THAI to reduce international and regional flights to cut costs

[hawker9000]

Too funny and too co-incidential

TGs saving package.jpg

Get that arrogant smile off the staff's face; introduce a tariff structure which is competitive and revamp the entire image.

Ever been to TG's Pattaya office without parking and waiting a solid 45 minutes to be served by a frustrated ticket agent?

One in ten flights is rescheduled, cancelled or the passenger (i.e. me) rerouted. The other local carriers are no better but operate at half the price.

Long haul: use Middle Eastern or even European carriers. Finnair, Air France or KLM - just to name three - take you to Europe in more modern planes with a proven safety record (no DCA waving alarming flags on security or safety) at upto half the price; presently around THB 25'000. All no frills but serving the purpose of taking you from A to B.

If they can do it I wonder why TG cannot do it. 25 years ago TG was the pride of Thailand - a very, very, very far cry from what it represents today.

'Self-driving cars well past the drawing board stage, so why not airplanes? 'Might help with the self-destructing pilot problem ...

[Peter Strand]

Thai Airways is terribly overpriced, if possible in SEA Air Asia is the much better choice and domestic better to fly NOK. But its not only Thai Airways, Bangkok Air - was quite reasonable cheap before - will face the same problem like Thai Airways soon, simply too expensive.

[thaibeachlovers]

I am reading this thread and wondering why you would fly THAI ? makes no sense.

Great leg room, as many movies to watch as I want, and a direct flight. I loath and despise the Australian stopover experience. I'd pay even more not to have to stop off there.

[retarius]

Poor, poor management. Not fit to run a market stall. More preoccupied with free flights and luggage allowances to go shopping abroad. Pathetic.

[Andrew65]

thai air flys from LHR to BKK around 30 mins before or after the EVA flight, ive booked 40+ flights with EVA because in most cases they were HUNDREDS of pounds cheaper than thai and the last time i bothered to ask, thai were still using 747's.

747? ......nah!

....and just before posting this i phoned to check prices. EVA to BKK £515.....thai to BKK £745...... nah again.....but apparently they have a 777 now....wow!

The B777 takes an hour longer to get to London. The 747-400 is still the fastest, I once came from LHR to BKK in 10hr 15mins on a Thai 747-400, then again, is an hour each way worth 230 quid?!

Well, I have done LHR - BKK on a fully loaded BA 777 in 10hr 30mins, so I doubt there is all that much difference. Mind you, the return flight at 12hrs 45mins was no picnic, it has to be said...

Here's a speed record that will be hard to believe. The record for a sub-sonic Atlantic crossing by an airliner, London - NYC, is still held by the Vickers VC10 (a rear-mounted four engined airliner that entered service with BOAC in 1964, and only left service with the RAF in 2013), in a time of 5hrs 1min. The record was only ever surpassed by Concorde, strange but true!!

Source:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vickers_VC10

[deckape]

What Tai Air needs, is a good 'airline savvy' foreign CEO. Until this happens the airline will continue to go down hill. There is no one in Thailand capable of running an airline well enough to make money , or even survive.

I think this is a valid point. I think it isn't a condemnation of their business acumen. It has more to do with being removed from the social obligations and Thainess that must take priority at TG. Being a hardass just isn't in their genes...most of the time that is a good thing. In this case not so much.

[Stargeezr]

I wished that the Thai Air representatives, would take this opportunity to come

to Calgary Alberta, Canada, and start a new route from Bangkok to Calgary and return.

We could use some good competition for our Air Canada airline. I have always enjoyed

the great Thai Air service in the past and would certainly fly on Thai Air in the

future, if only it would fly to our city.

[SheungWan]

I am reading this thread and wondering why you would fly THAI ? makes no sense.

Great leg room, as many movies to watch as I want, and a direct flight. I loath and despise the Australian stopover experience. I'd pay even more not to have to stop off there.

The great leg room was there with the old 747's and that was why in the past we put up with the awful ents system ie non-existent, but the leg room is nothing now in economy and absolutely appalling on the A380.

[Thai at Heart]

In Europe i see loads of advertisings: 800 euro to bali, hotel plus flight for 10 days. To Thailand only the ticket Thai air costs more then that.

Also Malaysia is still in promotion.

