Thai Airways – a parallel with Malaysia Airlines

[kinmaew]

Sounds like business as usual. I stopped flying TG years ago and will never fly any airline that is making a loss and badly managed.

[ginjag]

They just need a business model that allows them to compete. International fares are hugely non-competitive. Do you not suspect that they could reduce the workforce by a very significant%

Not always. I've seen very competitive fares from Europe in July and August. Thai files direct while most others have a stop, making at least 5 hours difference total journey time.

When, I posted and booked Lufthansa 31,000 baht---Thai 46,000 baht. competitive ??? Dubai 2 hours airport, Frankfurt 1 hour, Abu Dhabi 2 hours.

Why stretch it to 5 hours AT LEAST---never.

Direct BKK LHR EVA, 39,000 baht-- BKKLHR BA 39,000 baht, you want more ?? You will see competitive fares FROM Europe as they are mostly cheaper than Thai travel shops. But my fare WAS booked in Udon.

[ginjag]

I have flown with Thai or Thai Smile on most of their domestic routes and have found them to be competivly priced, comfortable and efficient.

posted from my Samsung using Tapatalk 2.

Thai Smile from Udon to BKK was 1,400 baht more than A Asia and 1,000 baht more than Nok Air. Comfortable---50 mins ??? I could sit in the aisle for 50 mins and be comfortable.

[Briggsy]

Many posters are confusing their limited experiences as a THAI passenger with the gross inefficiency and corruption at THAI. The two are only tenuously linked. You have similar posts when there is political upheaval and all the pensioners on here are moaning that the baht isn't weakening as a result but they have no idea of Thailand's current account and interest rate policy. Again they are missing the main point.

[ginjag]

Many posters are confusing their limited experiences as a THAI passenger with the gross inefficiency and corruption at THAI. The two are only tenuously linked. You have similar posts when there is political upheaval and all the pensioners on here are moaning that the baht isn't weakening as a result but they have no idea of Thailand's current account and interest rate policy. Again they are missing the main point.

Inefficiency and pricing are directly linked, apart from the internal robbery amongst the connected people, freebies cost efficiency staffing, aircraft, routes, friendliness, etc.

Ticket/pricing/consistency NOT a splash every 4 months with restrictions on ticket dates.

[Jonmarleesco]

'... they would reign into the mess ...' They would do what?

[Jonmarleesco]

Many posters are confusing their limited experiences as a THAI passenger with the gross inefficiency and corruption at THAI. The two are only tenuously linked. You have similar posts when there is political upheaval and all the pensioners on here are moaning that the baht isn't weakening as a result but they have no idea of Thailand's current account and interest rate policy. Again they are missing the main point.

When it comes to the THB's 'strength', you are seemingly missing the point ...

[SpectrumAudio]

here are my thoughts

1. Get a competent man/women to run this darn company that is not politically/Miltary connected. Thai or non-thai. Some one like Piyasvasti Amnarand who did a kick ass job running the company.

2. Fired all the Board of directors and strip them of their TG Privilages. New Board Of Directors should be highly successful business people who haved run or are running a large company like TG. Also bring in a few high flying farangs (over 300,000 air miles a year) who fly real often as Board advisors, that way they have an input on the actual product. And a few fromt he cargo and customer service industy.

3. Start streamlining your damm inventory, do you really need 10 differnt families of planes... stick to the ones that work and that are not 20 years old. TG should have only one model (single aisle) 737 or Airbus equilvent and 1 medium haul plane, Boeing or airbus 330/350

and long haul, A380 and 777-300ER.. thats it.. 787 can fit in the medium Haul or Long Haul if needed. but my point is to have the least number of models so less parts and certified technicians needed on hand.

4. Stop ordering planes just because other airines have it, aka, A340-500 although a great plane, it was such a gass guzzler. I believe a 777-300ER can make the trip just like the A345. Emirates has 777 flying Dubai to LAX and Dubai to Brasil so im a sure it can make the LAX/JFK to BKK flights. ALso if you are gonna spend that much money on a new plane, go for the whole 9 yards and get the better seats like EK and SIN.. The Biz seats on A380 come no where near that of EK, no personal bar at the seat, the massage function sucks balls, the bar in TG sucks ass compared to EK. If you want to charge a premium price, then the product must be there.

