Dodo airlines?

[ncr]

Originally Posted by ttaaee

I'm wondering what those flight attendants in the homepage are pointing at...

Q: Look! What's that?! Is it a bird? Is it Superman?

A: No --- it's one of Thai Sky's old Lockheed TriStars desperately trying to avoid falling out of the LCC-satured South East Asian skies! (Be it through weakness of the material or stiff competition.)
Chaiyo!

In earnest - so they don't want to be a low cost carrier (but a "full-service airline with economy seats only": article), offering higher prices than state-of-the-art airlines like Emirates, while using decades old aircraft? (And "expecting a load factor of 70%", according to the General Manager.) Well, I certainly wish them best of luck with their interesting business strategy......

[AMRivlin]

L10 11!!! sheesh!

Last time I saw a passenger L1011 was early 90s and then they were ancient.

[ncr]

The job ad mentioned on the 2B main page is the hoot! Oh man, they are professionals. Read carefully:

URGENTRY REQUIRED
Thai Nationality Pilots
Thai nationality thae age 25 - 45 year old. Flying Time Total 500 HRS or more
Holding Commercail Pilot License and Instrument Rating or Airline transport
pilot license
Please send resume or CV along with passport size photo ( Taken within past 6 mouths )
All aplicant must be able to communicate in English

Great! That's confidence-inspiring!

I also wonder what the logo symbolizes (some strange sort of bird, or rather a fork?) and why it's so oddly cut off at the bottom. I mean, it looks as if it has been designed by an 8-year-old or something.

Their photo gallery is neat though. (Especially for lovers of historical aircraft models.) The only part of the website worthy of a "full-service airline".

[ttaaee]

Originally Posted by ncr

I also wonder what the logo symbolizes (some strange sort of bird, or rather a fork?) and why it's so oddly cut off at the bottom. I mean, it looks as if it has been designed by an 8-year-old or something.

Ok... to be fair to the "so-called" graphic designer, I guess the logo was designed to resemble a bird and a letter t for Thai Sky Airlines.

[GWR]

I note there was some comment on 'Thai Sky Airlines' and their rather dated Tristars in this forum, although the relevant string has dissappeared (probably due to the opening of this 'new' forum). Last Wednesday, 13th July, one of these Tristars was parked outside Thai Airways Maintainence Hangers at Don Muang. When compared with the rather tatty external appearance of Orient Airways' 747s, it looked in relatively good nick. Indeed, it was only at a second glance that I noticed it was a 'veteran' airliner.

Far more ominously, a Phuket Airways plane was parked near the Royal Thai Airforce Maintainence Hangers at Don Muang. I seem to remember the same plane being in the same location about 1 month previous. This might represent some kind of 'quarantine' for safety or financial reasons. It might also indicate that RTAF is engaged in some private enterprise maintainence activities on the smaller airliners of small airlines.

[jpatokal]

I think the thread you're referring to is this? Anyway, according to their website Thai Sky just started flying again last week, I'm tempted to give them a shot in the unlikely event that I need to fly KUL-BKK direct.

[tristars]

I agree that the color scheme and logo are not all that fantastic and the website is amatuer at best. However the comment about the aircrews being inexperienced is a little off. The add ran asking for Thai Pilots with 500 hours is a bit of a joke. I think it is an attempt to passify the Thai authorities who are not too keen to foreign pilots working in Thailand. I have no objection to a 500 hour wonder training as a flight engineer and putting in 1000 hours riding sideways before upgrading. All the of the crews are highly experienced Tristar veterans. This is a fact. As for the business plan, most flights are full and the service is excellent. Plans for another Tristar are on the books and don't be too surprised if Thai Sky is around for quite awhile.

[Hitesh]

Do you have any involvement with Thai Sky Airlines?
Why were Tristars chosen as the plane of choice? They are no longer in production and thus acquisition of new planes may prove to be difficult. The alternative would be to buy a new type of aircraft and hire new pilots or re-train them.
Is the cost of maintaining an older aircraft less than the price difference between a tristar and a newer jet?
How will Thai Sky differentiate its product from LCCs that are dominating the skies. It won't be long before BKK-HKG flights at a fraction of the cost Thai Sky are charging and the only difference will be service, something customers may be willing to forego fo such a short flight.

I personally think its great to see new private owned airlines operating out of Thiland, especially considering it was impossible to do so for so many years.

