Thailand is home to 4 of the worst airlines for safety in the world

[kannot]

Every cloud.......?

.......................has a Thai airplane falling through it?

[kannot]

This is clearly wrong and damages Thailand's image. Thailand's very own respected international air safety ratings survey, conducted by social welfare students at Chula Uni on 1,243 Thais from 70 villages from Jan 5-6, puts Knock-Air at 7 Stars.

surprised they can count to 7

[godden]

In thailand money is king, life is cheap.

[kannot]

I didn't know that Nok Air had a bad safety record. Any insight as to why they only get 2 stars?

couldnt afford the full tea money?

[flyDelight]

Very misleading, how about hundreds of small airliners in other third world countries, like some in Africa that have very old planes with doors that not close properly and loose seats etc. etc.

I think Bangkok Airways is excellent, for me they are 5 stars.

[geisha]

A few weeks ago I was listening to an interview with this company, local tv here, and the pilot couldn't speak 3 words of English.

I decided there and then never to fly with them.

[swerver]

Every cloud.......?

This rating qualifies as the Joke of the century for naming Quantas (Queensland and Northern Territory Air services is what the name stands for) as the 7-star airline.

Nothing wrong with Quantas but as an aviation maintenance engineer and transport pilot with more than 10,000 hours flying I happen to know a few things about Quantas, I may give them 7-stars, but I defenitely would not name it in my listing to show the reading public what a 7-star airline comprises of..

Anybody with a little knowledge about airlines knows that it takes a lot to beat Singapore Airlines. Yes, they're not the cheapest in price, but as the saying goes, "You get what you pay for".

This listing is also invalid because it lops the long-haul and the short haul carriers in the same pot, as a pilot having flown both I like you to know that there is a fast difference between the two.

[ikurauni]

I have used TG many times for the past 3 years and noticed some issues with them.
I don’t know anything about the technical issues with the maintenance of the aircraft, but I can say that the CAs at TG don’t seem to care about the international regulations. But they care about serving Dom Perignon to the first class passengers.

I have witnessed the following:
1) When taking off or landing, some of the passengers were using computers or mobile devices but the CA do not say anything about it. Other major airlines tell you to stop doing it.
2) When taking off or landing, some of the passengers were not fastening the seatbelt. The CAs were walking through the aisle but they never checked.
3) When taking off or landing, the passenger in front of me did not put the seat in the upright position but the CAs never said anything about it.

I have used some other major airlines. They all check and conduct very basic standard procedures when taking off and landing. TG does not perform the same. The CAs just walk through the aisle but not checking what they should do. If the management does not operate the standard procedures no one does it properly.

I am not surprised that their safety ratings are low. They need to be trained properly. But who will train them?

[sanukjim]

I am only taking minivans from now on.

I take 4 pints of beer before take off.........

Taking a bit of the weed will give an additional feeling while going down from 30,000 feet.Weeee

[malcoml]

"Please sir this plane does not look safe for take off". "mai pen rai"

[petedk]

They need to be sued for defamation.

"Let's wait for the translation and see if there are grounds for a case"

[mickyboy]

I am only taking minivans from now on.

dw.jpg ?

thats so true i used minivans about 40 times and been in 2 small knocks and about 5 near misses but still find it best way to get around for speed and price allthough tend to use big bus now more confort

[Squeegee]

Great news for Thai airline businesses!

Losing face and money is the only way to improve Thailand.

More loss of face and money for Thailand, please!

[Shaunduhpostman]

I find it hard to believe Thai airlines are the absolute bottom of the barrel. Though, It would really be what you would expect that Thai carriers would not rank highly at all. The mentality in Thailand is such that it is so horribly unbecoming to bother oneself or others with precautions, plans or safety, don't seriot, is the mantra here. Much cheaper and stress free to breeze through life and run one's business etc with the attitude that nothing bad ever happens to good people, so why bother? International groups that inspect and try and create awareness and standards simply don't understand the deeper truths of life.