These offers are available at full price through the tg website only. Tickets are sold through agents to maintain the domestic monopoly of tg sales.

[Ricardo]

I wished that the Thai Air representatives, would take this opportunity to come

to Calgary Alberta, Canada, and start a new route from Bangkok to Calgary and return.

We could use some good competition for our Air Canada airline. I have always enjoyed

the great Thai Air service in the past and would certainly fly on Thai Air in the

future, if only it would fly to our city.

Sorry, but how many people per-day want to fly between Calgary and Thailand, to fill a wide-bodied long-haul aircraft to an acceptable load-factor, when THAI can't operate profitably to places like SFO/LAX/SEA/JFK ?

Perhaps there are other higher-priority potential-destinations, on their to-do list.

[kjhbigv]

I see they have put the old night flight back on for LHR-BKK, so now they have a Boeing 777 and an A380 leaving London every day.

Also, prices for LHR-BKK-LHR a with Thai at the moment are fantastic.....GBP509.00 LHR-CNX-LHR all in!

GBP498.00 with online agents.

Cheapest by a long way!

OK but BKK-LON-BKK GBP 989 work that one out......

Always been the same, two different markets,

BKK-LHR-BKK = affluent Thai's going to London for business/pleasure/study.

LHR-BKK-LHR = cheap holidays to "paradise" for holiday makers/blokes visiting their terak, both with cash to burn in LOS!

Ok, a bit of a generalisation, but you get the idea!

[geriatrickid]

THAI's BKK-LAX route was a loser from the get-go. They charged twice as much for the flight than any other carrier, with the only selling point being that it was a non-stop flight. It should have been scrapped years ago.

Be fair. TG does not charge 2X as much. If one takes September economy class fares, the lowest cost is on some of the Chinese/Taiwan airlines. with China Airlines coming in the lowest at $757 vs $886 on TG. Go to the TG website and see for yourself.

Yes, China Southern, China Eastern and a few other crappy airlines are priced lower than TG. There is a reason for that. TG offers more space, better food and a lower likelihood of stranding pax or having lengthy delays as is the norm with mainland Chinese carriers. TG is rated as a 4* carrier. That means one should compare it with SQ, CX and BR. These 3 carriers are on par with TG, and have higher fares.

It is tough to make a profit on the SE Asian routes, but TG was squeaking by. The reason for the stop has lots to do with the FAA audit. Thailand is about to get slammed hard by the FAA.

Don't forget that both Malaysian and United abandoned LAX in 2014. There are only 2 SE Asian airlines servicing LAX, SIA and PAL. However, SIA stopped its direct LAX- SIN some time ago. Pax now have to transit NRT.

I am surprised no one has mentioned this devastating result from 2014;

Thai’s 2014 load factor on international routes within Asia was less than 60% Thai’s load factor slipped across all six of its geographic segments. The domestic and regional segments performed particularly poorly. Thai’s load factor across its regional international operation, which includes all destinations in Asia, was only 59.4% in 2014 compared to 74.4% in 2013.

In plain language, TG is on the ropes in Asia. Old decrepit equipment, an attempt to expand in China where the market is just as biased as Thais and prefer Chinese carriers and an inability to compete with the low end Chinese carriers. Koreans, Taiwanese and Japanese avoid TG and are more willing to do so since Thailand got reamed by ICAO.

[hawker9000]

'Have been flying a couple of times a year between LAX and BKK on different airlines, both high season & low season and in-between, for many years. TG always costly, and occasionally among the costliest. Yes, you're correct about Air China, China Air, China Eastern, China Southern ... but even counting them out, TG has rarely if ever been cost-competitive, at least not between LAX and BKK.

Just did a quick sample check for a return flight dep 5AUG rtn 8SEP. Besides the Chinese carriers mentioned above, EVA, PAL, Asiana, Delta, and even Singapore Airlines cheaper by at least a few hundred $USD, and even this isn't really reflective, IMO, of the TG price premium historically which has been much higher. It's actually a relative bargain at the moment, historically speaking -- but we know why that is now... And only four flights a week (again, from LAX) listed to begin with.

[geriatrickid]

'Have been flying a couple of times a year between LAX and BKK on different airlines, both high season & low season and in-between, for many years. TG always costly, and occasionally among the costliest. Yes, you're correct about Air China, China Air, China Eastern, China Southern ... but even counting them out, TG has rarely if ever been cost-competitive, at least not between LAX and BKK.

