't afford a blanket (50 baht) for her kid? Who has a baby and doesn't have a blanket, much less leave home without one.

Add to this the need for 5 or 6 tugs to get the blanket back. The lady is a just a thief no matter her origin.

[Spoonman]

Throw her in jail and put the child up for adoption.

The common thief.

The blunt end of it all........... sucks don't it..................she is a thief after all.

[ExpatJ]

Thai airways was right, and the lady was wrong in this case (wrong, even if it she took the blanket by 'accident')

[needforspeed]

i always thought, these blankets are for personal use and given as present.

Spoon, fork and knife as well.

All thai gifts even as the lCD inflight system "Take Home"

Theft, but next time just let the police at the terminal taking care off her out off sign off other travelers.

[neverdie]

This is a typical Non event where somebody makes something of nothing. Big deal.

[PattayaParent]

No sympathy.

If people want to "nick" things, they should at least hide them properly. Why should all the other passengers behind the thief have to wait while she fumbles around, doubtless playing the sympathy card which you fell for.

If she had been allowed to steal the blanket, it might have been a life jacket next time.

The airline staff will be trained to handle every situation in the most appropriate manner, including attempted theft, and clearing arriving passengers from the plane in an orderly fashion so that it can be serviced in time for the scheduled departure.

She was getting onto a Thai Airways flight with a Thai Airways blanket so just how is that stealing?

Maybe she was going to leave it on the 'plane when she got off?

Maybe the stewardess on the previous flight told her to take it and return it later as her child was sleeping in it?

Maybe she was given it by someone else.

Maybe she did even take it with the intention of not returning it (ie. steal it) but don't you think the airline employees could have handled the situation better?

[PattayaParent]

I would have thought that a mother with babe in arms taking a very low value (almost disposable) blanket for her baby was akin to a malnourished street urchin 'stealing' a loaf of bread for their hungry sister. Hardly a thief, I'd have thought.

Are you Australian by any chance?

[davee58]

She was getting onto a Thai Airways flight with a Thai Airways blanket so just how is that stealing?

The OP said that the plane had arrived at the gate, and as he was heading for the (plane) exit, a woman (who had been sitting) in front of him joined the aisle in front of him.

They were getting off the Thai flight in Delhi.

Edited May 22, 2010 by davee58

[Blackberry9700]

i always thought, these blankets are for personal use and given as present.

LOL How many TG blankets do you have till now?

[bunta71]

I always steal all the razors, toothbrushes, combs and other goodies when I go to the toilet..............in business class, I usually manage to get at least 10 of each!! I like my money's worth and at 4-5 times the cost of economy rightly so!!

And it's people like you who complain to me because there are no razors, toothbrushes and other toiletries in the toilet because someone like you has been selfish and instead of taking one each have selfishly stolen the whole lot before you managed to do so yourself. So next time you fly and you go to the toilet and their are no "goodies" to steal complain to your travel companion as they probably have taken the lot.

It's amazing what people try to take of the airplane. Toilet paper, sanitary napkins, pillows, life jackets, food trays, utensils and anything basically not nailed down. As flight attendants we are responsible for making sure what went out comes back. In the long run all it does is add on to the cost your airline ticket.

Perhaps Flight Crew 1 could enlighten us with whether or not some airlines give the blankets away? I always thought not but maybe this flight crew person has some insight

[h90]

she is a thief.....

[KunMatt]

OP, you messed up! If you wanted people to agree with you then you should have posted your story from the flight attendants point of view then I bet EVRYONE would have replied in defense of the mother. There is no winning on this board, whatever perspective you write from you will get grief, I'm surprised that anyone still dares post anything and I'm sure that everyone will realise soon enough that it's not worth it anymore.

This board really is just full of miserable old gits with nothing better to do than flame every single thread.

[ALFREDO]

Common sense-I think that is the right name,

would let the lady with the child walk-with the blanket, when it was obvious, that the child is wrapped in the blanket and sleeping.

Insisting of the Thai A. staff to get the blanket back, also with the good possibility to wake up the child-with a follow up of a minutes long crying session,

was under that circumstances rude behaviour!

Edited May 26, 2010 by ALFREDO

[Payboy]

50 Baht

Thai Airways

Should be at least 5000 Baht per blanket.

[SomTumTiger]

This is a typical Non event where somebody makes something of nothing. Big deal.

spot on

[up-country_sinclair]

The flight crew were well within their rights to reclaim the blanket, but as the OP described it, they were far too rough in doing so.

[DLock]

"Clearly the mother was not fast enough and so the Purser and flight attendants both yanked as hard as they could to retrieve their precious blanket.

5-6 exhaustive yanks later they held it triumphantly in their hands.

The poor woman was almost knocked of her feet with the force they exerted and the baby was left in a very distressed state upon being disturbed so violently from slumber....

...Now, clearly the whole incident troubled me, but what troubled me also was the fact that if this passenger had been Thai, SE Asian or Caucasian they would have let it go without such a drama. But the mother was Indian and that smacks of racism."