[sanukjim]

I suspect the difference between the top and bottom of the Thai airline list is like the difference in the odds between getting stomped by an elephant, eaten by a tiger or beaten to death by a gibbon.

I'm going with the cheapest ticket and the best flight schedule.

I bet that you will be trying to be "born again" on the way down from 30,000 feet. You get what you pay for.

[qz21uz]

On my first ever visit to Thailand in 1999, our company had a retired US Army colonel on retainer as our local agent. At that time he had lived in Thailand about 23 years.

He went on and on and on one night about how bad THAI airlines was.

Oh.

[darren84310]

The star ratings of these 5 mentioned Thai airlines does surprise me somewhat. If I had to predict beforehand, based on my experience flying them all numerous times, I would have gone with;

Orient Thai: 1star

Nok Air: 2stars

AirAsia: 3 stars

Thai Air: 4stars

Bangkok Air: 4+stars

What might have skewed the results is the difference between long haul fligh and only short haul flight airlines. Short haul airlines are generally a lot more dangerous due to the inherent risk of take of and landing and use of smaller (prop) planes.

Anyway, still plenty work to do for all Thai airlines!

Bangkok Air!!!!..... u must be joking.... They've had more runway crashes than I've had hot dinners.

[PatOngo]

Every cloud.......?

This rating qualifies as the Joke of the century for naming Quantas (Queensland and Northern Territory Air services is what the name stands for) as the 7-star airline.

Nothing wrong with Quantas but as an aviation maintenance engineer and transport pilot with more than 10,000 hours flying I happen to know a few things about Quantas, I may give them 7-stars, but I defenitely would not name it in my listing to show the reading public what a 7-star airline comprises of..

Anybody with a little knowledge about airlines knows that it takes a lot to beat Singapore Airlines. Yes, they're not the cheapest in price, but as the saying goes, "You get what you pay for".

This listing is also invalid because it lops the long-haul and the short haul carriers in the same pot, as a pilot having flown both I like you to know that there is a fast difference between the two.

That's QANTAS.....check it....it's written on the side of their planes.

[Pinot]

I fly AirAsia

I'm not proud of it

[Gulfsailor]

The star ratings of these 5 mentioned Thai airlines does surprise me somewhat. If I had to predict beforehand, based on my experience flying them all numerous times, I would have gone with;

Orient Thai: 1star

Nok Air: 2stars

AirAsia: 3 stars

Thai Air: 4stars

Bangkok Air: 4+stars

What might have skewed the results is the difference between long haul fligh and only short haul flight airlines. Short haul airlines are generally a lot more dangerous due to the inherent risk of take of and landing and use of smaller (prop) planes.

Anyway, still plenty work to do for all Thai airlines!

Bangkok Air!!!!..... u must be joking.... They've had more runway crashes than I've had hot dinners.

Does that mean you had one single hot dinner in your life? Bangkok air had two runway incidents amongst 3 total incidents since they started in 1968. For the record those two runway incidents cost the life of 1 person (pilot) in total. The third accident was an actual crash.

[rodknock]

so, what excuse does the PM have for this report or does he say they have no idea whats going on. he is right and the rest of the world is wrong.

Thai airlines are just lucky they have not had a major crash. it is not a question of if, only when!!

[TheCruncher]

I am only taking minivans from now on.

Good idea, I heard those minivans really fly.

[Roota]

Very misleading, how about hundreds of small airliners in other third world countries, like some in Africa that have very old planes with doors that not close properly and loose seats etc. etc.

The headline is either totally ignorant or more likely just cynical clickbait.

For example, they imply that Nok is Thailand's least safe airline. Now I don't care much for Nok Air myself but my reasons have nothing to do with safety -- they've been flying for 12 years without a single fatal accident. JACDEC, a far more authoritative source than Airlineratings.com ranks them not far behind Turkish and SAS for safety.

