Thai Airways International Confident Of Competitive Edge With Six Airbus 380S

[webfact]

National carrier confident of competitive edge with six Airbus 380s

BANGKOK, Sept 25 - Thai Airways International (THAI) will become more competitive in the international aviation business when its new fleet of six Airbus A380s is delivered to the national flag carrier—beginning Wednesday, a senior THAI executive said today.

Chokechai Panyayong, THAI acting chief executive officer, said the first Airbus A380 will fly from Bangkok to Hong Kong and Singapore. The second superjumbo which has yet to be delivered will take the European route including the German port city of Frankfurt.

THAI will eventually have a total of six A380s, each with a capacity of 507 passengers. He said the A380s will strengthen national flag carrier’s operations and play a vital role in its strategy to compete with other airlines next year.

He expressed confidence that THAI will grow steadily in the next three years, saying the A380s will increase its passenger-load by 30 per cent. The six aircraft will be adequate for THAI to compete in the aviation industry in the next 4-5 years, Mr Chokechai said.

He added that the European economic crisis will have a slight impact on THAI’s operations which currently see a cabin factor of 75 per cent. Questioned regarding the carrier’s reputation as a high-end airline, he admitted that ticket prices may have to be reduced to be more competitive. (MCOT online news)

-- TNA 2012-09-25

[geriatrickid]

umm, not to pee on the parade, but TG's pricing is often non competitive.

As well, TG has developed a terrible rep for what I call bait and switch, and frequent flyer blogs call getting TGed. Basically it involves booking on an updated plane and discovering when you get to the airport that you will be stuck on one of the dilapidated clunkers such as the B747 series that offer 2 channels on a tiny IFE system in J/F and a shared burnt out videoscreen in cattle class. TG has burnt alot of PAX over the years and has not managed its capacity domestically to the point of being seen by some <deleted> as a manipulative gouger. Imagine paying for First and getting into a cabin and seeing well worn equipment that dates back what seems to be at least 20 years.

I like the airline,and it does some things better than others, but I have given it a pass on many international flights because it just isn't competitive. I wish it all the best on the road to recovery.

Edited September 25, 2012 by geriatrickid

[WilliaminBKK]

I agree on the competitive front often Ex-BKK they are not competitive at first glance, however they are from most points in Europe to BKK especially in J/F class and the A380 will help. Keep in mind they are also dependent on feed intra Asia so they do discount say HKG-LHR before they will discount BKK-LHR in order to fill the flight from HKG. They need to hurry up and have a consistent product in F class and J class, why on earth they are not doing full flat in J class across the board is beyond me.

Where the A380 should help is on the NRT run, all of those Star Alliance bums arriving in NRT will opt to fly the A380 over UA or ANA without doubt.

I'm looking forward to flying aboard the big bird.

[alant]

I like Thai but regrettably they don't look like planning the 380 on the London route. With carriers like Etihad offering very good service at fair prices I don't know if they will regain my custom yet, I hope so.

[madmitch]

I was quite surprised to see the A380 earmarked for medium haul flights, i.e. Singapore and Hong Kong.

I am no aviation expert so would like to hear opinions on the use of such an aircraft on this type of route.

Could it be to appeal to passengers in those cities to use Thai for long haul flights via BKK?

Edited September 25, 2012 by madmitch

[WilliaminBKK]

I like Thai but regrettably they don't look like planning the 380 on the London route. With carriers like Etihad offering very good service at fair prices I don't know if they will regain my custom yet, I hope so.

Frankfurt first then Paris, we can only hope things pick up (economy/tourism) & they lower rates to/from LHR. The problem with London are the Heathrow slots.......currently running two A340's two flights a day with 267 seats per flight replacing a 507 seater will take a lot. They really cannot afford to give up one slot in order to accommodate the A380 sadly. I am willing to do FRA then into LCY or even CDG and the Eurostar just to check it out.

[WilliaminBKK]

I was quite surprised to see the A380 earmarked for medium haul flights, i.e. Singapore and Hong Kong.

