MAN-BKK route
 

For sure MAN-BKK will work, as most of QA flights are full with holiday makers or people eager to have ''fun''.

Thai International
 

TG have announced that, due to increased fuel prices, it will withdraw from service and put up for sale all five A340-500s the oldest of which is just three years old. NYC will be served by Star Alliance codeshare and LAX by 772ER via Tokyo.

List 10 possible uses for A340-500s . . . . er . . . ?

:{

it would be a pretty good Air Force One type aircraft, given its range capability and quad engines... and now that the KC-45 is an Airbus there would even be fleet commonality :E

that would be quite interesting seeing an A340 in Air Force One colors, but who would dare? :ouch: hehehe

what was the old saying then.. If it ain't Boeing, I ain't Flying!? :\

Cheers!

Thai Airways 15000 staff strike Wed this week
 

Bangkok is under the controll of the Army as of Tuesday morning with a state of Emerg. that makes protest outlawed.

Below are quotes.

Somsak Manop, vice-president of Thai Airways International's union, said the union will delay the arrival and departure times of THAI aircraft and will reduce the number of flights.



Forty-three state enterprise labour unions under control of People's Alliance for Democracy organisers have agreed to stage strikes and to selectively cut water and electricity, halt Bangkok buses and delay all Thai International Airways flights beginning on Wednesday. The aim is to help PAD to force the government out of office.





State-owned Thai Airways International (THAI) labor union chief Jamsri Sukchotirat said all 15,000 members of the union planned to stop work after police used force against PAD protesters at Government House early on Friday morning.



Last weekend

PHUKET: --A total of 118 flights which were scheduled to land or depart from Phuket international airport in southern Thailand were canceled, while more than 15,000 passengers were unable to proceed on their journeys as protesters of the anti-government People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) continued blocking access to all airport entrances for the second day Saturday.

Well thats not the best news that I have had all day! I am in Phuket and I am meant to be flying back through Bangkok with Thai on Wednesday. Looks like an extra night in BKK , what a total disaster!!!! (Sort of)

Er no. Bangkok is still under the control of the PM. The army has taken over from the police in charge of security only.

There is nothing to actually stop protests only that the state of emergency prohibits gatherings of more than five people. (Just how this is interpreted is not known at present).

As to TG tomorrow – wait and see. The same union called for all their members to take sick leave (strikes within certain sectors are illegal) a few days ago and that had little if any support.

Interesting times though.

Security You Can Trust
And then a couple of hours later
All articles from the Bangkok Post. To ZFT's point, I'm not sure anybody knows who is in control of Bangkok. Or even if there is anybody in control of Bangkok.<br>
But it is fairly safe to say that provincial airports in areas that have strongly supported the main opposition party in past elections, are subject to intrusion and closure at the whims of the protesters. Thai security officials are unable or unwilling to intervene to protect air traffic.

Apart from a few very small areas, it is very evident who is in control. Despite the rubbish within the overseas media who make Bangkok look like a war zone, sod all is happening anywhere other than those areas and even within those , incredible restraint is still being shown.

Thai Airlines
 

The thread on One-Two-Go makes interesting reading, and it would appear that Thai airlines operate in a fairly lax regulatory environment well, the regulations might be there, but enforcement is an issue).

This certainly raises questions in my mind as a passenger regarding other Thai airlines. Lets take Air Asia Thailand for example, an aggressive company expanding quickly, lots of fights, they must have incredibly slim profit margins with their pricing structure, and I am amazed at their fast turn around times.

In this same environment, is this another accident waiting to happen?

Are we going to have pilots spilling the beans in public after the event (similar to what is happening with One-Two-Go)?

What options are there for the flying public to get the inside info on shonky unsafe operators?

New Thai Air Pres Raps Board for Political Interference, Nepotism, etc
 

New president raps Thai Airways


By Juliana Liu
Business reporter, BBC News
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/999999.gif

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/image...21937_de03.jpg Mr Amranand slammed favouritism at his airline

The new president of Thai Airways has strongly criticised political interference in his airline.
Thailand's loss-making national carrier continues to struggle with enormous pressure from outside, Piyasvasti Amranand told the BBC.
The newly appointed head of Thai Airways was in London on a global road show to gather investor support.
"The management had not really been allowed to manage the company," Mr Piyasvasti said in an unusually frank interview.
"The company had been interfered heavily by the board, by the politicians. That had substantially weakened the management of the company, and our response to the crisis."
Restructuring
He has been the airline's president for just four weeks. Mr Piyasvasti said it had taken months of negotiations to secure a strong enough mandate for his new job.
On Monday, the state-owned carrier reported a net loss of $121m (£71.8m) for the July-to-September quarter.
The results were worse than analysts had expected. They forecast another loss in the fourth quarter, traditionally high season for tourism.
Thai Airways is currently overhauling its management and business operations after reporting a record loss in the last three months of 2008.
Mr Piyasvasti seems an unusual pick to run the national carrier. As a fund manager, he refused to own shares in the airline.
"Thai Airways was a company which did not provide transparent information to investors," he said.
"Thai Airways management were not able to provide clear directions or policy to investors. Most of the big funds, whether in Thailand or outside Thailand, stayed away from Thai Airways stocks."
'Top three'
Mr Piyasvasti said he had been drawn to head the airline because it was in trouble.
"I would like to see the company becoming one of the best airlines again in Asia, and the world. Maybe top three in Asia, top five in the world, within two or three years," he said.
Central to this success, he said, was reducing political interference in the day to day running of the airline, which is majority owned by the state.
He said one of the most serious problems was nepotism and favouritism in promotions and in the awarding of contracts.
"When you promote people who have connections but no ability, initially it's okay, but eventually it weakens the company, Mr Piyasvasti said.
"It reduces the quality of the work. That is what has happened to Thai Airways."

Thai Airways International
 

Thai government looking to reduce it's 50.1% stake in Thai. From todays Bangkok Post:

THAI likely to fly solo

Another airline for LH to purchase?

TG are to end services to South Africa from mid January.

Loads between JNB/BKK averaging 30%.

Another victim of Emirates successful domination attempts?

Bit harsh, everyone's out to make money, some just know how to do it and where they are successful enough to do it

......... and some have almost unlimited resources to spend on achieving domination.