Is THAI's turnaround possible?

[KarenBravo]

Only if they can break free of the shackles of all the freebies that they are obligated to give to persons of privilege.

[Christie Paul]

If the hub is in decline, I doubt a bloated legacy carrier can be made to turn around.

Thailand has enjoyed the status of being the best overall value in Asia, along with an easy going immigration policy and generally speaking, a fun place to be.

It is no longer great value, immigration is a nightmare and it's running rather low on fun.

[Asiantravel]

It will just keep sinking until their backs are against the wall and they finally appoint somebody with Qantas’s Alan Joyce type of mentality who doesn't care about who he upsets after introducing meaningful cost-cutting measures.

Edited December 9, 2014 by Asiantravel

[GAS]

I like Thai. Granted most of my experience comes from flying in C or F but have flown in Y fair bit too and they work pretty good for me.

They most defintely need to modernise things, especially the website, promotions and be competetive. I truly hope the new CEO can do that.

In regards to them giving away alot of F, that is not surprising, but it would probably go empty alot. Most of the time I am there it is people redeeming miles.

They do alot of things right. The A380 is great, I really liked the Jet Airways leassed 777's when they had those, the Bangkok lounges and Spa is really very good and ground service is nice too.

I will usually only fly an LLC if TG is WAAAY more money. Notice most people complain about the price. Be warned, the Americans shop for airfare like that too and it has been a race to the bottom where you end up with a United, filthy planes, no free drinks, nothing....and surly old flight attendants. Bah!

[tomacht8]

They need to cut all overhead costs.
The management and the entier organization has too many unproductive people on the payroll.
Doing nothing, collect the salary and much flying around for free.
As long as Thai is the retirement home for veteran politicians and army personnel, - nothing will change -.

Edited December 9, 2014 by tomacht8

[quinzinho]

Most of the failures of Thai have been addressed here already.

I can add another big problem: their fleet consists of way too many aircraft types. The size of THAI really doesn't justify all the different plane types. Way too expensive operating (and grounding) all these birds.

[CockneyGit]

BKK > LON

Emirates - 31,000 (Baht)
Etihad - 29,000

Air India - 29,000

Jet Airways - 29,000

BA - 31,000

THAI - 48,000

It's not rocket science..!!

[CockneyGit]

I like Thai. Granted most of my experience comes from flying in C or F but have flown in Y fair bit too and they work pretty good for me.

They most defintely need to modernise things, especially the website, promotions and be competetive. I truly hope the new CEO can do that.

In regards to them giving away alot of F, that is not surprising, but it would probably go empty alot. Most of the time I am there it is people redeeming miles.

They do alot of things right. The A380 is great, I really liked the Jet Airways leassed 777's when they had those, the Bangkok lounges and Spa is really very good and ground service is nice too.

I will usually only fly an LLC if TG is WAAAY more money. Notice most people complain about the price. Be warned, the Americans shop for airfare like that too and it has been a race to the bottom where you end up with a United, filthy planes, no free drinks, nothing....and surly old flight attendants. Bah!'

'C', 'F', 'Y', 'LLC' ...??

What the #*#* are you talking about..??

[CharlieH]

'C', 'F', 'Y', 'LLC'

Ticket classes.

[GAS]

Sorry LLC should be LCC, low cost carrier. I agree with the other poster, Thai has too many aircraft types now. I am sure with good management they could be saving lots of money without cutting back on a lot of stuff you see on board.

I think I also recall last few years they got beat up pretty good on bad fuel hedges.

[flyingdoc]

I find Thai sometimes convenient and competitive on short haul domestic flights, but certainly not on long haul, often with aging 747's.

[brucegoniners]

I booked 2 flights on THAI recently and soon realized I had made a horrible mistake when I needed to make changes on both.

On my Macau trip I ended up having to make numerous calls to them, because I was informed 2 weeks prior to the flight that the flight was "closed" and I couldn't stand by for the outbound flight I wanted. Only when I could find their crappy online booking system showing seats available was I able to get the flight I wanted, at a 2000 baht charge, again on the phone. You can't do anything on their online system, which doesn't work for most functions.

I booked a flight to Chiang Mai for my wife and I in January. Somehow the reservation shows going up the morning of the 8th and coming back 4 hours later! Whether I made the mistake or they did doesn't matter. I obviously need it changed. They are unwilling to change it.

First I called and they gave me an email address to make my request. The reply I got was to send an email to another address. After not hearing from them for 3 days I emailed again. I was informed I couldn't make a change.