[tristars]

Yes I have been involved with Thai Sky and the parent group Sky Victory for some time now. Why the Tristar? One of the best aircraft ever built. It is a pilots dream to fly. Just ask any driver that has been flying a DC-10, MD-11 or 747 that comes back to the classic tristar. A friend of mine who was the MD-11 accpeptance captain for Delta Airlines described it like this after he returned to the Tristar following his retirement from Delta: "The difference between the Tristar and the MD-11 goes like this young man, The MD-11 is like a Volkswagen Microbus and the Tristar is like a Porche Carrera. The MD-11 does not like to climb, descend, turn or go straight. The auto pilot is a piece of S#@! compared to the old bird". Several 747 drivers that previously have flown her miss the auto pilot immensly.

Remember the DC-10 crash in Iowa. They had a #2 (tail) engine blow up and it took out all 3 hydraulic systems. This would never have happened on the tristar. There are 4 hydraulic sys. and the aircraft can fly with any 1 system. There are also check valves or hydraulic fuses in the system that would not allow the fluid to deplete. There are also 11 hydraulic pumps on the plane with which any one can get you safely to the ground.

Remember the Swiss Air MD-11 crash in Halifax, Nova Scotia? After that incident, the Canadian Transport Safety Board (I think that's what their called) conducted the most expensive investigation in Canadian history. The findings are widely known, but one result was they found that the insulation in the aircraft was not as flame resistant as previously thought. All other types of aircraft insulation were tested. Guess what. Only one aircraft in service passed the test. The Tristar. By the end of this year, all Boeing, Douglas, and older Airbus aircraft have to change out all of the insulation. Big job as you can imagine.

The Tristar was the testbed for many new systems including auto land and a system that only the L-1011 and the Space shuttle share which is called DLC (Direct Lift control). The airplane is so redundant and built like a truck. I have 6000 hours flying the aircraft and 22 years of maintenance experience. Am i biased. Yes but I have been all over the world with this bird in all kinds of situations, including flying US mail into Iraq last year, and there is nothing that can compare. The new airbus aircraft are like Bic lighters. There is a definate service life to the airframe and when it reaches that point they are scrapped.

Unfortunately they are getting on in their years but just got word that a German company has just bought 7 aircraft and they are being pulled out of the desert at this time. A Canadian outfit called GlobeJet airlines has 7 aircraft and plans to start service this year. The Royal Airforce operates a fleet of Tristars and some are ariel refuelers.

So next time you get on a shiny new Thai Airlines Airbus with the young Thai Crew at the helm, remember you might be safer on an old proven dog like the L-1011 with a couple of crusty old expats at the wheel.

Hope this info is helpfull and if you have any questions or comments, I would like to hear them.

As for choosing the Tristar for this company, it was some nostalgia and obviously a money matter. The 2 areas that cost more than new aircraft are fuel and maintenance for the old bird.

I doubt the price of BKK-HKG will get any cheaper as oil prices climb above 70 per barrel. As a comparison, check out prices on low cost carriers in western countries on a 2 1/2 hour leg round trip.

[Hitesh]

I admire the passion you have for this aircraft.
Perhaps one day I can fly with you guys.
I wish your company the best of luck.

[Ganyc]

TriStar,

Does Thai Sky Airlines have any official inflight magazine and aircraft postcard ? i wish to collect them.

[tristars]

We don't have an inflight magazine but I can get my hands on a safety card with the logo etc... Let me know if you want one. Email me at rb21122b@gmail.com.

Gemini Aircraft models has a limited edition diecast model available of one of our birds. Not the greatest color scheme but it grows on you after awhile.

[tristars]

If you do decide to hop on board, let me know when you are going and we can probably let you sit on Jumpseat #1, just behind and above the captain. Best seat in the house. Bring your camera.

As for the condition of our old Tri-Hogs, they are in pretty good nick. Fresh heavy maintenance checks before delivery and new interior. They require a lot of work and we have a good crew. Phuket air announced that they are ceasing operations with the 747's and they intend to wet lease them. One aircraft is grounded in Gatwick and another is stuck in Inchon Korea for financial reasons. Just spoke with one of their Flight Engineers and he is chasing them for money. Normal in this biz. I used to work for K. Udom at Orient Thai. 5 years worth of BS. Unbelievable how he keeps on doing it. Did have a lot of fun. Especially evacuating Cambodia in 97, Jakarta in 98 (riots against chinese), returning Kosovo refugees from Australia to Kosovo, East Timor in 2000. Fun Stuff.

Aviation is getting quite interesting around here these days. Think I will stick around and find out what happens.

[tristars]

Subject: Good Stuff
There I was at six thousand feet over central Iraq, two hundred eighty
knots and we're dropping faster than Paris Hilton's panties. It's a
typical September evening in the Persian Gulf; hotter than a rectal
thermometer and I'm sweating like a priest at a Cub Scout meeting.

