View Full Version : Where are the 757's when needed
John Key is frustrated that the one time the government needed some transport to get kiwis out of Thailand both 757's are in maintenance.
RNZAF says they can send a Herc but will probably take so long to get there the crisis will resolved before it does.
I don't know why NZ has an airforce which is a misnomer anyhow. The solution would be to pay Air NZ to have a suitable commercial aircraft available at short notice.
waren9
3rd Dec 2008, 06:08
They already have mate. Its called a charter. The last lucrative little number they did was at very short notice recently for the ADF, bringing diggers back home.
Youd think the C-17's coulda done that?
belowMDA
3rd Dec 2008, 08:00
Well to be honest I reckon the people should be left up there. They are not in physical danger so they should face up to one of the risks of traveling. Why should the tax payer foot the cost of this. Damn politics. Having said that, a long flight down the back of a herc would teach anyone a lesson!!
Waren - Are you saying Air NZ's already done a charter?
Frank Burden
3rd Dec 2008, 09:01
Did a trip in a Herc once over two days and covering one third of the earth. Darned awful experience. On the short trips (one or two hours) it was tolerable as walk on freight but you can stick the long haul stuff!!!:sad:
Eastwest Loco
3rd Dec 2008, 10:45
The word from one of my Corporate passengers who was in HKT was that they were being supplied with very decent resort accommodation FOC courtesy of the alleged Government, and they were previously in Krabi where the same was the case. The HKT hotel had not been prebooked, and the one in Krabi just did it off their own bat.
No questions asked, just accommodated.
There was also a THB2000 a day allowance for use in the resort. Not a fortune, but a thoughtful move in the midst of self immolation on both sides.
Fairly good for an allegedly despotic Government, although the get home factor was more important.
Junior Loco no 2 is flying out on Onestar tonight to Melbourne, all 6'8" of him with a Hobart footy club but he was always booked into/out of HKT. I paid for an exit row on his return as he reckons the outbound flight was the worst 9 hours of his life.
Better than being asleep in an airport for 6 nights though.
I am sure the Kiwis were afforded similar consideration, but it seems the key factor was being outside Bangkok.
Best all
EWL
kiwi engineer12
3rd Dec 2008, 12:19
Waren - Are you saying Air NZ's already done a charter?
I believe a year or so ago Air NZ sent a 767 and a 777 to Kuwait for the ADF, there were reports the A/C were escorted by military fighter jets.
Stired up alot of people back in NZ.....
barrybeebone
3rd Dec 2008, 13:57
I think you will find the Kiwi Government like most (but not all) Governments were not keen on sending in Military aircraft to bring back people as the situation in Thailand was more an internal political situation not a war zone (like Lebanon).
From what I have heard, many Governments who did send in an aircraft, charged people for the privilege of getting on the flight (regardless of whether they had a ticket for another airline or not).
If the Governments send an aircraft to fetch people it sets a precedent for other situations. At the end of the day, people should have travel insurance for situations like this and just buy a ticket and recover the money later.
Di_Vosh
3rd Dec 2008, 21:10
Yes, the 777 did fly us home. It was June last year. I'm not sure how many trips it made. The reason given was that the Strategic A330 was in maintenance.
Didn't see any fighter escorts, though, and I couldn't imagine why they would be required.
DIVOSH!
framer
4th Dec 2008, 03:39
Darned awful experience.
You must have done it wrong. The trick is to hang a hammock up nice and high, take a pillow and have a cd/walkman playing inside your ear-muffs. It's great:)
Di_Vosh
4th Dec 2008, 10:18
Mate, I remember slinging hammocks in the back of the Herc's; was great. :ok:
Sadly, no-one's been allowed to do that for a few years now :{
(or, they don't let us grunts do it, anyway)
DIVOSH!
mattyj
4th Dec 2008, 21:01
Stired up alot of people back in NZ.....
Not alot of people..just Keith Locke, Jeanette Fitzsimmons and Sue Bradford..its was an AirNZ charter for the Australian army I believe. Thank goodness that lot of old garbage didn't get into government this time round:yuk:
future.boeing.cpt
4th Dec 2008, 22:37
Amen to that!
notmyC150v2
5th Dec 2008, 01:44
If the Governments send an aircraft to fetch people it sets a precedent for other situations. At the end of the day, people should have travel insurance for situations like this and just buy a ticket and recover the money later.
Baz, the problem with that comment is that the travel insurance people are refusing to pay out on the policies because they do not cover loss due to "civil disorder".
Some very unhappy passengers coming home but you gotta read the fine print.
If the Thai govt was paying for extra accommodation etc, I don't see why everyone was so keen to leave. Good excuse for a few extra days holiday if you ask me.