5. Require all TG ground staff to be good at English. All TG staff with customer contact should understand english. TG air crew are required to speak English at TOFEL SCORE 600 and above, but from my interactions with them, they speak very little. All TG staff on the front line should be speaking and comprehending at the 600+ level of TOFEL score. period........those that do not, should be fined and put back into class at their cost.

6. At check in, why do i have to checkin and then go to the cashier to pay an overbaggage fee,.. I was on a flight to USA and had over packed, which i dont mind, but i checked in 90 mins before my flight but i had to walk to the ticketing office to pay the overweight fee, that took well over 65 mins to do so, so after i payed, i had to come back to the checkin line and hand them my receipt. Do what other airports do, have the ability to pay at checkin or at least have a desk at the very end where standbys check in for the flight so i can pay for that there... At united, in all of the USA, you can pay for everything at the check in counter. TG should bring in more of the kiosk check in outlets and a better bag drop area..Marketing shold promote it and give extra miles to flyers for using self check in and bag drop and E ticketing or mobile phone ticketing.

7. Food, Book the chef, sucks ass for premium passengers, i tried to book it many times and the damm website is down or an errors comes up. If you have better meals loaded onboard and have passengers pick what they want when booking the tix, you can know how many chickens or fish entrees are needed. also handing the plate from TG catering to pax sucks, why dont you plate the meal on proper plates like many other premium airlines.

8. Inflight staff,,, where do i start,, get rid of the old air crew that cannot perform on an ULH flight or any Long Haul flight, on hour 10 of a 14 hour flight, i rang the call bell many times and no one answered, (if it was EK, that was a serious offense for the working crew). I walked to see the crew lady was sleeping in her jump seat in the gallery... <deleted>,... thats why you have yournger crew on ULH and LH flights. a few older ones are fine on a flight but give them the first Crew Rest Slot so they can rest. Look at EK and JAL and many other airlines, the service is awesome, wait, there are about 3000+ flight attendant at EK who are Thai, both male and female,, why are they working there and not at TG? ( my wife included, 5+ years at EK but now she is in back in BKK working at Nok Air Cabin Leader aka Purser). Inflight staff need to be alert and ready to provide needed service for passengers wheither ECO or Premium. Have secret employees that are QC the flight staff in all passenger seatings. is it so hard to have a group of 25 people auditing the crew and their performance on TG. uniformed and and plain clothed?

Do you really need a purser, Inflight manager on all your flights? All new FLight crew should work only ECO for at least 3 years before coming to work BIZ for another 2 years then first classs starting at their 6th year. Yearly review for flight staff on procedures, cusine, service, medical attention cases, Hi jackings, bomb treats, and breaking up flights.. i have seen multiple fights break out on TG flights and the male attendants did nothing except say please stop,,, get in there and tackle them both and handcuff them. At EK they would have been restants on them already after the first punch. TG flight attendants cannot think fast to solve an issue.

9. Website, worldwide, with each region doing their own thing, hire a team that is smart enough to design and maintain the website.. Come on, do i need to book a flight 3 times before it get an outcome that isnt an error. also FLight status is a joke, please enter the orgin and destination and day and flight number.... all that is needed is day and flight number or day and orgin/destination,, not both.... The website needs to be cleaned up alot. booking a flight on the reservations page gives out standard results but do not show you the promotional fairs. no matter where you get on the search engine to get a fare, it should show all options, promotional and not.

10. Paying passengers come first... wheither 1st, Biz, or ECO or Frequent Flyers SIlver or Gold or Plat...those on govt freebies are dead last with no choice of meals or seats. they should be boarded last after all the revenue paying passengers. Oh by the way, for plat passengers, get rid of the requirements. make it an IO type like EK, Invite Only clube so each high traveling passenger or corporate passenger can make it into the club. ie... I will not make it into the TG PLAT club as i do not always fly BIZ or First. but i fly Full fare Y @ 300,000 miles a year. my Y ticket cost more them most Discounted Biz J ticket.. thats not fair to many flyers like me, I get UA's Global service but not TG's Plat.. TG ROP needs to be rewritten with better rewards for members that fly often. Also the ability to be upgraded at the boarding if premium seats do not fillup based on senority of the miles u have and years with TGThe better the program, the more customers will fly you.