I am no aviation expert so would like to hear opinions on the use of such an aircraft on this type of route.

Could it be to appeal to passengers in those cities to use Thai for long haul flights via BKK?

It is cheaper to ramp up the flight crew hours on short turns vs flight simulator time. It's a short term solution to a costly training regime. I am not suggesting the crews are not trained but they must have X number of hours to land at certain airports.

[loumaripol]

I was quite surprised to see the A380 earmarked for medium haul flights, i.e. Singapore and Hong Kong.

I am no aviation expert so would like to hear opinions on the use of such an aircraft on this type of route.

Could it be to appeal to passengers in those cities to use Thai for long haul flights via BKK?

Good mornning Mitch,

I am retired from UA. Airlines us short to medium haul routes for the introduction of new aircraft in their fleets. Think of them as operational proving routes. The help the airline get experience with the new type, and offer more hands on experience for the technicians and crews that will be working with the aircraft. There are a number of recent examples: ANA introduced its B787-900 on domestic and medium haul regional flights, LAN Chile is doing the same.

[jerrysteve]

THE 6 Airbuses have nothing to do with competitve edges. Pricing and services does. From my point of view, they have always been over priced.

It is will take more than 6 380S AIRBUSES to give them a competitive edge.

[ezflip]

I was quite surprised to see the A380 earmarked for medium haul flights, i.e. Singapore and Hong Kong.

I am no aviation expert so would like to hear opinions on the use of such an aircraft on this type of route.

Could it be to appeal to passengers in those cities to use Thai for long haul flights via BKK?

Not really a surprise as the BKK - HKG route is often filled up to the max. Most times that I flew this route, the biz section was full.

And, as mentioned before, it's valuable experience for the all the support crews when dealing with a new type of aircraft.

But, I have to wonder if the BKK airport offers 2 deck gangways (like in Singapore) or single gangways. 500+ passengers is a lot to off load. Also means longer immgration lines. As if they did not have enough problems already with that front.

[WilliaminBKK]

I was quite surprised to see the A380 earmarked for medium haul flights, i.e. Singapore and Hong Kong.

I am no aviation expert so would like to hear opinions on the use of such an aircraft on this type of route.

Could it be to appeal to passengers in those cities to use Thai for long haul flights via BKK?

Not really a surprise as the BKK - HKG route is often filled up to the max. Most times that I flew this route, the biz section was full.

And, as mentioned before, it's valuable experience for the all the support crews when dealing with a new type of aircraft.

But, I have to wonder if the BKK airport offers 2 deck gangways (like in Singapore) or single gangways. 500+ passengers is a lot to off load. Also means longer immgration lines. As if they did not have enough problems already with that front.

Yes it will be two airbridges the same as Emirates uses in E concourse. Not the same as Heathrow where everyone enters the same area post final document and boarding pass you go left or right for your airbridge upper deck with an incline, this will be on the terminal side where everyone will be called and lower deck will say enter a normal airbridge and upper deck will walk another 20 metres and that airbridge will be hoisted up to the upper deck. Think of it like using two gates to load the bird.

Same same on inbound, good news is there will never be any infield deplaning of an A380

[hbullinger]

Interesting that TG want to fly their new A 380s to the "German port city of Frankfurt". If the pilots are looking for the seaside on their route into Germany they may end up in Hamburg or Bremen. Or has global warming caused the sea level t rise so much that the North Sea has reached Frankfurt?

[baboon]

Interesting that TG want to fly their new A 380s to the "German port city of Frankfurt". If the pilots are looking for the seaside on their route into Germany they may end up in Hamburg or Bremen. Or has global warming caused the sea level t rise so much that the North Sea has reached Frankfurt?

They are lovely people to be sure, but geography is not their strongest point. I am yet to meet a Thai who can show me Germany on a map, let alone the port city of Frankfurt...

[ricardofel]

Haven't flown Thai in years and never will again due to their HIGH pricing....often 50% higher than the competition.