Just did a quick sample check for a return flight dep 5AUG rtn 8SEP. Besides the Chinese carriers mentioned above, EVA, PAL, Asiana, Delta, and even Singapore Airlines cheaper by at least a few hundred $USD, and even this isn't really reflective, IMO, of the TG price premium historically which has been much higher. It's actually a relative bargain at the moment, historically speaking -- but we know why that is now... And only four flights a week (again, from LAX) listed to begin with.

Long haul airfares reflect load factors. If TG has a full plane it doesn't have to reduce its fares. The load factor has always been pretty good on the LAX route. What's your compelling reason for TG to cuts its fare to match some of the lower airfares on routes that are several hours longer and require a transfer? The price difference is not unusual as the Thai flight is considered direct, albeit with a stop. There is no requirement to change aircraft or transit. These types of flights are always more expensive.

Why should an airline cut its airfares on a route when it does not have to? The old B777-200 series on the LAX route is a bit of a jet fuel guzzler. The airline blogs are saying that TG would have been blocked by the FAA from substituting in the B777-300 during peak season and TG needed the aircraft at that time. The argument is that the curtailment of the service is all about avoiding the negative impact of the FAA inspection. If there is no service, there is no loss of face when the FAA imposes restrictions.

And yes you are right about the lower fares now. It's shocking. The load factors took a dive after the coup.

Aside from the negative impact that the coup had on conferences and meetings, I found the comment on the Thai military government's administration of Thai Smile interesting.

Thai Airways has struggled to find a role for Thai Smile, adjusting its network and product strategy several times over the last three years. The latest of several U-turns came in 2H2014 as Thai’s military-appointed executive team decided to move Thai Smile from Thai Airways’ hub at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi to Bangkok Don Mueang,

Thai Smile shifted three of its domestic routes to Don Mueang in Aug-2014 and was initially planning to move the rest of its operation. But Thai reversed course and halted the move of Thai Smile’s remaining routes. Thai Smile still currently operates 10 daily flights at Don Mueang across three domestic routes. But the bulk of its operation is still at Suvarnabhumi, where it operates 15 routes (nine international and six domestic). As only a couple of these routes are also operated by Thai Airways a shift to Don Mueang was always illogical as it would have killed connections. Maintaining connections to the three destinations Thai Smile now serves from Don Mueang is not as essential because Thai Airways serves these destinations from Suvarnabhumi. But splitting the Thai Smile operation between two Bangkok airports is costly and ill-advised. Thai Smile should be focusing on feeding Thai Airways while the group uses its affiliate Nok to compete with LCCs in the point to point market.

Don Muang is a military owned airport. The more activity, the more revenues generated.

It's easy to beat up on TG, but my interpretation is that there is a lot of interference from the military, including the forcing upon the airline of business decisions that are not necessarily good for TG. TG is described as a parking spot for Air Force officers who want a career change. The airline will never get its affairs in order until it is run as a civilian airline and not as a job center for the Thai military.

[Usernames]

THAI's BKK-LAX route was a loser from the get-go. They charged twice as much for the flight than any other carrier, with the only selling point being that it was a non-stop flight. It should have been scrapped years ago.

I flew LAX - BKK twice, in 1999 and 2000. I think that was during the Amazing Thailand campaign. Back then the price was excellent and the connection flight (SFO to LAX with UA) was even included. But I agree, in the last couple of years the TG fares have been utterly overpriced.

For me, the connecting flight was the problem. To get from the domestic connecting flight to the LAX International terminal, I had to receive all my luggage and hand carry it to the International terminal, where I had to stand in line to check it all again. This was in 2010. Never again. I huge pain in the a$$. About a million times easier and more comfortable to fly from DFW to Seoul, wait two hours, and then go on to Bangkok.

[hawker9000]

A stopover where I was going to get on the same plane again vs one where I was getting on a different aircraft just wouldn't make an ounce of difference to me (unless I had to retrieve my baggage and check it again). A stopover is a stopover is a stopover. If the total travel time were significantly longer, that might make a difference, but usually it's pretty much just the length of the stopover that is the determining factor moreso than the location of the stopover. ('Course significantly longer if your stopover is in, say Beijing, and that's why the Chinese airline flights are so cheap.) 'Just never saw any reason to pay so much more to fly TG and did not think it good value for money.

