Orient Thai Airlines

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Orient Thai Airlines Co., Ltd. is an airline based in Bangkok, Thailand. It operates charter and scheduled services in Southeast Asia. Its main base is Suvarnabhumi Airport, Bangkok.^[1] The airline has been a subject of safety investigations by the US NTSB and Thai Department of Civil Aviation ^[2]after the crash of One-Two-GO Airlines Flight 269, operated by the low-cost domestic arm of the airline. Orient Thai has been accused of numerous safety violations in the past also.

[edit] History

The airline was formerly known as Cambodian International Airlines. Orient Thai ceased scheduled operations on 9 January 1998, but continues to operate charter services on behalf of Kampuchea Airlines. Scheduled operations have since been restarted. It is wholly owned by private Thai shareholders and has 820 employees (at March 2007). Orient Thai wholly owns One-Two-GO Airlines and has a 49% stake in Kampuchea Airlines.^[1]

Orient Thai Airlines was Asia’s first international charter operator. Along with its subsidiary, Kampuchea Airlines , it provided services to other airlines including Finnair, Lufthansa, LTU International and Merpati. It transported refugees around the world for the UN's International Organization for Migration (IOM), including returning people to Kosovo from Australia and helping Timorese return to East Timor in 1999 after it won its independence from Indonesia. It became a designated UN carrier, transporting troops for peacekeeping operations worldwide. Orient Thai aircraft also fly Muslim Hajj pilgrims to Saudi Arabia for various clients, including Air India and the Saudi royal family. At the peak of its charter work Orient Thai Airlines' subsidiary operated eight Boeing 747s and seven McDonnell Douglas MD-80s aircraft.^{[citation needed]}

The airline's reputation has been tarnished by continuous passenger complaints and numerous breaches in safety. Korean and Japanese authorities have repeatedly stated that Orient Thai had safety issues. The South Korean Ministry of Construction and Transport stated that Orient Thai and two other low-cost Thai carriers had frequent delays and safety deficiencies. In Hong Kong the airline has been the subject of repeated complaints to the Hong Kong Consumer Council for continuous delays and poor hygiene and service since the airline has no staff to handle complaints in Hong Kong. Passengers have reported that complaints regarding lengthy delays, a lack of air conditioning and leaking excrement in the cabin washrooms to the email address provided to them by ground staff were ignored. The airline refuses to comment regarding such claims.

In 2004 an Orient Thai jet, supposed to fly over Tokyo Bay on its approach to Tokyo International Airport in Ōta, Tokyo, instead flew at an altitude of 540 meters over Tokyo Station in Chiyoda and the Nihonbashi district in Chūō and passed within 200 meters of the Tokyo Tower in Minato. [2].

On Sunday 16 September 2007, One-Two-GO Airlines Flight 269, operated by the low-cost, domestic arm of Orient Thai Airlines, crashed while attempting to land in heavy rain at Phuket airport, killing 90 people.^[3] NTSB and Thai Department of Civil Aviation began investigations into the accident and the safety. Numerous former Orient-Thai pilots attest to the poor safety standards of the airline. In February 2008, the Thai DCA claimed the NTSB couldn't find a cause for the crash. The NTSB dispute this claim and continue to provide support to Thai investigators.

Credible claims of dangerous and illegal actions by Orient Thai chairman Udom Tantiprasongchai and cronyism at the Thai DCA have led families of the crash victims to press for an independent investigation into the cause of the crash and the actions Mr. Tantiprasongchai.^[4]

[edit] Destinations

As of May 2008, Orient Thai Airlines operates scheduled passenger flights to the following destinations:^[5][6]

• Korea, Republic of
  • Seoul (Incheon International Airport)
• Hong Kong
  • Hong Kong (Hong Kong International Airport)
• Thailand
  • Bangkok (Suvarnabhumi Airport)-Hub
  • Phuket (Phuket International Airport)

[edit] Fleet

Orient Thai Airlines Boeing 747 at Incheon.

As of Mar 2008, the Orient Thai Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft:^[7]

• 1 Boeing 747-100
• 2 Boeing 747-100B
• 2 Boeing 747-200B
• 1 Boeing 747-200F
• 1 Boeing 747-300
• (12 orders) Boeing 737-900
• (8 orders) Boeing 787-9

The tail fin on Orient Thai Airlines airplanes is remarkably similar to that of British Airways aircraft, leading to the airplanes getting mixed up.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Orient Thai Airlines
• http://www.thaitransport-photo.net/modules.php?name=coppermine&file=thumbnails&meta=search&search=12GO

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