11. Fill your seats in premium.. upsale your empty biz seats at check in to eco clients at a reduced fair.. let them experience the premium class with a last minute upcharge or mile redemption. mile redemptions sould be availabe to all booking classes on day of departure at the Gate only. Sell your premium seats at the gate within lst 10 mins before boarding. chage a cheap fee like 500-650 or even more, i wouldnt mind paying up to 800 USD for LAX to BKK one way. the plane is leaving with the same amout of passengers anyways. and it will free up ECO for those on standby and those already booked in ECO so more possible empt seats in eco so more happy eco flyers.

12. Destinations,,, expand your destinations,, bring back LAX direct and JFK direct and add in ORD Direct for NA, and many other destinations in Europe and South America.... I was paying JFK to BKK eco for 1800 USD RT and 2600 USD for premium eco and 5000 USD RT for Biz...start flying multiple destinations on one dep from bkk,, ie.. BKK-DUBAI- Cape Town or BKK-LAX-Brasil or sometihing like that. my point is be competitive with the other airlines flying the same or similar route. if you have a good route and good product, customers will come..

I can go on but i will stop...this is my 2 cents or 1 bahts.

[Oziex1]

your 2 cents worth!

[Rinrada]

Methinks more like 50 cents worth but well put with good observations and resolutions...if only...

I still recon Thai has a good Product but like many others consider its hay day as a World leading quality airline has now sadly gone.As an Ex Gold card member I flew almost exclusively on their local domestic and neighbouring Asian routes for many years ...Cambodia,Vietnam,Hong Kong and even more so intercontinential,usually London-Bangkok-Sydney with the odd EU to Bk...but now sorry NO more.About a year ago I used air miles and booked some flights 2 months in advance from CM-BK but found it impossible to get a confirmation (over 20 + emails and telephone calls...on hold)and was basically stuck in CM....but thanks to Tony Fs..Air Asia...all worked out and got to my various destinations in UK and Europe.Should mention that I eventually did got a sms flight confirmation....following day..MPR ..TIT..The future...maybe they will go bankrupt...start again...get a Western CEO who can to use the old expression Kick A.be bought out by Virgin....who knows...?Mai Ko Jai...

[Rinrada]

Got a new laptop...seems to work...OK...

[clip]

I like Thai once I'm on the aircraft but dealing with them before the flight is an archaic nightmare. Communications skills are zero, waiting times in the office and on the phones are interminable, their website won't load half the time, you get shuffled for person to person when you have a question and most are clueless - plus they are no longer financially competitive. Their prices can be insanely high at times. I do a lot of international long haul travel, maybe 30-40 flights a year, and I avoid them where possible. Whilst I mostly travel economy, their business class is shocking too - a selection of bad wines and dreadful food.

I found out too, recently, that they are no longer linked to my credit card for points - I was told by the card people they were a nightmare to deal with.

Still, there are worse: Air New Zealand and Qantas both have a much lower ranking to me. In both cases their economy is so small I can't sit straight and their higher classes are grossly overpriced. Good wine though.

It's a pity because there was a time twenty or thirty years ago when Thai was up there with the best, regularly voted best cabin service etc.

There is no single factor that has led to the demise, but it's easy to point to some obvious causes - the nepotism, the arrogant assumption of superiority, poor senior management, uncompetitive fare structures in a changed aviation environment, to mention but a few.

The world has changed in the past few decades but Thai has not moved with the times. It will take a clean sweep from the very top to clear out the dead wood and knock the airline into shape again.

all this Thai -Airways bashing , i kinda like Thai , i have always flown them and (cant say never) but hardly ever had a problem , especially find their in-flight service great , nice looking girls too , anyway maybe i have just been lucky?