[thaibeachlovers]

thai air flys from LHR to BKK around 30 mins before or after the EVA flight, ive booked 40+ flights with EVA because in most cases they were HUNDREDS of pounds cheaper than thai and the last time i bothered to ask, thai were still using 747's.

747? ......nah!

....and just before posting this i phoned to check prices. EVA to BKK £515.....thai to BKK £745...... nah again.....but apparently they have a 777 now....wow!

The B777 takes an hour longer to get to London. The 747-400 is still the fastest, I once came from LHR to BKK in 10hr 15mins on a Thai 747-400, then again, is an hour each way worth 230 quid?!

Well, I have done LHR - BKK on a fully loaded BA 777 in 10hr 30mins, so I doubt there is all that much difference. Mind you, the return flight at 12hrs 45mins was no picnic, it has to be said...

Here's a speed record that will be hard to believe. The record for a sub-sonic Atlantic crossing by an airliner, London - NYC, is still held by the Vickers VC10 (a rear-mounted four engined airliner that entered service with BOAC in 1964, and only left service with the RAF in 2013), in a time of 5hrs 1min. The record was only ever surpassed by Concorde, strange but true!!

Source:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vickers_VC10

Not for nothing was it named Speedbird.

Far more attractive than the plain aircraft that fly nowadays.

[novo58]

Despite all the negativity on this thread about Thai airlines, I have just booked with them for a trip to Brisbane Aust. I think I flew with them once in about 1982.

The trip was a bit of a last minute thing, booked on line on Thurs 30/7, paid for on 31/7 for a flight out of swampy on 4/8.

At time of booking Thai was the cheapest available apart from Jetstar (Aust). The Thai flight is direct and 8hrs ( flying time). Jetstar was with stopovers and a total time of 14hrs.

Jetstar offers a pay for baggage allownace- thai gives free .Other airlines were either considerably dearer , or involved long layovers en route.

I will report after trip on service, aircraft condition, in flight services etc.

However, already encountered 1 small problem . I live in Udon Thani so have to get to Swampy. To avoid the hassle of transfer from Don Mueang, direct flight to Swampy gave me only Bangkok air or Thai smile as my choices. Bangkok air direct flights only morning(8am) or afternoon(8.50pm - arriving 21:55).

Thai international have advised that I need to check in 3 hours before flight(departs midnight) , so this rules bangkok air afternoon flight out.

So I book udon - swampy with Thai smile.

Despite being a part of Thai airlines...............I cannot check my bag in all the way to Australia. I have to collect at swampy and re-check in again ( small problem but still an added inconvenience). It is issues like this that influence a persons decisions when choosing who to fly. That being said there is probably no airline that would have checked the baggage all the way thru to destination.................................but being a division of Thai Airlines , I am saying that they should offer this service. Just one less inconvenience for the passenger and would help link international passengers to their domestic services.

Now to wait and see what the current Thai airways inflight service is really like .

I will report after arrival in Oz.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

For domestic fliers arriving to DM but needing to catch an international flight out of Swampy, there is a courtesy (free) bus operated by AOT between DM and Swampy that's available to anyone who can show the bus desk at DM the flight paperwork for their Swampy flight that same day. Trip by bus usually is less than one hour, and it's a decent bus with large luggage racks, etc.

Unfortunately, the last time I took that bus (fortunately I was heading home from DM, not catching an outbound international flight) the AOT bus broke down on the expressway midway between the two airports and left all the passengers standing on an elevated section of the expressway with no way to get off/down/away.

The bus driver said AOT would have a replacement vehicle in about 15 minutes. We waited about a half hour standing on the shoulder with cars and buses whizzing by, before finally flagging down a rare empty taxi inbound to Swampy that delivered us the rest of the way to the airport. By the time we caught the taxi, still no AOT replacement vehicle had arrived.

-------------------------

As for the checked luggage issue, it's just typical of the frequent disconnects here where things that you'd think/expect to work together (like sister airlines under the same corporate entity/ownership) in fact don't work well together at all.

