Resignation of Thai Airways' president no shock as dark skies loom

[ginjag]

Feedback time Thai Airways, MOST of the posters WERE Thai passengers from way back can you understand why they are not now---read the posters remarks, they are not bashing Thailand they are raising their personal feelings on the service provided, overall EXPENSIVE- BADLY RUN- MORE UPDATES NEEDED.

The seating on all -1st -- Business-- economy --sub standard compared to other major carriers.

There is a frequent flyer website with a fantastic forum. I suggest you check it out and read some of the very detailed discussions of the problems with United, American, SAS, Air France, BA etc. The UA FF's are on a warpath to get the head of the UA chairman Smisek, who seems to be the most hated CEO of an airline. My point being, that whatever the faults are of TG, it is still head and shoulders above most US and EU airlines judging from the comments of people who log 50,000 miles + in any given year.

I was on an ANA business class flight on the NRT-BKK corridor and the meal of minced stewed hamburger, made me long for anything from TG. The last flight on UA I was offered dried out shrimp and noodles as my meal in J class. Again, anything from TG would have been better. The seat pitch and personal space of TG premium classes still beats most of its competitors If you want to experience a cramped coffin, try UA business class on a B777 with 2-4-2 seating. Even worse is the new high density business class seats being introduced by Swiss, LH and AC. Everyone loves the middle eastern airlines until there's an IROPs situation or worse an outbreak of an infectious disease on their routes.

Very nicely painted picture of all other airlines being bad and Thai Airways the bees knees. Well you are in the minority as usual but even your well thought posts are not the norm of the majority. (after the top job at Thai are we ??)

[Watertoy]

Greed and Ego's destroy businesses eventually. If Thai airways (and/or any other business) simply start out with low Profit Margins then they would retain customers and competitors would be minimised. Business Models are not easy as start-up costs are high and then the on-going development of the business continues to grow which causes high operating costs, however other airlines seem to do more with less and i travel Business Class on another Airline cheaper than a discounted Economy Class on Thai Airways.

[BusyB]

1.5% profit on those prices! Makes you wonder where it all goes. I seem to remember this guy being touted as "one of the boys" - and being brought in to replace someone who had actually produced results, though presumably he'd enacted changes that didn't go down too well with the boys.

[Costas2008]

PaullyW, on 23 Dec 2013 - 09:20, said:

MaiChai, on 23 Dec 2013 - 06:44, said:

Middle eastern airlines have cheap fuel, plus invariably employ staff from cheap countries. 710 new aircraft? Hope alot of these are fuel efficient Dreamliners? Tough call for Thai. Anyone got good ideas for them?

Perhaps most simply THAI could bring in talent from outside Thailand to 'shake things up' a bit. Most other competitive airlines do so in their exec lineups.

But....they are getting Wi-Fi....what else do you want?

[harada]

Perhaps its time for a name change Hi So Shuttle sounds catchy.

[KOZMO]

The only reason I flew Thai was the direct flight from L. A. to Bangkok. Yes it was 3-400 dollars more, but I liked no stops. Now that is gone and so is my use for them. American and Korean Airlines have the best cost from VPS- FT. WALTON BEACH, FL./EGLIN AFB. TO BANGKOK. Now Thai only flies 4 days a week out of LA. Still have a few illiterate Essan Thais that are afraid to fly anything else but Thai because of language and intellect problems.

[SOTIRIOS]

..can anyone find the details of his 'settlement package'......it is probably equal to 20 years' salary.....

[rreddin]

Thai airways is no different from any other National flag carrying airline.

They all go bust every once in a while and the government props them up with taxpayers money or protects the most profitable trunk routes.

Most American airlines have gone bust but are now merging which doubles their debt and ageing fleets. (yankee economics)....print money.

Most European carriers went bust years ago but still operate because they are protected.

Thai airways will go bust but continue to operate because of taxpayer generosity.

HI-SO people travel free or on discounted 1st class tickets. This will never stop. Its their airline.

farangs sit down the back in economy class with their poor Isan wives and subsides the crooks sitting up front.

