TPJ

Quote from http://www.nationmultimedia.com/busi...-30239398.html

[quote]

The airline will also enhance its on-board services, starting with first class, as part of its aim to become a "super premium" carrier. It will also refurbish its lounge at Suvarnabhumi Airport.

[unquote]

Good luck.... I only hope they would refurbish all TG lounges at BKK - not only one

Fan2502

Nation:

"However, Patee Sarasin, chief executive officer of Nok Air, said relocating Thai Smile Air would damage THAI as it could affect the parent airline's connecting flights."

Why not move TG completely to DMK?

hco

From The Nation article above:

"Relocating Thai Smile's operation from Suvarnabhumi Airport to Don Mueang is expected to result in more passengers for the subsidiary carrier."

How?? I understand that they will save money at DMK, but why would it be more passangers? If anything, it would be less IMHO.

If the price/schedule is similar, I'll always take a flight from BKK. It has to be a much better schedule or much cheaper if I should venture north to DMK.

If they move Thai Smile to DMK:
- Tiger and Bangkok Airways would celebrate.
- Nok would cry.
- AirAsia would laugh.

dsquared37

Fully agree it would be less pax for TG, not sure which genius is coming up with the spurious prediction.

As for the other airlines occupying DMK why do you surmise DD would cry? They have a more robust list of destinations with more departures for each of them and often at 60% or less of the TG frown price... and that includes a 15kg checked bag and no surprise fees (ala FD).

hco

Only due to the fact that I think TG as largest shareholder (39.2 %), will not act in Nok's best interest, but instead favour TG Smile.

As hinted in the articles above, "ask Nok to give some route(s) to TG Smile". Conflict of interest anyone?

dsquared37

But TG can't price as low as Nok* nor does it have the vast destinations/departures of Nok.

*Unless collusion raises DD's prices.

Quinlanty

Um on ITA Matrix. The whole month of October practically has Sub $1,000 flights on UA

Always Flyin

Keep in mind it is not really United to Bangkok since they gave up the route. You will be on an ANA codeshare.

travelislife

Reading the article in the Phuket Gazette regarding the move to DMK for Thai Smile they also state that they expect their online sales to go from 11% to 30%. They don't give any idea of how they expect this to happen, just that it will. I can tell you the easiest thing to improve their online sales would be to include all their sale fares in the standard search engine. It is crazy that you might have to click through 3 or 4 other links to their promotions to specifically book their best fares on offer. Also when people do searches through the many online sites if they are just pulling fares off thaiairways.com they won't necessarily be picking up the cheapest fares available so the person searching believes that is the best fare Thai offers. Why would they then go to Thai's website to check if there are other promotions?

SASDC8

I totally agree with you. I even find that thaiairways.com are usually cheeper than Expedia and other search engines, especially for premiun cabins.

Why it is this way, I don`t know but I suspect they have a rather old booking system, and that is whay TG is still relaying heavily on TA`s to fill their planes.

tg911

Its always reassuring when you try to book a flight on the Thai Airways website and you get.
<Error><Code>AccessDenied</Code><Message>Access Denied</Message><RequestId>D4D5820D8E27228B</RequestId><HostId>ukLFzG0lcfJkl8fEiJcZv0lF1cuVmPKL HCVlKPZoW0M99xoghEP7WHuqwo1VlQXV</HostId></Error>

Should help their effort to regain customer confidence and increase bookings.

tg911

THAI to lose 20 billion baht this year.
Thai Airways International is projected to suffer a loss of between 12-20 billion baht for the whole year this year compared to about 12 billion baht last year, said ACM Prajin Juntong, THAI chairman and deputy chief of the National Council for Peace and Order.

He attributed the projected increased losses to poor operating performances and accumulated losses during the first three quarters of the year, unfulfilled spending cutback plans and the plan to increase revenue and intense competition.

However, revenue for the fourth quarter will pick up but it won’t be sufficient to cover the losses from three consecutive quarters, said ACM Prajin.

He disclosed that THAI planned to seek 27 billion baht in loans for the years 2014-15 and, so far, 1,000 million baht loan from Standard Chartered Bank and another 5-7 billion baht from the Government Savings Bank have been approved with the remaining 20 billion baht to be borrowed from the Finance Ministry.

The new loans will be used to refinance old loans and to pay for the aircraft fleet bought by the company, said ACM Prajin.

Meanwhile, THAI acting president ACM Sivakiart Chayaema said the national flag carrier had devised a three-stage crisis rehabilitation plan to address its internal problems which include management problem, financial structure and personnel problem and operating problem.

The company has a plan to cutback its staff by 6,000 men and women in five years which will bring the number of its staff down to 18,000 from 24,000. The cutback includes voluntary early retirement.
http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/tha...ion-baht-year/

dsquared37

I saw the article this morning and my guess is few of those 6K staff are anywhere near close to the top. Until the protected folk are dealt with the problems with remain.

Kacee

No mention of the coup and resultant massive drop in visitors to Thailand?

(Not to diminish the effect of mismanagement.)

dsquared37

If anything that simply exacerbated a situation which was well underway by the time it occurred.