Like BTS and MRT and ARL not having shared ticketing. Like BTS and MRT accepting bank cards for payment, but ARL not accepting bank cards for payment. Or MANY international flights arriving at Swampy after midnight and yet the ARL service out of Swampy stops at midnight. Etc etc etc.

[AloisAmrein]

The end is coming nearer and nearer. Grounding just a question of time. It is also very clear why: Flights from Zurich to BKK with Swiss are mostly cheaper then the same flight with Thai Airways.

[thaibeachlovers]

Despite all the negativity on this thread about Thai airlines, I have just booked with them for a trip to Brisbane Aust. I think I flew with them once in about 1982.

The trip was a bit of a last minute thing, booked on line on Thurs 30/7, paid for on 31/7 for a flight out of swampy on 4/8.

At time of booking Thai was the cheapest available apart from Jetstar (Aust). The Thai flight is direct and 8hrs ( flying time). Jetstar was with stopovers and a total time of 14hrs.

Jetstar offers a pay for baggage allownace- thai gives free .Other airlines were either considerably dearer , or involved long layovers en route.

I will report after trip on service, aircraft condition, in flight services etc.

However, already encountered 1 small problem . I live in Udon Thani so have to get to Swampy. To avoid the hassle of transfer from Don Mueang, direct flight to Swampy gave me only Bangkok air or Thai smile as my choices. Bangkok air direct flights only morning(8am) or afternoon(8.50pm - arriving 21:55).

Thai international have advised that I need to check in 3 hours before flight(departs midnight) , so this rules bangkok air afternoon flight out.

So I book udon - swampy with Thai smile.

Despite being a part of Thai airlines...............I cannot check my bag in all the way to Australia. I have to collect at swampy and re-check in again ( small problem but still an added inconvenience). It is issues like this that influence a persons decisions when choosing who to fly. That being said there is probably no airline that would have checked the baggage all the way thru to destination.................................but being a division of Thai Airlines , I am saying that they should offer this service. Just one less inconvenience for the passenger and would help link international passengers to their domestic services.

Now to wait and see what the current Thai airways inflight service is really like .

I will report after arrival in Oz.

That being said there is probably no airline that would have checked the baggage all the way thru to destination

Had you been able to fly with the real Thai Air you could probably have booked the bag through all the way. I did that from Chiang Mai. Probably something to do with budget rules.

[thaibeachlovers]

For domestic fliers arriving to DM but needing to catch an international flight out of Swampy, there is a courtesy (free) bus operated by AOT between DM and Swampy that's available to anyone who can show the bus desk at DM the flight paperwork for their Swampy flight that same day. Trip by bus usually is less than one hour, and it's a decent bus with large luggage racks, etc.

Unfortunately, the last time I took that bus (fortunately I was heading home from DM, not catching an outbound international flight) the AOT bus broke down on the expressway midway between the two airports and left all the passengers standing on an elevated section of the expressway with no way to get off/down/away.

The bus driver said AOT would have a replacement vehicle in about 15 minutes. We waited about a half hour standing on the shoulder with cars and buses whizzing by, before finally flagging down a rare empty taxi inbound to Swampy that delivered us the rest of the way to the airport. By the time we caught the taxi, still no AOT replacement vehicle had arrived.

-------------------------

As for the checked luggage issue, it's just typical of the frequent disconnects here where things that you'd think/expect to work together (like sister airlines under the same corporate entity/ownership) in fact don't work well together at all.

Like BTS and MRT and ARL not having shared ticketing. Like BTS and MRT accepting bank cards for payment, but ARL not accepting bank cards for payment. Or MANY international flights arriving at Swampy after midnight and yet the ARL service out of Swampy stops at midnight. Etc etc etc.

Which is why I always try and stay overnight in Bkk before an intl flight.

Even the Heathrow tube line doesn't run after 2345 from Heathrow. Why do you expect the ARL to do so?

Edited August 1, 2015 by thaibeachlovers

[JAG]

For domestic fliers arriving to DM but needing to catch an international flight out of Swampy, there is a courtesy (free) bus operated by AOT between DM and Swampy that's available to anyone who can show the bus desk at DM the flight paperwork for their Swampy flight that same day. Trip by bus usually is less than one hour, and it's a decent bus with large luggage racks, etc.