[ginjag]

I like Thai once I'm on the aircraft but dealing with them before the flight is an archaic nightmare. Communications skills are zero, waiting times in the office and on the phones are interminable, their website won't load half the time, you get shuffled for person to person when you have a question and most are clueless - plus they are no longer financially competitive. Their prices can be insanely high at times. I do a lot of international long haul travel, maybe 30-40 flights a year, and I avoid them where possible. Whilst I mostly travel economy, their business class is shocking too - a selection of bad wines and dreadful food.

I found out too, recently, that they are no longer linked to my credit card for points - I was told by the card people they were a nightmare to deal with.

Still, there are worse: Air New Zealand and Qantas both have a much lower ranking to me. In both cases their economy is so small I can't sit straight and their higher classes are grossly overpriced. Good wine though.

It's a pity because there was a time twenty or thirty years ago when Thai was up there with the best, regularly voted best cabin service etc.

There is no single factor that has led to the demise, but it's easy to point to some obvious causes - the nepotism, the arrogant assumption of superiority, poor senior management, uncompetitive fare structures in a changed aviation environment, to mention but a few.

The world has changed in the past few decades but Thai has not moved with the times. It will take a clean sweep from the very top to clear out the dead wood and knock the airline into shape again.

all this Thai -Airways bashing , i kinda like Thai , i have always flown them and (cant say never) but hardly ever had a problem , especially find their in-flight service great , nice looking girls too , anyway maybe i have just been lucky?

Wow, Bashing?? constructive criticism more like, you are a one of and well off. money no object my guess is you are a good sleeper. and travel on someone else's expense. No if your happy fine but do you believe all these posters are commenting because they like it ?? Most of these posters I would guess were Thai customers.

[chotthee]

TG is 1,000% better than MH in any shape or form.

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<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

I like Thai once I'm on the aircraft but dealing with them before the flight is an archaic nightmare. Communications skills are zero, waiting times in the office and on the phones are interminable, their website won't load half the time, you get shuffled for person to person when you have a question and most are clueless - plus they are no longer financially competitive. Their prices can be insanely high at times. I do a lot of international long haul travel, maybe 30-40 flights a year, and I avoid them where possible. Whilst I mostly travel economy, their business class is shocking too - a selection of bad wines and dreadful food.

I found out too, recently, that they are no longer linked to my credit card for points - I was told by the card people they were a nightmare to deal with.

Still, there are worse: Air New Zealand and Qantas both have a much lower ranking to me. In both cases their economy is so small I can't sit straight and their higher classes are grossly overpriced. Good wine though.

It's a pity because there was a time twenty or thirty years ago when Thai was up there with the best, regularly voted best cabin service etc.

There is no single factor that has led to the demise, but it's easy to point to some obvious causes - the nepotism, the arrogant assumption of superiority, poor senior management, uncompetitive fare structures in a changed aviation environment, to mention but a few.

The world has changed in the past few decades but Thai has not moved with the times. It will take a clean sweep from the very top to clear out the dead wood and knock the airline into shape again.

all this Thai -Airways bashing , i kinda like Thai , i have always flown them and (cant say never) but hardly ever had a problem , especially find their in-flight service great , nice looking girls too , anyway maybe i have just been lucky?

Wow, Bashing?? constructive criticism more like, you are a one of and well off. money no object my guess is you are a good sleeper. and travel on someone else's expense. No if your happy fine but do you believe all these posters are commenting because they like it ?? Most of these posters I would guess were Thai customers.

well i have flown many many miles around the globe and believe me when i say in comparison to most other airlines Thai is a pretty good airline im talking about boarding , in flight service ect in my experiences anyway .management wise you may have a point tho.

[OMGImInPattaya]

"Cronies" of who?

Edited July 23, 2014 by OMGImInPattaya

[OMGImInPattaya]

I've noticed the Thai Airways hostesses (sorry, I mean flight attendants ) on the Perth - Bangkok run

are getting older and not all are lovely like they used to be.

Thai airways should replace them with crews from Nok Air or Smile Air !

- These young ladies are fresh, eager to please and mostly stunners!

Don't worry, there are plenty of them at the Rachada soapies after your flight.

[thaibry]

I have flown with Thai or Thai Smile on most of their domestic routes and have found them to be competivly priced, comfortable and efficient.

posted from my Samsung using Tapatalk 2.

