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[tartempion]

Johpa, on 2010-02-09 22:13:48, said:

What TG needs to upgrade is their management class and replace it with professional business personnel as opposed to a social club engaged in crony capitalism.  But you have to give them credit on the advertising front as they somehow continue to convince people to fly the over-priced skies of Thai.

I worked 30 years as a management consultant.

My take on management is that in average there are more incompetent people in higher functions than in lower levels.

I will even dare to state that MOST of top management in ANY company is clueless.
I did meet a few brilliant top manager though, I take off my hat for them, not that this did consume much of my time though.

I do respect most of the workers in a company: they make it happen, not the selfish people higher-up.
The higher you go the worse you find

[coolhandjoe]

[thaivisa.com] Thai Airways announces massive...........
debts due to being a unfriendly, unfamily orientated airline subsidised by ?

[harrry]

It may be a good time to lease new planes as prices for them are probably at rock bottom.  As a government supported airline they can afford to and itmay bring the turnaround what used to be the worlds best airline needs.

[tw25rw]

I think every airline has it's detractors with horror stories. I have flown TG loads of times, have gold ff status, and will continue to fly them in the future. For the routes I fly they are the best and cheapest option. I could probably save some money and have a better seat by compromising and spending hours in the Middle East in the middle of the night, but with TG I don't need to.
So until I have a run of horror flights, I'll continue to fly them and look forward to the new planes..

[webfact]

THAI looks to fund new planes
By THE NATION

Thai Airways International is seeking Bt10 billion to add 81 new aircraft over 15 years, thereby reducing maintenance costs and improving the fleet in line with travel demand on each route.

"The aircraft acquisition plan will take place in parallel with the capital increase. THAI is asking the Finance Ministry to inject Bt10 billion to maintain its 51.03-per-cent stake," Transport Minister Sophon Saram said yesterday.

The flag carrier's major shareholders are the Vayupak I Fund, 17.2 per cent; Thai NVDR, 4.5 per cent; Omsin Mutual Fund, 2.73 per cent; Mellon Bank, 1.54 per cent; Citibank Nominees Singapore/UBS (London branch)/NRB, 0.96 per cent; Nortrust Nominees/NTGS, 0.89 per cent; and the Social Security Fund, 0.87 per cent.

THAI has registered capital of Bt16.99 billion.

Chairman Ampon Kittiampon last December said the national carrier would issue new shares and bonds to refinance its short-term debts with longer-term obligations. A capital increase plan will be completed in March or April.

Sophon said THAI needed new aircraft, but that required a huge amount of money. Seventy-seven aeroplanes will be replaced.

The aircraft will be procured over three phases - 15 between now and 2014, 38 from 2015-19 and 28 from 2020-24. That will bring the fleet to 101 aircraft, consisting of six models: the Airbus A380, Boeing 747-400, Boeing 777, Boeing 787, Airbus A350 and Airbus A330-300.

The company's board on Monday approved the first acquisition stage: Bt35.5 billion for seven aircraft to be purchased for regional routes and eight to be leased for 10-15 years and put on long-haul routes.

President Piyasvasti Amranand said the detailed acquisition plan will be submitted to the Transport Ministry and the National Economic and Social Development Board before seeking Cabinet approval. In the interval, THAI will need to lease a few aircraft to ease the shortage.

THAI yesterday held a media briefing complete with flight simulations, using various scenarios showing how pilots resolve problems that may arise during a flight.

The event was aimed at showing the public the company's priority in maintaining safety standards.


-- The Nation 2010-02-11

[moetownblues]

OZEMADE, on 2010-02-09 14:31:53, said:

I wont fly Thai, there more expensive than Qantas.

Are you serious?  Qantas is far more expensive than Thai airways.  Qantas is one of the most expensive in the world.  Personally I like Thai Airways, the staff are very friendly and the service is excellent, I use them every month from Aust to Thai.  I trust the planes more than I do the Qantas ones which have pieces falling off them all the time of late.  The maintenance is done in Indoneasia by Indoneasians and we all know how many Indoneasian planes fall out of the sky.

Apart from that I do not know why Thailand needs so many more planes as they are not filling the ones they have now.  Flying every month I have noticed them to be at about 75% capacity which is good for me when I check in I always get seat either 60 or 71 depending on the plane right up the back and end up having all 3 seats to lay down.

[wkbglobal]

tartempion, on 2010-02-10 07:28:22, said:

Johpa, on 2010-02-09 22:13:48, said:

What TG needs to upgrade is their management class and replace it with professional business personnel as opposed to a social club engaged in crony capitalism.  But you have to give them credit on the advertising front as they somehow continue to convince people to fly the over-priced skies of Thai.

I worked 30 years as a management consultant.

My take on management is that in average there are more incompetent people in higher functions than in lower levels.

I will even dare to state that MOST of top management in ANY company is clueless.
I did meet a few brilliant top manager though, I take off my hat for them, not that this did consume much of my time though.

I do respect most of the workers in a company: they make it happen, not the selfish people higher-up.
The higher you go the worse you find

Is there not a saying that goes - you are promoted to your highest level of incompetency?

In all my travels I would rather fly with an Asian carrier than European or American any day. I come across more unpleasant crews and inflexability with these operators than Asian.
The times I have flown with Thai I have found them very courteous, good service, good legroom and clean aircraft although I do agree they are not the top of the Asian list and the In flight entertainment must be upgraded to compete. Unfortunately most of the National Carriers have stayed still. The EVA service from London is very good although my Company recently sent me to Los Angeles via EVA routing through Taiwan and I would certainly have preferred the direct flight with Thai - in fact the pricing was very competitive when I checked.
As for pricing I always find the National Carrier of the country you are in is always more expensive. EG On a trip to Jordan from the UK I flew out via Charles De Gaul with Air France due to cost. In Jordan I met an associate who lived near Paris and flew out via Heathrow on BA due to the cost being cheaper than Air France. Both fares were similar but both operators were offering lower fares to get the competitions business rather than focusing on building a loyal "local" client base.

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Edited by wkbglobal, 2010-02-13 06:48:20.

[DrTom]

I read the comments about fuel prices and efficiency. I can add one bit of information relative to domestic flights in the USA, which does provide an interesting data point vis-a-vis this discussion. Princing in the USA is not linked to fuel consumption.

If I fly non-stop direct, the cost is X. If I am willing to tolerate one stop, the price is x/2. If I am willing to tolerate two stops, the price is x/3. In short the cost of the route is based on first degree price discrimination.

If the price were related to fuel cost, then the non stop flight would be the least expensive, since it requires much less fuel.

I am sure that airline ticket prices are influence by fuel cost, but that is not the major determinant. The airlines practice "yield management" and they want to extract the maximum dollar from each seat, independent of the cost of fuel. The price is not determined by fuel cost, but by oligopolistic price discrimination.

[Bagwan]

rakman, on 2010-02-09 22:03:22, said:

crocodilexp, on 2010-02-09 13:51:23, said:

"Bt3.3 billion for three engines for international routes."

There are no 3-engined modern aircraft that I know of. Maybe MD-11, but that was a flop at launch and no longer in production. DC-10? Lockheed Tristar? B727?

They are spares, in case of engine failures.

And major overhauls.

The RTAF cannibalised so that of the 10 or 12 Harriers they obtained only one is still flying. I wonder how much of that aircraft is still OED.