Flight from Hkt to Bkk where were the westerners ?

[The Big Mango]

So went up to Bkk to watch the fight with some friends .

Flew up on Thai Lion Air , (first availiable flight after I got to the airport).

Anyhow , at a quick headcount of around 150 people on the plane there were exacty 3 "western" as in white faces and everyone else appeared to be Asian.

Ive flew countless times on this route and its always been pretty balanced between western and asian flyers .

Just really surprised me with their being only 3 out of so many.

Is this a true indicator of the changing demagraphic or perhaps was it that that particular airline ( first time ive ever flew with them ) is partnered with some other Asian airline in BKK ?

Really just as an observation of the changing visitors to Phuket or perhaps just a "one off" ?

Thoughts .....

[Old Croc]

Westerners are generally aware of Lion Air's accident record.

Edited May 4, 2015 by Old Croc

[CNXBKKMAN]

Its the low season. A lot of western tourists will be flying to BKK on PG And TG with bags checked through onto an international flight.

[Argus Tuft]

^ Low season. And there are so many options for domestic travel, I think you just got a quiet sample for foreigner pax on that particular flight.

Have flown them several times - good operator, brand new aircraft, competitive fares.

[Argus Tuft]

Westerners are generally aware of Lion Air's accident record.

lion.jpg

Parent company/brand aside, Thai Lion Air is a separate airline from Lion in Indonesia.

No concerns from me about flying with them. Doubtful that the lack of foreigners on board the OP's sector had anything to do with the Indonesian Lion Air crash of Ngurah Rai airport a few years ago. Could be wrong, but there's no way to prove either of us right, unless you have any evidence to offer about the OP's flight up to Bangkok to watch the fight.

[Old Croc]

And you're not connected to the airline in any way.

[Argus Tuft]

And you're not connected to the airline in any way.

Nope

[Old Croc]

The meth problem of some of their pilots in Indonesia is also a worry.

http://www.globalpost.com/globalpost-blogs/southeast-asia/indonesia-pilots-drugs

[Argus Tuft]

The meth problem of some of their pilots in Indonesia is also a worry.

http://www.globalpost.com/globalpost-blogs/southeast-asia/indonesia-pilots-drugs

You're really set on dragging the OP's query off topic aren't ya. Googling to find a 3 year old news article about Indonesian pilots.

Edited May 4, 2015 by Argus Tuft

[Old Croc]

The meth problem of some of their pilots in Indonesia is also a worry.

http://www.globalpost.com/globalpost-blogs/southeast-asia/indonesia-pilots-drugs

You're really set on dragging the OP's query off topic aren't ya. Googling to find a 3 year old news article about Indonesian pilots.

He asked a question about why westerners arn't using the airline. My replies are not off-topic. The google search was prompted by my own recollections.

You sure you have no affiliations?

[Argus Tuft]

The meth problem of some of their pilots in Indonesia is also a worry.

http://www.globalpost.com/globalpost-blogs/southeast-asia/indonesia-pilots-drugs

You're really set on dragging the OP's query off topic aren't ya. Googling to find a 3 year old news article about Indonesian pilots.

He asked a question about why westerners arn't using the airline. My replies are not off-topic. The google search was prompted by my own recollections.

You sure you have no affiliations?

Fair enough, no harm intended.

And no

[Cylon]

Thailand, the sinking ship.

[jdinasia]

Not an airline that I would ever fly on....

[The Big Mango]

Well to be fair to the airline , wasn't aware of the crash so had no concerns .

The plane itself was a 737 and looked well , very new.

No complaints on the service or the flight itself , all went very well.

Was pleasantly surprised at the turn up and book a flight price at the airport , 2300thb.

They actually said if i needed to go quickly again you can check there schedule and walk into 7/11 and pay before going to the airport.

Not sure if they understood if i could do that within an hour or two of wanting to leave though.