Thai Smile from Udon to BKK was 1,400 baht more than A Asia and 1,000 baht more than Nok Air. Comfortable---50 mins ??? I could sit in the aisle for 50 mins and be comfortable.

I guess that you didn't have bags and that Don Muang was convenient for you?

I flew Thai Bangkok to Ubon two weeks ago with baggage in the hold for 1400 baht, and Smile from Khon Kaen to the big airport last week with bags for 1650 Baht.

Checking the internet for flights from Udon T to BKK I see that TG2007 departing at 14:40 has seats available for 1100 Baht.

Does this meant that Air Asia and Nok give you 300 baht for you to fly with them?

Oh no, both Air Asia flights at 12:40 or 19:30 are 1033 Baht or 67 baht cheaper. . . . but include a bag at at 330 baht and now they are 263 baht more expensive.

As with any transaction check all options before booking to get the best deal for you.

posted from my Samsung using Tapatalk 2.

[puuchaibaa]

I like Thai once I'm on the aircraft but dealing with them before the flight is an archaic nightmare. Communications skills are zero, waiting times in the office and on the phones are interminable, their website won't load half the time, you get shuffled for person to person when you have a question and most are clueless - plus they are no longer financially competitive. Their prices can be insanely high at times. I do a lot of international long haul travel, maybe 30-40 flights a year, and I avoid them where possible. Whilst I mostly travel economy, their business class is shocking too - a selection of bad wines and dreadful food.

I found out too, recently, that they are no longer linked to my credit card for points - I was told by the card people they were a nightmare to deal with.

You sum it all up very well. Quite how they are ever going to resolve these problems when they insist on 'Thainess' running the company instead of real business brains i really do not know.

Look who runs Cathay Pacific Airlines. Not Chinese.

Ratcatcher - not sure about the relevance of your comment, but you should get your facts straight about who runs the airline.

CX's major shareholder, Swire, is an English company. The chairman I believe is a Hong Kong born citizen of western descent. Ok, fine. But who actually runs the airline on a day to day basis?

[DrDweeb]

Putting a big cheese from the Air Force in charge, who has zero experience of running a large corporation (but who is the flavour of the month), will definitely help to improve the situation.

What do "big cheeses" in the military actually do?

Answer: They run very, very large organisations.

Suggesting that senior military leaders (Thai or otherwise) are incapable of organising operations of large organisations suggests a clear ignorance of what senior military officers actually do.

(Disclaimer: I have no personal experience with the Thai military, but I have worked with multi-starred Generals and down the heirachy on a joint civilian/military project in the US and they were very impressive)

[DrDweeb]

The problem is they are always looking for a Thai to fill the position. They need to look outside of Thailand for someone who is qualified.

Perhaps they should take you on as a consultant, you seem to know the answer to it's problems and how easy they are to solve.

Mango Bob is correct I have been saying it for years. Most of the Middle East airlines have outside CEO's and they are racing away.

The ME airlines are not constrained by the need to actually earn money.

Also, speaking from within the industry, I can tell you that it is not just the CEOs that are foreigners!

I don't think there are many RM departments run (or even largely peopled) by locals among the ME airlines

[DrDweeb]

Thai Airways International reports (16-Jul-2014) the following traffic highlights in Jun-2014:

• Passenger numbers: 1.1 million, -31.3% year-on-year;
• Passenger traffic (RPKs): -22.9%;
• Passenger load factor: 59.2%, -10 ppts;
• • Domestic: 60.5%, -5.0 ppts;
  • Regional: 60.2%, -13.0 ppts;
  • Australia: 61.5%, -8.2 ppts;
  • Europe: 56.3%, -7.7 ppts;
  • North Pacific: 74.9%, -6.1 ppts;
  • Africa: 48.4%, -10.8 ppts;
• Cargo volume: 50,548 tons, -1.2%;
• Cargo load factor: 54.3%, +4.1 ppts.

Indeed. Not a pretty sight!

Thai have renewed a lot of the fleet, and refurbished some aircraft. I seem to be flying on new 777s all the time these days, which compare well to other airlines operating similar equipment.