I checked my terms and conditions and a change is allowed for a 500 baht fee.

I called yesterday, informing them of this. After 45 minutes of hold times, being bounced from person to person I finally hung up and emailed them again. Still waiting for the latest response.

STAY AWAY FROM THIS AIRLINE! THEY ARE BAD NEWS! NO DOUBT THEY WILL FAIL!

[MaiChai]

Does not make sense to compare against middle eastern airlines; these countries have cheap oil and having an airline makes sense as they can make a profitable business from the cheap oil. Also they are in a good location for air travel.

[apetley]

Does not make sense to compare against middle eastern airlines; these countries have cheap oil and having an airline makes sense as they can make a profitable business from the cheap oil. Also they are in a good location for air travel.

Wifey will take Jet and EVA over Thai any day of the week.

Last I heard India and Taiwan weren't awash with their own oil.

[DaffyDuck]

The new CEO probably has an impossible job on his hands.

The stupid thing is that we outsiders can see the basic problems, all of which have been highlighted above, and I'm sure that the CEO can too but an antiquated board ...

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/06/20/thai-airways-politics-board-idUSL4N0P11CB20140620

Five board members quit THAI, Prajin stays

Two months later, Prajin resigns:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/08/14/thai-airways-chairman-idUSL4N0QK49S20140814

Thai Airways says chairman to resign; vice chairman to replace him

The board has been entirely replaced, including the chairman.

Next naysayer?

Edited December 9, 2014 by DaffyDuck

[gerry123]

British Airways was privatised nearly 30 years ago and has made excellent profits 6 of the last 8 years.

please tell which two years did they not make a profit ?not the last two per chance ?? or should i say made a massive loss

Edited December 9, 2014 by gerry123

[peecee]

just what is the importance of having national carriers ? for instance British airways as far as i know has been a pain /cash guzzling loss maker for years i just don't get it why do governments worldwide keep bailing out these dinosaurs

i hope someone can give me the reasons

BA's a PLC, nothing to do with the government.

[Ricardo]

Does not make sense to compare against middle eastern airlines; these countries have cheap oil and having an airline makes sense as they can make a profitable business from the cheap oil. Also they are in a good location for air travel.

Then again, Thailand has ample cheap labour, and is well-located to be a hub (sorry, I know !) for Asian travellers feeding into their European or North American long-haul routes.

In addition Thailand is a major destination for tourists, far beyond anything which the Gulf-based carriers can enjoy, yet TG seems unable to build upon their advantages ?

[Langsuan Man]

Ho Hum, more promises of change at TG but still the same after all these years. No plans whatsoever to do anything about the rampant nepotism that permeates the airline from top to bottom and it the main reason for lousy schedules, service, prices and unresponsive employees, not to mention aging fleet

Charamporn, the 17th president of THAI

Says it all

Looks like TG is not the only airline having to deal with these entitled people:

source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/on-leadership/wp/2014/12/08/korean-air-executive-goes-nuts-over-service-delays-plane/

Korean Air executive goes ‘nuts’ over service, delays plane

We've all had flights delayed because of bad weather. Or a mechanical problem. Or too much traffic on the runway. But because a flight attendant didn't properly serve macadamia nuts to a passenger in first class? That's a new one.

Such a thing happened last week on a Korean Air flight headed from New York to Seoul, according to the Wall Street Journal. Cho Hyun-ah, a vice president in charge of the airline's in-flight services and a daughter of the company's chairman, had a problem with the way she was served a package of macadamia nuts while being seated in first class, leading to a 20-minute departure delay that involved ejecting a crew member.

Rather than first asking Cho if she wanted the nuts, and then serving them on a plate, the flight attendant handed Cho an unopened bag. That's when things began to go, well, a little nutty.

According to reports, Cho called for the head of the service crew, known as a purser, and started discussing the airline's service policy, which requires flight attendants to ask passengers first if they would like to be served. When she wasn't happy with his response, she ordered him off the plane. (An email to a public relations contact was not immediately returned.)

Bloomberg reported that the airline apologized for the inconvenience in a statement to passengers. It also said that, while the aircraft had already left the gate, it took no more than two minutes to return and have the crew member get off. The flight was 11 minutes late on its arrival time in Seoul. Still, South Korea's transport ministry is apparently investigating the incident to see if there were any breaches of regulations.

It's good to know the leader in charge of an airline's in-flight services is a stickler for standards, given the industry's abysmal reputation for customer service. That's especially true if it ensures a high bar on things that actually matter, like lost baggage, surly gate agents or rebooking cancelled flights. But is not having to open your own bag of macadamia nuts really worth delaying an entire plane?