Incidentally when I took the return trip from Don Muang the next flight happened to be Nok Air , 3299thb but got a free bag of nuts , lol.

All in all no better / worse than any other domestic flight I've ever taken.

And btw , thx to Mayweather it was , just lets say a very very good trip :-)

Edited May 4, 2015 by The Big Mango

[Argus Tuft]

Was pleasantly surprised at the turn up and book a flight price at the airport , 2300thb.

That's not bad for last minute.

Still, better to try and book online ahead of getting to the airport if you can next time.

And btw , thx to Mayweather it was , just lets say a very very good trip :-)

You did better than me then. I was in Pacquaio's corner so to speak, and unfortunately I didn't fare as well

[The Big Mango]

Was pleasantly surprised at the turn up and book a flight price at the airport , 2300thb.

That's not bad for last minute.

Still, better to try and book online ahead of getting to the airport if you can next time.

And btw , thx to Mayweather it was , just lets say a very very good trip :-)

You did better than me then. I was in Pacquaio's corner so to speak, and unfortunately I didn't fare as well

Kind of a double edged sword for me too during the fight

Heart was with Pacquaio but logically just couldnt get away from Mayweather even though the odds were bs.

.46 on the stake made.

[Suradit69]

Anyhow , at a quick headcount of around 150 people on the plane there were exacty 3 "western" as in white faces and everyone else appeared to be Asian.

You actually calculated the number of people on board and went around counting up EXACTLY how many farang there were? And you apparently have done the head counts on past flights? Amazing. A lot of westerners, including the president of the US, manage without white faces.

It's Asia. Most of the people in Asia are Asian. I bet there have been times when all the passengers have been Asian on some flights originating and terminating in Asia.

So went up to Bkk to watch the fight with some friends

So are you & your friends Asian or were you and these friends included in the suitably white-face passenger head count of 3 or maybe your merry band of travellers were a multi-national consortium of boxng fans?

Or maybe " ... to watch the fight with some friends " has a different meaning from the obvious reference to the televised boxing match??

Edited May 4, 2015 by Suradit69

[Commander Tamson]

I'm happy to be able to use my right to ignore the resident trolls, like suradit. I'll pause it to hear the response.

Seriously, <deleted> you are talking about?

Agreed - maybe the Indonesian pilots aren't the only ones on Meth.

Edited May 5, 2015 by LivinginKata
off topic remark removed

[Old Croc]

Well to be fair to the airline , wasn't aware of the crash so had no concerns .

Lucky you weren't aware of the ten crashes and incidences the parent company has had since 2002.

To be fair, the Thai associated company hasn't had any incidents since start up in 2013 and they do seem to have a new fleet. Hopefully the pilots are more skilful than their Indonesian brethren.

[CNXBKKMAN]

Rational or not i associate Lionair with poor safety so they are bottom of my options when i am looking for a domestic flight. I have flown with them once just to check them out.

[The Big Mango]

Ill just i concur with you Oilinki , enough said I think

[steelepulse]

Could be a reflection of visitors to the island. I've flown in and out of KL a few times and on one flight, it was PRC and me, while another time it was a mix of passengers, so it probably has something to do with connecting flights of the package tourists.

[siam2007]

Westerners are generally aware of Lion Air's accident record.

lion.jpg

not to forget their crash at Solo (Surakarta) Airport with 25 fatalities.

This Airline had so many incidents, overrunning runways and crash-landings that it fills a full page.

Year 2002 (Pekanbaru), 2004 (Surakarta), 2006 (twice, Surabaya + Makassar), 2009 (twice, Batam + Jakarta), 2010 (Pontianak), 2013 (Denpasar), 2014 (Surabaya).....

who's next ???

Indonesian people HATE Lion Air, but in most cases they don't have other affordable options, as Lion dominates the domestic market and Garuda is very expensive.

SELAMAT JALAN....

....from somebody who survived 100+ domestic flights in Indo