There are plenty of airlines that are worse than Thai with which to fly - American, Delta, United and the list goes on (too bad TWA "The Worst Airline" is no longer around to complain about). I know it is "form" to slag off at Thais here, but TGs issues are not unique to TG.

Thai has not been particularly good in the RM department (and by this I mean technically adept), though this might be improving. Similarly, and like many traditional carriers, they have just too many "grandmas" on the flight staff. Not that these people are inept, but the modern traveller fancies some eye candy on a 22 hr haul. An aging female cabin staff is a characteristic of unionized legacy carriers who cannot cull their staff, resulting in a skewed age range inflight, and higher average personel costs. I will refrain from naming the obvious candidates for the "grandma" airlines.

Edited July 23, 2014 by DrDweeb

[DrDweeb]

Methinks more like 50 cents worth but well put with good observations and resolutions...if only...

I still recon Thai has a good Product but like many others consider its hay day as a World leading quality airline has now sadly gone.As an Ex Gold card member I flew almost exclusively on their local domestic and neighbouring Asian routes for many years ...Cambodia,Vietnam,Hong Kong and even more so intercontinential,usually London-Bangkok-Sydney with the odd EU to Bk...but now sorry NO more.About a year ago I used air miles and booked some flights 2 months in advance from CM-BK but found it impossible to get a confirmation (over 20 + emails and telephone calls...on hold)and was basically stuck in CM....but thanks to Tony Fs..Air Asia...all worked out and got to my various destinations in UK and Europe.Should mention that I eventually did got a sms flight confirmation....following day..MPR ..TIT..The future...maybe they will go bankrupt...start again...get a Western CEO who can to use the old expression Kick A.be bought out by Virgin....who knows...?Mai Ko Jai...

Speaking of FF miles ... the Star Alliance is "realigning" the value and "cost" of their FF miles.

In simple terms, FF miles are an airline currency, and the SA airlines are going to devalue that currency by increasing the number of miles required to redeem a flight. As they have been increasing the cost of aquisition of FF miles regularly, they are chopping at both ends of the sausage.

I used a couple of hundred thousand this past year, and am more or less at zero again. I did this in anticipation of the SA move (due next month IIRC). I flew so many LH flights on redeemed tickets that I won't generate enough miles for a new Gold Card next time around (I think they increased the cost of that as well). Pity that, it will be strange to waste so much time at airports again after so many years in the short queue

[DrDweeb]

"Cronies" of who?

... of whom, surely?

[pauleddy]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

I like Thai once I'm on the aircraft but dealing with them before the flight is an archaic nightmare. Communications skills are zero, waiting times in the office and on the phones are interminable, their website won't load half the time, you get shuffled for person to person when you have a question and most are clueless - plus they are no longer financially competitive. Their prices can be insanely high at times. I do a lot of international long haul travel, maybe 30-40 flights a year, and I avoid them where possible. Whilst I mostly travel economy, their business class is shocking too - a selection of bad wines and dreadful food.

I found out too, recently, that they are no longer linked to my credit card for points - I was told by the card people they were a nightmare to deal with.

You sum it all up very well. Quite how they are ever going to resolve these problems when they insist on 'Thainess' running the company instead of real business brains i really do not know.

All spot-on. However, even once you board the Biz Class, the crew want to sleep as early as they can. There are no good wines, and they are pushed to serve you even the 3rd glass while frowning at you all the while. One of the problems is that Cabin Crew here consists of very HiSo young ladies; it is a prestigious job, unlike Ryan Air.

I swapped from Thai to Qatar Air 4 years ago. My regular Madrid flight is now a dream: great staff, fine wines, foods and a flatbed seat (which Thai never had) for 90,000b. Thai is 134,000b and you feel resented. Thai has it all wrong, and has done for years. Thai is also an expensive toy, because if you are any sort of unconnected Thai VIP you can get free flights and kickbacks and discounts which farangs don't get.

Eddy

[ginjag]

I have flown with Thai or Thai Smile on most of their domestic routes and have found them to be competivly priced, comfortable and efficient.

posted from my Samsung using Tapatalk 2.