But that's neither here nor there. The night is moonless over Baghdad
tonight, and blacker than a Steven King novel. But it's 2003, folks,
and I'm sporting the latest in night-combat technology. Namely,
hand-me-down night vision goggles (NVGs) thrown out by the fighter
boys. Additionally, my 1962 Lockheed C-130E Hercules is equipped with
an obsolete, yet, semi-effective missile warning system (MWS). The MWS
conveniently makes a nice soothing tone in your headset just before the
missile explodes into your airplane. Who says you can't polish a turd?
At any rate, the NVGs are illuminating Baghdad International Airport
like the Las Vegas Strip during a Mike Tyson fight. These NVGs are the
cat's ass. But I've digressed.

The preferred method of approach tonight is the random shallow. This
tactical maneuver allows the pilot to ingress the landing zone in an
unpredictable manner, thus exploiting the supposedly secured perimeter
of the airfield in an attempt to avoid enemy surface-to-air-missiles and
small arms fire. Personally, I wouldn't bet my pink ass on that theory
but the approach is fun as hell and that's the real reason we fly it.

We get a visual on the runway at three miles out, drop down to one
thousand feet above the ground, still maintaining two hundred eighty
knots. Now the fun starts. It's pilot appreciation time as I descend
the mighty Herk to six hundred feet and smoothly, yet very deliberately,
yank into a sixty degree left bank, turning the aircraft ninety degrees
offset from runway heading. As soon as we roll out of the turn, I
reverse turn to the right a full two hundred seventy degrees in order to
roll out aligned with the runway. Some aeronautical genius coined this
maneuver the "Ninety/ Two-Seventy." Chopping the power during the turn,
I pull back on the yoke just to the point my nether regions start to
sag, bleeding off energy in order to configure the pig for landing.

"Flaps Fifty!, Landing Gear Down!, Before Landing Checklist!" I look
over at the copilot and he's shaking like a cat shitting on a sheet of
ice. Looking further back at the navigator, and even through the NVGs, I
can clearly see the wet spot spreading around his crotch. Finally, I
glance at my steely-eyed flight engineer. His eyebrows rise in unison
as a grin forms on his face. I can tell he's thinking the same thing I
am. "Where do we find such fine young men?" "Flaps One Hundred!" I bark
at the shaking cat. Now it's all aimpoint and airspeed. Aviation 101,
with the exception there's no lights, I'm on NVGs, it's Baghdad, and now
tracers are starting to crisscross the black sky.

Naturally, and not at all surprisingly, I grease the Goodyear's on
brick-one of runway 33 left, bring the throttles to ground idle and then
force the props to full reverse pitch. Tonight, the sound of freedom is
my four Hamilton Standard propellers chewing through the thick, putrid,
Baghdad air. The huge, one hundred thirty thousand pound, lumbering
whisper pig comes to a lurching stop in less than two thousand feet.
Let's see a Viper do that! We exit the runway to a welcoming committee
of government issued Army grunts. It's time to download their beans and
bullets and letters from their sweethearts, look for war booty, and of
course, urinate on Saddam's home.

Walking down the crew entry steps with my lowest-bidder, Beretta
92F, 9 millimeter strapped smartly to my side, I look around and thank
God, not Allah, I'm an American and I'm on the winning team. Then I
thank God I'm not in the Army. Knowing once again I've cheated death, I
ask myself, "What in the hell am I doing in this mess?" Is it Duty,
Honor, and Country? You bet your ass. Or could it possibly be for the
glory, the swag, and not to mention, chicks dig the Air Medal. There's
probably some truth there too. But now is not the time to derive the
complexities of the superior, cerebral properties of the human portion
of the aviator-man-machine model. It is however, time to get out of
this shit-hole. "Hey copilot clean yourself up! And how's 'bout the
'Before Starting Engines Checklist."

God, I love this job!

[Clayton]

Originally Posted by tristars

If you do decide to hop on board, let me know when you are going and we can probably let you sit on Jumpseat #1, just behind and above the captain. Best seat in the house. Bring your camera.

As for the condition of our old Tri-Hogs, they are in pretty good nick. Fresh heavy maintenance checks before delivery and new interior. They require a lot of work and we have a good crew. Phuket air announced that they are ceasing operations with the 747's and they intend to wet lease them. One aircraft is grounded in Gatwick and another is stuck in Inchon Korea for financial reasons. Just spoke with one of their Flight Engineers and he is chasing them for money. Normal in this biz. I used to work for K. Udom at Orient Thai. 5 years worth of BS. Unbelievable how he keeps on doing it. Did have a lot of fun. Especially evacuating Cambodia in 97, Jakarta in 98 (riots against chinese), returning Kosovo refugees from Australia to Kosovo, East Timor in 2000. Fun Stuff.

Aviation is getting quite interesting around here these days. Think I will stick around and find out what happens.

I thought Jumpseat trips were out of the question post 9/11?