Clearly, your account of this incident was clouded by those little FREE bottles of in-flight whisky.

The hypothetical claims of racism add significant credibility to your "story".

Simply put, this didn't happen the way you suggest...although you seem to have plenty of believers.

[jayjayjayjay]

Why does this stink of racism. I think your the racist perpetrator here in making the assumption. During your description of the incidence I did not visualize the nationality of the person. Did one of the attendants tell you they would have let a Caucasian, Thai or Asian person take the blanket with them.

[Huey]

Thats really F'ing ignorant. The attendant could have offered to help hold the child, or given her more time to gently remove the blanket.

[Arjay]

And did you hear? Thai Airways make the top 10 Airlines list this year! lol

Thai SUCKS! They manipulate extra baggage charges on code share flights. In other words they add extra baggage charges on code share flights when the ticket is on another carrier that allows more baggage.

[JetsetBkk]

i always thought, these blankets are for personal use and given as present.

LOL How many TG blankets do you have till now?

Only a couple. I thought they were free like the little bag of goodies you get in business class.

Ooops.

[glassdude007]

if you read the bag when opening the blankets on Thai airways it states that they are property of the airline.....

sounds like the crew was just doing there job to me....

maybe there was an a hole supervisor on the flight checking blanket inventory on board who knows???

wonder if the Indian lady stole the head phones too ????

[richard_smith237]

I know plenty of TG flight attendants and one of the things that seems quite common is the fact that they dislike the India flights.

I think they just get 'India'd out'... I'm told there are a lot of requests, demands and the flight is generally a lot more hassle than other regional flights: Dubai, Singapore or Vietnam etc...

It seems that each nationality have created their own inflight stereotypes and unfortunately the Indian one is not a positive one. It's my guess that this unprofessional flight attendant was at the end of her tether.

The flights to mainland China also have a reputation for being more tiring than other regional flights. Flights to Pakistan are known as some of the worst. I've been told the passengers are often verbally aggressive and abusive.

When combined with what I have seen over here as a general negative stereotype of Indians I'd guess that a Chinese woman would not be treated in the same manner quite so quickly. Of course I have no proof of this.

IMO suggesting that this response from the TG flight attendant contains elements of racism is not such a stretch. A lot more effort could have been made to handle the situation more delicately.

I rarely see the flight attendants telling business men to sit down or to turn their phones off while the plane is taxiing.

In addition to the above comment: The flight attendants have to deal with an awful lot of crap, I'm often amazed at how they hold it together regardless of it being their job to do so.

[needforspeed]

"Clearly the mother was not fast enough and so the Purser and flight attendants both yanked as hard as they could to retrieve their precious blanket.

5-6 exhaustive yanks later they held it triumphantly in their hands.

The poor woman was almost knocked of her feet with the force they exerted and the baby was left in a very distressed state upon being disturbed so violently from slumber....

...Now, clearly the whole incident troubled me, but what troubled me also was the fact that if this passenger had been Thai, SE Asian or Caucasian they would have let it go without such a drama. But the mother was Indian and that smacks of racism."

Clearly, your account of this incident was clouded by those little FREE bottles of in-flight whisky.

The hypothetical claims of racism add significant credibility to your "story".

Simply put, this didn't happen the way you suggest...although you seem to have plenty of believers.

But what troubled me also was the fact that if this passenger had been Thai, SE Asian or Caucasian they would

have let it go without such a drame. But the mother was Indian and that smacks of racism.

First of al , how you know did you saw the same event happening with Thai or SE Asian people?

If a mother try to steal something and the airline crew taking there belongings back and she is Indian you call this act racism, but if she was Thai or SE Asian you proberly call it justice.

People with this point of vieuw live in the wrong world.

Edited May 28, 2010 by needforspeed

[phetaroi]

And it's people like you who complain to me because there are no razors, toothbrushes and other toiletries in the toilet because someone like you has been selfish and instead of taking one each have selfishly stolen the whole lot before you managed to do so yourself. So next time you fly and you go to the toilet and their are no "goodies" to steal complain to your travel companion as they probably have taken the lot.

It's amazing what people try to take of the airplane. Toilet paper, sanitary napkins, pillows, life jackets, food trays, utensils and anything basically not nailed down. As flight attendants we are responsible for making sure what went out comes back. In the long run all it does is add on to the cost your airline ticket.

You and I have sparred on a few issues in the past, but I think you're right on target here.

Stealing is stealing. Period. Inconveniencing others is selfish. Period.

If I wanted a blanket, I'd ask about it. I wouldn't just take it.

I am reminded of the school where I was principal back in Virginia. I would be stunned the way a few teachers would practically ransack the room of any teacher permanently leaving at the end of the school year. And this is a school where we bought teachers almost anything they wanted. It was some sort of hoarding psychology I just never understood.

I have a lot of problems with the way some American carriers herd passengers and treat them with little courtesy. But I am just as appalled at the way some passengers act toward flight attendants and even other passengers. No matter what the role, people ought to treat others with a little dignity and maintain a sense of morality and legality.