Most passengers would say no.

[gerry123]

just what is the importance of having national carriers ? for instance British airways as far as i know has been a pain /cash guzzling loss maker for years i just don't get it why do governments worldwide keep bailing out these dinosaurs

i hope someone can give me the reasons

BA's a PLC, nothing to do with the government.

please catch up go to post5

[toooa]

Not much chance if the board " consists mostly of government officials". Government officials rarely add value to anything. Most of the time, they're a parasitic liability - waste of space. If 90% of the government officials vaporized tomorrow, the only thing you'd notice is how clear the air is, and the smiles on peoples faces.

[Chris Lawrence]

I flew this time last year from Sydney to Bangkok.

The flight crew going over were OK, but the return flight was poor. i saw this comment on line and can relate: 'It’s probably a stretch to say this, but we watched the flight crew preening with cultivated condescension, even disdain, toward the people they were supposed to be there for.' http://www.flyertalk.com/the-tarmac/whats-wrong-with-thai-airways.html

I asked for an orange juice half way thru this flight and was told to get my own next time! Asked if I could sit in the seats near the exit, as no one was in them, and told that they are for people who get sick during the flight! (I always thought able bodied people were to sit in these seats in case of an emergency) But most of the flight attendants had bad heads on and did not have that polite Thai smile and good attitude that I have seen in the past.

But apart from that, the aircraft would have to be one of the oldest used in the industry. This makes for a tired and dated decor and amenities. A few years before this flight on a 747, the TV monitors were not built into the seats but just one big one up front. .

I agree it can be hit and miss with a cabin crew; however the atmosphere of the flight is reflected in both the staff and the plane. Its the selling point to the country and a major part of promotion, I think for Thai Air.

I flew Jetstar from Phuket to Sydney, Business class which is very average; however the flight crew were great, smiles on the dials and happy to talk. Emirates we have flown a few times, great aircraft and the crew were always accommodating.

So I think Thai Air is just very tired.

Hope this new bloke will be able to see over the computer screen and see what is going on. But, hasn't he got two boards to answer too? Sounds like a hard job, even for a Thai.

[bim]

just what is the importance of having national carriers ? for instance British airways as far as i know has been a pain /cash guzzling loss maker for years i just don't get it why do governments worldwide keep bailing out these dinosaurs

i hope someone can give me the reasons

BA's a PLC, nothing to do with the government.

BA is actualy part Spanish.

[apetley]

British Airways was privatised nearly 30 years ago and has made excellent profits 6 of the last 8 years.

please tell which two years did they not make a profit ?not the last two per chance ?? or should i say made a massive loss

Last losses were reported in 2009.

[bangon04]

I booked 2 flights on THAI recently and soon realized I had made a horrible mistake when I needed to make changes on both.

On my Macau trip I ended up having to make numerous calls to them, because I was informed 2 weeks prior to the flight that the flight was "closed" and I couldn't stand by for the outbound flight I wanted. Only when I could find their crappy online booking system showing seats available was I able to get the flight I wanted, at a 2000 baht charge, again on the phone. You can't do anything on their online system, which doesn't work for most functions.

I booked a flight to Chiang Mai for my wife and I in January. Somehow the reservation shows going up the morning of the 8th and coming back 4 hours later! Whether I made the mistake or they did doesn't matter. I obviously need it changed. They are unwilling to change it.

First I called and they gave me an email address to make my request. The reply I got was to send an email to another address. After not hearing from them for 3 days I emailed again. I was informed I couldn't make a change.

I checked my terms and conditions and a change is allowed for a 500 baht fee.

I called yesterday, informing them of this. After 45 minutes of hold times, being bounced from person to person I finally hung up and emailed them again. Still waiting for the latest response.

STAY AWAY FROM THIS AIRLINE! THEY ARE BAD NEWS! NO DOUBT THEY WILL FAIL!

Very much agree - the THAI website is appalling, clumsy, inflexible, and you need to call someone on the telephone to get anything done. Even worse, the THAI ticket desk in country A has a THAI computer but is not allowed to deal with a reservation change for a flight which starts from country B. What nonsense!

And so many times I had to cancel a ticket and rebook because a reservation change was "too difficult" for THAI.

"Seamless" Star Alliance - what a joke.

How difficult would it be to copy a computer programme from another Star Alliance airline? (obviously that would involve taking advice from a foreigner).

[JAG]

As long as the Government is prepared to fund them then things will stay as they are