Even Orient Thai, which is almost surely Thailand's least safe airline and the only one I wouldn't fly, is hardly one of the 'worst airlines for safety in the world'. There are literally hundreds of worse ones, mainly in Africa and Latin America.

There is more than enough crap reporting on commercial aviation in the legitimate media to waste your time reading, let's see, what's the name of this highly respected news source . . . ah, 'What's on Sukhumvit'. Judging by this I'm not sure I'd trust even their reporting on bars.

[Franz81]

I didn't know that Nok Air had a bad safety record. Any insight as to why they only get 2 stars?

flight hours on airframe and power plant as opposed to routine planned preventive maintenance program determined by "said" flight hours . the factory schedule must be followed accurately and be up to date including major component removal & replacement as well as component rebuild . this schedule determines "safety rating" . short cuts in maintenance means the plane has a poor safety record and planes will fall in the near future . all mechanical operations od the aircraft must be kept in "new" condition at all times . bada bada bing ................

I thought Lufthansa Technik take care of these operations

http://www.lufthansa-technik.com/press-releases-content/-/asset_publisher/9Mf5/content/id/1142366

[NovaBlue05]

Fly Nok from Bkk to Udon and back each year for several years and haven't had a complaint yet. Nice quick 1 hour flight. I suppose I could add 5 hours to the trip each way and take the highways but would that be safer?

[oldsailor35]

And Thai Airways charges more and has a bad rap . Tells you why I don't fly Local Airlines

As a matter of fact my girlfriend is Thai and will not fly any of these airlines as well

Tells you something doesn't it

She probably was getting bad info from the other bar girls.

[Gunna]

The star ratings of these 5 mentioned Thai airlines does surprise me somewhat. If I had to predict beforehand, based on my experience flying them all numerous times, I would have gone with;

Orient Thai: 1star

Nok Air: 2stars

AirAsia: 3 stars

Thai Air: 4stars

Bangkok Air: 4+stars

What might have skewed the results is the difference between long haul fligh and only short haul flight airlines. Short haul airlines are generally a lot more dangerous due to the inherent risk of take of and landing and use of smaller (prop) planes.

Anyway, still plenty work to do for all Thai airlines!

Bangkok Air!!!!..... u must be joking.... They've had more runway crashes than I've had hot dinners.

You must be on a diet - 4 accidents and only one with fatalities

Incidents and accidents[edit]

• On 7 December 1987, Sahakol Air Hawker Siddeley HS 748 Series 2A (registration HS-THH), was damaged beyond repair after it overran the runway on landing at Udon Thani Airport (UTH) with no fatalities.^[25]
• On 21 November 1990, Bangkok Airways flight 125 de Havilland Canada DHC-8-103 crashed on Koh Samui while attempting to land in heavy rain and high winds. All 38 people on board perished.^[26]
• In August 2002 an ATR 72-200 skidded off the runway while landing at Siem Reap International Airport. There were no injures. The airport was closed for 2 days.
• On 4 August 2009, Bangkok Airways Flight 266, operated by an ATR-72 between Krabi and Ko Samui skidded off the runway, killing one of the pilots. The 68 passengers were evacuated.^[27] Of the passengers evacuated, 6 sustained serious injuries while another 4 were treated for minor injuries.^[28]