[bkk_mike]

I was quite surprised to see the A380 earmarked for medium haul flights, i.e. Singapore and Hong Kong.

I am no aviation expert so would like to hear opinions on the use of such an aircraft on this type of route.

Could it be to appeal to passengers in those cities to use Thai for long haul flights via BKK?

Hong Kong is one route where the competition (Emirates) is already flying an A380. It's also a route where the 747s with no IFE are being used,

The sooner they stop flying internationally with no IFE (i.e. retire the 747s, or refurbish their interiors), the sooner they'll regain their premium reputation.

[inthefareast]

Thai Airways is one of the most overrated airlines in the world. There pricing is a joke and there fleet is outdated.

Edited September 25, 2012 by inthefareast

[dddave]

The BKK-HKG is one of the worlds busiest and most profitable routes, no surprise TG want's to get an edge on that one.

That route has one of the highest percentages of business class bookings in the last 72 hours before departure..full fare...no discount.

Frankfurt's designation of a "port" is because it is the EU's biggest air cargo Port of Entry.

I guess some people just love crowds. I for one have no desire to fly a 380 and be one of 500 hitting Immigration like a Bay of Fundy tidal wave.

[sangfroid]

umm, not to pee on the parade, but TG's pricing is often non competitive.

As well, TG has developed a terrible rep for what I call bait and switch, and frequent flyer blogs call getting TGed. Basically it involves booking on an updated plane and discovering when you get to the airport that you will be stuck on one of the dilapidated clunkers such as the B747 series that offer 2 channels on a tiny IFE system in J/F and a shared burnt out videoscreen in cattle class. TG has burnt alot of PAX over the years and has not managed its capacity domestically to the point of being seen by some <deleted> as a manipulative gouger. Imagine paying for First and getting into a cabin and seeing well worn equipment that dates back what seems to be at least 20 years.

I like the airline,and it does some things better than others, but I have given it a pass on many international flights because it just isn't competitive. I wish it all the best on the road to recovery.

+1

[sangfroid]

Thai Airways is one of the most overrated airlines in the world. There pricing is a joke and there fleet is outdated.

+1

[asiawatcher]

THE 6 Airbuses have nothing to do with competitve edges. Pricing and services does. From my point of view, they have always been over priced.

It is will take more than 6 380S AIRBUSES to give them a competitive edge.

... and the quality of service that continually won awards in the past is now 3rd rate. Late departure and arrivals (check flightstats.com) and inflight "everything" - on present aircraft well below average maintenance requirements. I even had a folding screen on an arm at an exit row held together with gaffer tape, only to find once i was able to prop it up, the sound only worked on one channel. Food is cheap fillers and only the smile from the crew still works - even is there from embarrassment. And the pricing does not make it worthwhile against airlines like Asiana, Emirates etc. This is well down my preferred list to fly.

[drdoom6996]

I was quite surprised to see the A380 earmarked for medium haul flights, i.e. Singapore and Hong Kong.

I am no aviation expert so would like to hear opinions on the use of such an aircraft on this type of route.

Could it be to appeal to passengers in those cities to use Thai for long haul flights via BKK?

I have flown on TG from BKK to Jakarta and back twice this year with 3 more flights planned. Each time the flight was completely booked. I can imagine they are looking at the amount of passengers the plane can carry, as well as the distance the plane can fly.

[nowork114]

They forget to add that five of the A380s will be used for Parliament study trips to developed countries and the remaining one will keep taxing around terminal so everyone can see THAIs new fleet ...

[jimbeam1]

He added that the European economic crisis will have a slight impact on THAI’s operations which currently see a cabin factor of 75 per cent.

So why do they need much larger aircraft?

jb1

[lubbkis]

I am retired from UA. Airlines us short to medium haul routes for the introduction of new aircraft in their fleets. Think of them as operational proving routes. The help the airline get experience with the new type, and offer more hands on experience for the technicians and crews that will be working with the aircraft. There are a number of recent examples: ANA introduced its B787-900 on domestic and medium haul regional flights, LAN Chile is doing the same.