Welcome to scam airlines.

I no longer use Thai Airways for anything but internal flights, and soon they will have competition on that route. The truth is they are overpriced, delayed updating their fleet for too long and are uncompetitive. These are characteristics of a State owned airline. Nothing will change until they are 100% privatized.

[stoli]

Middle eastern airlines have cheap fuel, plus invariably employ staff from cheap countries. 710 new aircraft? Hope alot of these are fuel efficient Dreamliners? Tough call for Thai. Anyone got good ideas for them?

I believe the article mentioned 17 aircraft.

THAI this year took delivery of 17 new air?craft

Edited December 23, 2013 by stoli

[ricardofel]

Thai Airways deserves everything it gets. Inflated pricing, poor customer service....we never fly them and never will!

[khrab]

Middle eastern airlines have cheap fuel, ......

Sorry, they don't.

Planes need kerosine and the is no gulf state that has such a refinery to make. All the "oil countries" have to buy their jet fuel at market prices.

[Torrens54]

Just wondering if, as part of his severance package, you know the "Gold Pass" a Squillion Baht in the Bank etc., will he also be given a large can of Black Paint so he can paint out a few more TG Logos on their bogged or otherwise useless aircraft as a parting gesture?

[kannot]

A former ACM - fat like a pig - said it 20 years ago already, "Thai sucks".

Well, nothing learnt over a generation. I - for one - choose anything but Thai if available. Dirty aircraft, rude staff all the way from check-in to lost-luggage at the other end and a very own interpretation of punctuality.

Get the Ministry of Finance to sell their 70%, get the government staff to pay the normal fare (and pick their airline of choice) and then things might, repeat might, get better - also helpful would be to look for experts and not always list "Thai Nationals only". Latter has been proof enough for incompetence and malgovernance all the way. Sony runs by a non-Japanese and if you want to have a truly proud flag carrier of the Thai flag then opt for the best candidate and give him/her the tools to run the show. Pathetic!

I prefer Emirates for my trips to Aus, but price counts also

I am going on Thai in 2 weeks with a 14000 savings compared to other airlines

I have never had bad service with Thai, always happy to help me.

On the other hand Qantas is not even in the race, old hags giving piss poor service, and Sydney check in ha.

I used Emirates for 7 years, business class, the service deteriorated so much I dumped them, I complained several times...............they couldnt give a flying fart about their customers.

The last trip I ordered a chicken meal and an hour later they said they had none ( so why bother asking when you board), asked for pineapple juice and it didnt arrive for 20+ minutes and I had to remind them. At £2.5 grand a trip its not what you want when they offer a "premium" ( joke) service

[ozyjon]

I remember flying Thai Airways many times but now i remember Thai being off the radar when i search for flights,, they are getting very expensive so i choose other carriers, interesting to see what happens in the future with excellent carriers like Ethihad and Emirates, also interesting to see Virgin ads offering free food and drinks on their flights,, is this a new push amongst carriers? I hope so,, make the flights cheaper (as i fly a lot) and the hostesses nicer (not Qantas) they are ugly.

[geriatrickid]

Feedback time Thai Airways, MOST of the posters WERE Thai passengers from way back can you understand why they are not now---read the posters remarks, they are not bashing Thailand they are raising their personal feelings on the service provided, overall EXPENSIVE- BADLY RUN- MORE UPDATES NEEDED.

The seating on all -1st -- Business-- economy --sub standard compared to other major carriers.

There is a frequent flyer website with a fantastic forum. I suggest you check it out and read some of the very detailed discussions of the problems with United, American, SAS, Air France, BA etc. The UA FF's are on a warpath to get the head of the UA chairman Smisek, who seems to be the most hated CEO of an airline. My point being, that whatever the faults are of TG, it is still head and shoulders above most US and EU airlines judging from the comments of people who log 50,000 miles + in any given year.