^{About the same as QANTAS}

• On 24 August 1960, Lockheed Super Constellation registered VH-EAC crashed on take-off at Mauritius en route to the Cocos Islands, Australia. The take-off was aborted following an engine failure, the aircraft ran off the runway, and was destroyed by fire. There were no fatalities.^[170]
• On 23 September 1999, Qantas Flight 1, a Boeing 747-400 registered VH-OJH, overran the runway while landing at Bangkok, Thailand, during a heavy thunderstorm. The aircraft came to a stop on a golf course, but without fatalities. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau criticised numerous inadequacies in Qantas' operational and training processes.^[171]
• On 25 July 2008, Qantas Flight 30, a Boeing 747-438 registered VH-OJK, suffered a ruptured fuselage and decompression as a result of an oxygen tank explosion over theSouth China Sea. En route from Hong Kong International Airport to Melbourne Airport, the aircraft made an emergency landing at Ninoy Aquino International Airport with no injuries.^[172]
• On 7 October 2008, Airbus A330-300 registered VH-QPA, travelling from Singapore to Perth, Western Australia as Qantas Flight 72, suffered a rapid loss of altitude in two sudden uncommanded pitch down manoeuvres causing serious injuries while 80 nautical miles (150 km) from Learmonth. The aircraft safely landed in Learmonth, with 14 people requiring transportation by air ambulance to Perth. Another 30 people also required hospital treatment, while an additional 30 people had injuries not requiring hospital treatment.^[173] Initial investigations identified an inertial reference system fault in the Number-1 Air Data Inertial Reference Unit as the likely origin of the event. On receiving false indication of a very high angle of attack, the flight control systems commanded a pitch down movement, reaching a maximum of 8.5 degrees pitch down.^[174]
• On 4 November 2010, Qantas Flight 32, an Airbus A380 registered VH-OQA, fitted with four Trent 972 engines manufactured by Rolls-Royce, suffered an uncontained turbine disc failure of its left inboard engine shortly after taking off from Singapore Changi Airport en route to Sydney. The flight returned to Singapore and landed safely, and all 440 passengers and 29 crew on board survived uninjured.^[175] Cowling parts of the failed engine fell over Batam Island, Indonesia.^{[176][177][178]}

[zaZa9]

I didn't know that Nok Air had a bad safety record. Any insight as to why they only get 2 stars?

Just one example, take a few of their flights and watch how often they check the name details etc., at both check-in and at the boarding gate.

At one stage, maybe a year back, approximately, they had several incidents of passengers on wrong flights.

Before take off they should give the passengers seated in the exit rows a verbal briefing. Plenty of times I've seen foreigners in these rows. the briefing is conducted in Thai language only and so fast the details are clouded for even the Thai passengers to understand.

Not my experience at all.

I have seen a briefing EVERY time Ive sat in or near the emergency exit seats - in 2 languages .

[ThaiTony2]

It sure would be to all our benefit if the Thai government and aviation industry accepted the ratings and understand the importance and then work to improve and maintain all deficiencies.

High safety ratings and its maintainence is not free, it comes with associated cost. Thailand focuses on tourism but they must recognize that the usage and wear and tear of aircraft, highways, roads are part of the cost. If they ignore these, the infrastructure is weakened and you find yourself with poor safety.

Let's hope that this wake-up call will result in some positive changes now and into the future.

[Michael8511]

I think it's to much bad mouthing of the Thai Airlines. I'm a very experienced traveler, flown around the world since 1975 for work and even worked as a purser on a Scandinavian airline in the late 70's.

Have flown on all these airlines and felt safe, use to fly Thai Airways 4-5 times a year during the years when they had the direct flight JFK-BKK and still miss their service. The only carrier I'm somewhat hesitate to travel with is Orient Thai since they are using old 747 and they are painted so you see the old airlines logo thru the paint so I'm not sure if the aircraft is gone thru before the paint job. (I agree the statement sounds crazy). Nok air and air Asia Thailand I have been on and don't have any problem. Bangkok Air and Cathay pacific have code share so I feel ok with them also.

One of the reason that they have 3 stars is that they are banned from Europe if that ban was lifted they would probably get one more star. And I don't see that these airlines have had a high volume of crashes consider their schedule with many short flights, they have a lot of take off and landings and many with small aircrafts. Don't know if you guys follow the incident reports for airlines world wide if you do you will then see that US airlines have had a lot of small incidents that can be traced to maintenance problems and even European airlines that have more stars have had issues like that.

So just bash these airlines because they are Thai it's in my opinion wrong. But when reading this blog most posters have negative comments to everything in Thailand from the new Chang Beer to the people.