It's true some airlines do this. ANA have been running the 787 domestically, but they were on a route to Europe last night.

Singapore now has three A380 slots a day into LHR and is asking for a fourth slot. adding A380 slots is not too simple as the A380 should have 10 miles separation viz-a-viz 5 for a B747 and two for an A320.

But it seems that "who dares;wins" as my SIA miles are now expiring.

I bought tickets on Thai from codeshare Swiss recently. No possibility of using my M&M airmiles for an upgrade, though I have plenty and there were empty biz seats. I was promised a new A340 but ended up in an ageing B747 with an in-flight movie on Grand Central New York. The last thing I need to know about is rail travel in North America! Bait and switch is a dirty game but only a "white lie".

My previous flight on Thai was just after the Tsunami; my next? Go figure.

Edited September 25, 2012 by lubbkis

[bigbamboo]

umm, not to pee on the parade, but TG's pricing is often non competitive.

As well, TG has developed a terrible rep for what I call bait and switch, and frequent flyer blogs call getting TGed. Basically it involves booking on an updated plane and discovering when you get to the airport that you will be stuck on one of the dilapidated clunkers such as the B747 series that offer 2 channels on a tiny IFE system in J/F and a shared burnt out videoscreen in cattle class. TG has burnt alot of PAX over the years and has not managed its capacity domestically to the point of being seen by some <deleted> as a manipulative gouger. Imagine paying for First and getting into a cabin and seeing well worn equipment that dates back what seems to be at least 20 years.

I like the airline,and it does some things better than others, but I have given it a pass on many international flights because it just isn't competitive. I wish it all the best on the road to recovery.

Can't disagree with any of that.

I have flown the THAI Chiang Mai/Heathrow route both alone and with my family for years because of the convenience even though it was always more expensive than the competition. However the margins have increased over time not to mention the much higher fares charged when the ticket originates in Thailand.

Although THAI's service is good their planes aren't. Lauda Air warrants a special mention as we made up ninety minutes lost on a flight to BKK once. I think Niki must have been flying the thing himself that night!

[nong38]

Interesting that TG want to fly their new A 380s to the "German port city of Frankfurt". If the pilots are looking for the seaside on their route into Germany they may end up in Hamburg or Bremen. Or has global warming caused the sea level t rise so much that the North Sea has reached Frankfurt?

They are lovely people to be sure, but geography is not their strongest point. I am yet to meet a Thai who can show me Germany on a map, let alone the port city of Frankfurt...

I must go to the port city of Frankfurt, do they have floods a swell?

[nong38]

This competetive edge is not maybe what you think. We all look to see who is charging what then weigh up the cost, flight time, reputation, IFE, food drinks etc. I dont Thai do that. Many Thai government officials fly free with Thai so they already have a fair few bums on the seats, the costs run around the different departments, so they can come up with whatever figure they want, whats left over thy charge what they think take it or leave it.

In case you are wondering, a Thai Senator told me about the free travel and by the way duty free restrictions dont apply either.............its a game of 2 halves and if you choose to travel you subsidise the other.

Can you Imagine the original Star Trek............."its economics Jim, but not as we know it"

[fish fingers]

Just how old are those 747's on the London route? And the A346 is cramped.. I like direct but was thinking to try Emirates this time. Has anyone used EVA (direct to BKK), if so how are they?

[baboon]

Just how old are those 747's on the London route? And the A346 is cramped.. I like direct but was thinking to try Emirates this time. Has anyone used EVA (direct to BKK), if so how are they?

I have never used EVA, but Emirates are very good indeed. Give them a try....

[fish fingers]

Good to hear. Emirates are v good value and I think fly the A380 on both legs. If I was to fly direct I'm fed up with Thai and BA's old planes, so that only leaves Quantas and Eva.

Done my online research; Eva seem to get good reviews, new planes and pleasant experience but v occasionally cancel flights and you only get one full meal on the 11 hr flight, plus the bar isn't generous.