Thai Air Vs Air Asia Observations

[spacemand]

I arrived at 2 am and had an onward domestic flight with TG at 6:15 AM what I saw surpised me a lot.

3:30AM AirAsia started to open their counters for flights on the TG side there were 2 guys sleeping behind the counters.

04:00 I were milling around in the TG area to unload my bag so I did not have to carry it around and since their first flight is a 06:05 I assumed they would be open, the board showed that my flight were open for checkin.

04:15 2 hours before my flight 100's and 100's of people at FD's counters TG dead except for around 15-20 people looking around trying to figure where to check in.

04:30 I am starting to think is TG on strike or what is happening the airport is buzzing FD is overflowing with people trying to check in long lines and row AB is dead except for the 2 sleeping guys and a handful of passengers looking around for a place to check in.

04:45 TG staff shows up to check in passengers and I got checked in for my flight which turned out to be 60-70% full.

The TG domestic flight is about the same as as FD flight if you count in booking fees, bagage fees and so on but been the national carrier I expected more. I did not expect that my flight showed as checkin on the board and then for another 45 minutes the checkin area were a wasteland with no TG staff.

[msg362]

Not quite sure what you are trying to say. Is it that TG is sloppy and lazy and the AA is organised or is it that there were too many people trying to fly with AA? We've just come back from Krabi to CM using AA flights with a change at BKK. ( Wish they would do through baggage tho') Very impressed, on time organised, no problems at all and CHEAPER than TG or Bangkok Air to Krabi , about 50% cheaper!

[PattayaParent]

^I think he's saying that there's less demand for TG so their staff spend most of their time sleeping and coming to work late whereas a busy airline works hard to accommodate it's passengers..

[Rooo]

TG counters always open around 5 am, at least that's what they told me.

[Ricardo]

Another way of viewing this experience,might be to say that TG lets you check-in much later, than Air Asia force you to ?

[PattayaParent]

Or that Air asia are fully aware of the problems with immigration queues and are providing an extended service to their passengers to ensure that they don't miss their flights whereas TG just don't care?

[cardholder]

Another way of viewing this experience,might be to say that TG lets you check-in much later, than Air Asia force you to ?

That would be a somewhat myopic view.

[HidyHo]

For Int'l flights, I do not support TG anymore. There isn't much bang for the buck. They aren't that much cheaper than Singapore Airline so if I can't get Air Asia for cheap flights, I just hop on Singapore Air which provide much better plane, food and service for slightly higher cost than TG.

I rarely experienced good and friendly service by TG flight attendants whereas I rarely experience bad service by SG flight attendants. Air Asia services are OK and I generally have a lot lower expectation from them due to cost difference.

I fly from SIN to BKK every two weeks or so and few times a year from SIN to SFO on SG.

Edited April 11, 2012 by HidyHo