Thai - be careful!

Thai Airways used to have JFK-BKK and LAX-BKK direct runs using the A345. Back in early June they announced that with almost immediate effect the JFK run was going and the LAX was to be cut back and then discontinued. They also said that the long distance flights were no longer profitable and that they would sell the aircraft (presumably to some other airline that wasn't good on fuel math).

I'm caught up in trying to get my money back from Thai, along with a lot of other people if Internet boards like TripAdvisor are to be believed. In many cases it appears like me that people only found out about the problems through the internet as Thai haven't contacted them. People are still turning up at the airport to find no flight, and no open Thai desk to help them. Getting through on their 800 number in the US is impossible. It's a real mess. All you can get is a generic 'refunds will be paid'

This may just be a US issue, the Thai's having decided that the US population is far too poor ever to be able to travel again. However I'd be wary of them. Any airline that appears to be slow in returning money in the present environment presents something of a risk.

Good luck - I am sure the refund will come through eventually though. Sometimes airlines just take a little while!

Hope you get this resolved - however it sounds a dogs dinner and really poor customer services ... but hopefully doesn't mean they're going under!

A saliant lesson to ignore Thai in the future?

I'm afraid you may indeed have problems getting a refund from Thai. A few years back I had to cancel two refundable tickets with Thai purchased through Expedia but was never able to get my money refunded. It was virtually impossible to get in touch with anyone in the department at Thai who handles refunds, and they always claimed that Expedia had not properly entered the cancellation code into their computer even though Expedia repeatedly said they had and even re-requested the refund several times. It's true the problem could have been on Expedia's side, as neither really seemed to have their act together. I finally gave up after about six months and many hours on the phone with both parties. I even tried going through my credit card company, but apparently Thai told them the same thing they told me (that the cancellation hadn't been properly processed) and thus the credit card company said they couldn't intercede.

I hope you have better luck with your case as it seems a bit simpler to resolve. It's really a shame that Thai seems to have problems in these customer service areas, as I found their in-flight service on other flights to be top-notch.

It is bizzare how the flag carrier of such a hospitable country seems to have such naff customer services!

Sounds more like cock-up theory than conspiracy to me. I'm guessing that the US staff have low morale whilst being overwhelmed by demand for refunds etc.
I really can't see Thai collapsing. The NYC cuts were prudent. They were overzealous at trying to take on SQ on a route they couldn't really compete on. FYI the A345 is perfectly profitable for SQ, OK so there are more efficient ways to do it, but they aren't a charity and are making a profit.

Originally posted by McMaddog
Sounds more like cock-up theory than conspiracy to me. I'm guessing that the US staff have low morale whilst being overwhelmed by demand for refunds etc.
I really can't see Thai collapsing. The NYC cuts were prudent. They were overzealous at trying to take on SQ on a route they couldn't really compete on. FYI the A345 is perfectly profitable for SQ, OK so there are more efficient ways to do it, but they aren't a charity and are making a profit.

FWIW, if they haven't already, those SQ A345's are being converted into J only.

Cheers, Howard

Thanks for all of the feedback. As I booked directly with Thai they have only their own foul ups to contend with. Also agree on the local staff probably not being in a very happy mood, but Thai are forgetting the power of the internet and forums like this. When people are unhappy their comments stick around for a long time, and any savvy traveller does some research before making bookings. When they do return to the US all the comments about the customer service (or lack of) will come back to haunt them.

On the 345s (and the SQ EWR flights are now all 'J' class, and the LAX ones very close to it) there was an interesting article in the WSJ the other day about the economics of long haul

http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB ... d=msn_free

Well, I did get my money back (and spent it on two UC tickets to London!), but this piece of press out Bangkok does suggest that Thai is sinking more into the mire.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/220908_Busin ... _biz33.php

{Edit by Decker. Please respect other people's copyright and post links not articles if they exist on line.}

[Scrooge]

Interesting, I tend to take anything said by one carrier about another with a pinch of salt.

However Thai is facing some issues, mostly to do with the fact that it is a quasi state run airline.

What is not mentioned there is the political problems that seem to be raising it's head again.

Hmm - I have just booked a trip with Thai (LHR-BKK-SYD-BKK-LHR) in J for next Feb. I have to say that they were far and away the most competitive price wise - I hope this isnt an omen! Given the price difference, I was even willing to put up with the lack of flat beds!

Anyone got any experience of the quality of on-board service?

Ian

If you do a search on TG you will turn up a couple of TRs.

I found them very good for the money.

My folks are flying out here with them in January - for the same reason as you they had the best deal.

Originally posted by Flyoilybird

Anyone got any experience of the quality of on-board service?

Don't get too excited. The lie-flat seats on their B744s are, in my opinion, one of the worst I've ever had the misfortune to try. The bed slopes down so much I found it extremely uncommfortable to get any sleep. I've had good and inconsistent crew onboard and I've found the food boring for business class. And the amenity kits are crap.

Overall, TG ranks very low on my list and it's no wonder they are usually the cheapest for one-stop business class flights to Australasia. You get what you pay for. No way would I ever fly TG again. They don't even come close to SQ. I even told my friend to avoid TG at all costs. He flew to BKK with SQ instead.