I was on an ANA business class flight on the NRT-BKK corridor and the meal of minced stewed hamburger, made me long for anything from TG. The last flight on UA I was offered dried out shrimp and noodles as my meal in J class. Again, anything from TG would have been better. The seat pitch and personal space of TG premium classes still beats most of its competitors If you want to experience a cramped coffin, try UA business class on a B777 with 2-4-2 seating. Even worse is the new high density business class seats being introduced by Swiss, LH and AC. Everyone loves the middle eastern airlines until there's an IROPs situation or worse an outbreak of an infectious disease on their routes.

Very nicely painted picture of all other airlines being bad and Thai Airways the bees knees. Well you are in the minority as usual but even your well thought posts are not the norm of the majority. (after the top job at Thai are we ??)

No just a FF who has experienced enough to appreciate that while TG may not be the best, it delivers on service, F&B and seating when compared to many of the world's largest airlines. SQ used to be much better as was BA, so TG's issues are not an isolated issue. I love EVA, and despise most of the North American airlines. I dislike TG's domestic service, but I still prefer it to FB and the garbage on offer in the EU and NA.

[geriatrickid]

I remember flying Thai Airways many times but now i remember Thai being off the radar when i search for flights,, they are getting very expensive so i choose other carriers, interesting to see what happens in the future with excellent carriers like Ethihad and Emirates, also interesting to see Virgin ads offering free food and drinks on their flights,, is this a new push amongst carriers? I hope so,, make the flights cheaper (as i fly a lot) and the hostesses nicer (not Qantas) they are ugly.

Ok, you want cheap prices, fine. then don't complain when you get a seat and service reflective of the cheap price.

There are no such things as hostesses on a plane. They are flight attendants and their first responsibility is to ensure the safety of the pax. If you want a big boobed bimbo to massage your tootsies, you won't find it on an airplane. Just imagine if most of the males whinging about the sexiness of the female FAs had the roles reversed and the guys were judged on their appearances.

Ever notice how filthy the lavs get on a flight? It's not the FA's who pee on the floor and the toilet seat. It's not the FAs who leave a turd smeared in the toilet bowl or who block the toilets. It's not the FAs who get drunk and disorderly on the flights or who hog the overhead bins because they try to cram multiple carry ons into the limited space. It's not the FAs who are morbidly obese and who's blubber overlaps the seat. It's not the FAs who have panic attacks or get into fights with other pax. It's not the airline's fault when pax can't respect boarding procedures etc. etc. Much of the discomfort on airllines today is because of the quality of the people flying.

[ginjag]

Feedback time Thai Airways, MOST of the posters WERE Thai passengers from way back can you understand why they are not now---read the posters remarks, they are not bashing Thailand they are raising their personal feelings on the service provided, overall EXPENSIVE- BADLY RUN- MORE UPDATES NEEDED.

The seating on all -1st -- Business-- economy --sub standard compared to other major carriers.

There is a frequent flyer website with a fantastic forum. I suggest you check it out and read some of the very detailed discussions of the problems with United, American, SAS, Air France, BA etc. The UA FF's are on a warpath to get the head of the UA chairman Smisek, who seems to be the most hated CEO of an airline. My point being, that whatever the faults are of TG, it is still head and shoulders above most US and EU airlines judging from the comments of people who log 50,000 miles + in any given year.

I was on an ANA business class flight on the NRT-BKK corridor and the meal of minced stewed hamburger, made me long for anything from TG. The last flight on UA I was offered dried out shrimp and noodles as my meal in J class. Again, anything from TG would have been better. The seat pitch and personal space of TG premium classes still beats most of its competitors If you want to experience a cramped coffin, try UA business class on a B777 with 2-4-2 seating. Even worse is the new high density business class seats being introduced by Swiss, LH and AC. Everyone loves the middle eastern airlines until there's an IROPs situation or worse an outbreak of an infectious disease on their routes.

Very nicely painted picture of all other airlines being bad and Thai Airways the bees knees. Well you are in the minority as usual but even your well thought posts are not the norm of the majority. (after the top job at Thai are we ??)