Unfortunately, the last time I took that bus (fortunately I was heading home from DM, not catching an outbound international flight) the AOT bus broke down on the expressway midway between the two airports and left all the passengers standing on an elevated section of the expressway with no way to get off/down/away.

The bus driver said AOT would have a replacement vehicle in about 15 minutes. We waited about a half hour standing on the shoulder with cars and buses whizzing by, before finally flagging down a rare empty taxi inbound to Swampy that delivered us the rest of the way to the airport. By the time we caught the taxi, still no AOT replacement vehicle had arrived.

-------------------------

As for the checked luggage issue, it's just typical of the frequent disconnects here where things that you'd think/expect to work together (like sister airlines under the same corporate entity/ownership) in fact don't work well together at all.

Like BTS and MRT and ARL not having shared ticketing. Like BTS and MRT accepting bank cards for payment, but ARL not accepting bank cards for payment. Or MANY international flights arriving at Swampy after midnight and yet the ARL service out of Swampy stops at midnight. Etc etc etc.

Which is why I always try and stay overnight in Bkk before an intl flight.

Even the Heathrow tube line doesn't run after 2345 from Heathrow. Why do you expect the ARL to do so?

Well Heathrow is effectively closed between 2300 and 0600, Swampy isn't.

[thaibeachlovers]

For domestic fliers arriving to DM but needing to catch an international flight out of Swampy, there is a courtesy (free) bus operated by AOT between DM and Swampy that's available to anyone who can show the bus desk at DM the flight paperwork for their Swampy flight that same day. Trip by bus usually is less than one hour, and it's a decent bus with large luggage racks, etc.

Unfortunately, the last time I took that bus (fortunately I was heading home from DM, not catching an outbound international flight) the AOT bus broke down on the expressway midway between the two airports and left all the passengers standing on an elevated section of the expressway with no way to get off/down/away.

The bus driver said AOT would have a replacement vehicle in about 15 minutes. We waited about a half hour standing on the shoulder with cars and buses whizzing by, before finally flagging down a rare empty taxi inbound to Swampy that delivered us the rest of the way to the airport. By the time we caught the taxi, still no AOT replacement vehicle had arrived.

-------------------------

As for the checked luggage issue, it's just typical of the frequent disconnects here where things that you'd think/expect to work together (like sister airlines under the same corporate entity/ownership) in fact don't work well together at all.

Like BTS and MRT and ARL not having shared ticketing. Like BTS and MRT accepting bank cards for payment, but ARL not accepting bank cards for payment. Or MANY international flights arriving at Swampy after midnight and yet the ARL service out of Swampy stops at midnight. Etc etc etc.

Which is why I always try and stay overnight in Bkk before an intl flight.

Even the Heathrow tube line doesn't run after 2345 from Heathrow. Why do you expect the ARL to do so?

Well Heathrow is effectively closed between 2300 and 0600, Swampy isn't.

Fair enough.

However, given the few people that would use a post midnight service ( the ARL also carries ordinary passengers from intermediate stations ) I would expect it would lose too much money to be worth keeping open.

Not that long ago there was no ARL at all.

[Tomtomtom69]

Thai Airways to cut 1,401 jobs, suspend flights to U.S.

Reuters being sensationalist about this. Cutting one route, Bangkok - Los Angeles, is hardly withdrawing from the market .

Actually it is, as it's the only THAI route in the USA left. And all of the Americas for that matter. Back in 1980 they first started flying to LAX, after which they even flew to such airports as Dallas/Fort Worth and Seattle for a while, before suspending flights to those cities and focusing only on LAX. Then in the mid 2000s they started flying to JFK, a route that only lasted a couple of years due to high fuel prices. Once the non-stop flight to LAX was suspended in 2012 and replaced with a service via Seoul, not to mention that it was no longer operating daily but instead just 4 times a week, they started to lose a lot of customers. This is just the last nail in the coffin.

[Tomtomtom69]

For domestic fliers arriving to DM but needing to catch an international flight out of Swampy, there is a courtesy (free) bus operated by AOT between DM and Swampy that's available to anyone who can show the bus desk at DM the flight paperwork for their Swampy flight that same day. Trip by bus usually is less than one hour, and it's a decent bus with large luggage racks, etc.