Thai Smile from Udon to BKK was 1,400 baht more than A Asia and 1,000 baht more than Nok Air. Comfortable---50 mins ??? I could sit in the aisle for 50 mins and be comfortable.

I guess that you didn't have bags and that Don Muang was convenient for you?

I flew Thai Bangkok to Ubon two weeks ago with baggage in the hold for 1400 baht, and Smile from Khon Kaen to the big airport last week with bags for 1650 Baht.

Checking the internet for flights from Udon T to BKK I see that TG2007 departing at 14:40 has seats available for 1100 Baht.

Does this meant that Air Asia and Nok give you 300 baht for you to fly with them?

Oh no, both Air Asia flights at 12:40 or 19:30 are 1033 Baht or 67 baht cheaper. . . . but include a bag at at 330 baht and now they are 263 baht more expensive.

As with any transaction check all options before booking to get the best deal for you.

posted from my Samsung using Tapatalk 2.

Over years and years of travel I have learned MY best way to travel.

1. Only have walk on baggage, even on International flights, why carry all that excess around and wait at turntables for luggage to be claimed.

2. I can only wear I set of clothes at one time why would I want 10 sets. ( old style big case loads of washing to do when you get back Ha).

3 Why wouldn't D.Muang be convenient ??

4 Do not understand when making a short trip domestic you need extra bags ??? but if you do every time you pay the extra.

5. Strange isn't it Thai pricing, monopoly--Khon Khen to BKK 1,650 baht.---------------Longer distance Udon-BKK 1,100 AND I would re check the Thai at 1,100 baht from Udon, it never has been that price, maybe ALL seats available.

But as you say each to his own. I have most days offers from A.Asia sent to me by e.mail. for 550 baht. and international from 1,100. plenty of change even if you HAVE to carry bags.

I have travelled on advanced bookings with A.Asia for 175 bht. from Udon. when these come on e.mail I book even if I do not travel, for that money you can book loads and travel on the ones that suit when they occur. As of now I have 4 booked for next march, may take 3 of them.

Edited July 24, 2014 by ginjag

[KarenBravo]

Prior to the 2004 tsunami, Thai and Silk Air both had direct flights from Phuket to Singapore.

After the tsunami, passenger traffic collapsed and Thai discontinued the service.

Now, Phuket - Singapore is one of the most lucrative routes in Asia.

There has to be over 10 flights a day with Silk Air, Tiger, Air Asia, Jetstar, yet Thai never resumed their flights because they gave up their landing slots.

Very, very short-sighted of them.

[mrtoad]

I haven't flown Thai much over the pat three years, other than a couple of business flights. I generally find their standard of service pretty poor these days, and the pricing is just not good value. Due to my location, I do travel a lot on Bangkok Airways, which I always find very good, although price wise due to their monopoly on my local airport I think is a bit steep. I switched over to Etihad 2 years back as my carrier of choice for LH flights, and will fly to the US with them next week, and later in September . The food and service is far superior than Thai. The FF scheme is far better than Thai, and just find it all an all round better airline. Shame really, but the cronyism has seen the standards slip further and further down over the years. I'd generally only use Thai for domestic these days

[OMGImInPattaya]

Putting a big cheese from the Air Force in charge, who has zero experience of running a large corporation (but who is the flavour of the month), will definitely help to improve the situation.

What do "big cheeses" in the military actually do?

Answer: They run very, very large organisations.

Suggesting that senior military leaders (Thai or otherwise) are incapable of organising operations of large organisations suggests a clear ignorance of what senior military officers actually do.

(Disclaimer: I have no personal experience with the Thai military, but I have worked with multi-starred Generals and down the heirachy on a joint civilian/military project in the US and they were very impressive)

The Thai state has continually lost territory over the last 300 years...it was twice the size of it's current territory back then. That should give you a fair idea of the competency of the Thai military's officer class, as the primary mission of a country's military is to protect and defend the territorial integrity of their nation. If the plan is to downsize Thai Air then they probably have appointed the right man.

[oldsailor35]

A farang in charge might stop all the free flights for wives, mia noi's, kids, friends, staff, family associates, military brass and families etc.