No just a FF who has experienced enough to appreciate that while TG may not be the best, it delivers on service, F&B and seating when compared to many of the world's largest airlines. SQ used to be much better as was BA, so TG's issues are not an isolated issue. I love EVA, and despise most of the North American airlines. I dislike TG's domestic service, but I still prefer it to FB and the garbage on offer in the EU and NA.

Thai Smile is good but the price is OTT, Air Asia for the 50 min flight is just the same comfort but 1000 baht less, but with SMILE you get a cake and orange drink for that extra.

I flew EVA from LHR October, brilliant. Years ago never anything but Thai now NO. You say seating on Thai and F+B good --WHAT--- you may be on a route that is better than most.

If I want to buy duty free or have a break halfway I use Etihad-or Emirates. Thai may not be the best for sure-BUT it is about the most expensive Airline on average flights. To my mind Air New Zeeland =Cathay=Singapore=Eva=Emirates=Etihad= Thai is an also ran. Hope a person appointed is NOT a Government Lap Dog and has vast experience record for the post. This is what Thai needs, AND PRIVATISING.

[ginjag]

I remember flying Thai Airways many times but now i remember Thai being off the radar when i search for flights,, they are getting very expensive so i choose other carriers, interesting to see what happens in the future with excellent carriers like Ethihad and Emirates, also interesting to see Virgin ads offering free food and drinks on their flights,, is this a new push amongst carriers? I hope so,, make the flights cheaper (as i fly a lot) and the hostesses nicer (not Qantas) they are ugly.

Ok, you want cheap prices, fine. then don't complain when you get a seat and service reflective of the cheap price.

There are no such things as hostesses on a plane. They are flight attendants and their first responsibility is to ensure the safety of the pax. If you want a big boobed bimbo to massage your tootsies, you won't find it on an airplane. Just imagine if most of the males whinging about the sexiness of the female FAs had the roles reversed and the guys were judged on their appearances.

Ever notice how filthy the lavs get on a flight? It's not the FA's who pee on the floor and the toilet seat. It's not the FAs who leave a turd smeared in the toilet bowl or who block the toilets. It's not the FAs who get drunk and disorderly on the flights or who hog the overhead bins because they try to cram multiple carry ons into the limited space. It's not the FAs who are morbidly obese and who's blubber overlaps the seat. It's not the FAs who have panic attacks or get into fights with other pax. It's not the airline's fault when pax can't respect boarding procedures etc. etc. Much of the discomfort on airllines today is because of the quality of the people flying.

All I want for my flight is an up to date aircraft, room enough to have comfort on a long flight, good food served at correct times, in flight entertainment at hand if needed, but most of all is regular pleasant service from FAs. Who needs a bimbo to ogle and then go to the toilets to get relief Ha Ha some travelers are obsessed with that. Give me a sirloin steak any day.

Pay for what you gets -not all the time--compare 1st and Business class comfort and service with Etihad and Emirates to Thai vast difference. Thai wake up.

[Spare]

A sign that the airport could be taken by Suthep soon.

[smutcakes]

Middle eastern airlines have cheap fuel, plus invariably employ staff from cheap countries. 710 new aircraft? Hope alot of these are fuel efficient Dreamliners? Tough call for Thai. Anyone got good ideas for them?

Its obviously a very competitive market, but hopefully this should work in favor of the consumers as long as safety standards are maintained. Compared to countries where salaries are higher like in Europe etc THAI should hold a strategic advantage over other airlines. The pricing of their tickets is more expensive or at the very least comparable to all other global airlines, whereas their salary costs and potential fuel costs should also be significantly less.

Really there is no reason why if THAI is run properly why it cannot be a very successful airline. I would imagine like most old large THAI corporations there is probably about a 50% oversupply of staff being employed, no under performing or staff past the retirement age being laid off and obviously many 'involved' figures from Government etc

Compared to some successful airlines in countries, THAI hold all the potential positives, they just need to have the management who are prepared to take the tough decisions and run it like a roper company, not like a state run enterprise where profitability is secondary.