Unfortunately, the last time I took that bus (fortunately I was heading home from DM, not catching an outbound international flight) the AOT bus broke down on the expressway midway between the two airports and left all the passengers standing on an elevated section of the expressway with no way to get off/down/away.

The bus driver said AOT would have a replacement vehicle in about 15 minutes. We waited about a half hour standing on the shoulder with cars and buses whizzing by, before finally flagging down a rare empty taxi inbound to Swampy that delivered us the rest of the way to the airport. By the time we caught the taxi, still no AOT replacement vehicle had arrived.

-------------------------

As for the checked luggage issue, it's just typical of the frequent disconnects here where things that you'd think/expect to work together (like sister airlines under the same corporate entity/ownership) in fact don't work well together at all.

Like BTS and MRT and ARL not having shared ticketing. Like BTS and MRT accepting bank cards for payment, but ARL not accepting bank cards for payment. Or MANY international flights arriving at Swampy after midnight and yet the ARL service out of Swampy stops at midnight. Etc etc etc.

Which is why I always try and stay overnight in Bkk before an intl flight.

Even the Heathrow tube line doesn't run after 2345 from Heathrow. Why do you expect the ARL to do so?

Well Heathrow is effectively closed between 2300 and 0600, Swampy isn't.

Fair enough.

However, given the few people that would use a post midnight service ( the ARL also carries ordinary passengers from intermediate stations ) I would expect it would lose too much money to be worth keeping open.

Not that long ago there was no ARL at all.

There aren't many arrivals between midnight and 6am at Swampy either, it's mostly just a few Chinese tour groups arriving on charter flights from China. Of the relatively few flights between these hours, between 12 and 1am tends to be departures for India and Europe, not arrivals. 5am to 6am are arrivals from some Australian cities and Europe, but by the time you're past immigration, collected your baggage and customs, it's usually after 6am so by then the ARL will be operating.

[Tomtomtom69]

The end is coming nearer and nearer. Grounding just a question of time. It is also very clear why: Flights from Zurich to BKK with Swiss are mostly cheaper then the same flight with Thai Airways.

That must be new, because up until not so long ago, SWISS were far more expensive. Maybe things really are starting to change?

[Red Queen]

I wished that the Thai Air representatives, would take this opportunity to come

to Calgary Alberta, Canada, and start a new route from Bangkok to Calgary and return.

We could use some good competition for our Air Canada airline. I have always enjoyed

the great Thai Air service in the past and would certainly fly on Thai Air in the

future, if only it would fly to our city.

The way Thai airlines are going, Calgary will be about all they have left. Keep your fingers crossed.

[hawker9000]

There aren't many arrivals between midnight and 6am at Swampy either, it's mostly just a few Chinese tour groups arriving on charter flights from China. Of the relatively few flights between these hours, between 12 and 1am tends to be departures for India and Europe, not arrivals. 5am to 6am are arrivals from some Australian cities and Europe, but by the time you're past immigration, collected your baggage and customs, it's usually after 6am so by then the ARL will be operating.

Disagree: about a hundred arriving flights actually, between midnight & 6am today, 2AUG ... And THAT doesn't include flights scheduled to arrive before midnight (a much larger number!), many if not most of whose passengers can't possibly deplane, get thru immigration, collect their baggage, and make that last train at 2300, or probably even 2400 if there was one, anyway). I know many of the routes from LAX with their 1 stopover wherever (Hong Kong, Seoul, Tokyo, wherever...) operate on a mid-day and a mid-night schedule (departing). The flights departing mid-day seem to generally arrive during the midnight-3AM period at Suv.

Having quite often arrived during that window myself, I more often than not see long lines at Immigration, though I've usually been able to skirt them by continuing beyond the first hall. And then plenty of activity on the different baggage carousels, indicating many flights arriving during the same period. Lately, this midnight-3am window has been sort of additionally saturated with Chinese ('course I guess most of them will be leaving the airport on one of the big tour busses).

It seems like it that number of arrivals would justify running the ARL during the late night hours, even if at longer intervals. I know I would use it as far as Phaya Thai if I could, if I didn't have to wait TOO long.

[Dibbler]

Watch as THAI slips to a 3-star airline in the coming years. For too many years THAI has serviced its own board and forgotten paying customers