THAI dinged for on-time performance

THAI dinged for on-time performance

Thai Airways International's (THAI) shoddy record on punctuality has caused Thai travellers to sarcastically refer its airline code TG as "tomorrow go".

The new biannual on-time performance ratings (OTP) prepared by the UK-based digital flight data analyst OAG seem to echo that sentiment.

The Thai flag carrier saw its rating drop among the 390 airlines reviewed by OAG between October 2016 and September 2017.

THAI received two out of five stars in the OTP ratings, with the best performance getting five stars.

THAI's OTP is the lowest among four Thai-registered carriers included in the OAG review, with a score of 66.7%.

Nok Air, Thai AirAsia and Bangkok Airways were all given three stars with scores of 78.9%, 76.7% and 72.8%, respectively.

Nok Air's top rating among Thai airlines reviewed led to criticism on social media, with several people commenting the budget airline's flights were often delayed.

OAG defined "on time" as arriving no more than 15 minutes after the scheduled arrival.

Some of the major causes of flight delays or cancellations are congestion in air traffic, late arrival of the aircraft to be used for the flight from a previous flight, issues related to weather conditions, security and technical problems.

A total of 14 airlines worldwide earned a five-star rating -- eight full-service carriers and six low-cost carriers.

Singapore-based no-frills Jetstar Asia is the only airline from Asia-Pacific to obtain a five-star rating with an on-time performance of 86.4%. Jetstar Asia chief executive Bara Pasupathi said the OAG recognition is a testament to the airline's efforts in championing operational efficiency and exceptional customer service.

"While Jetstar Asia was the only Asia-Pacific airline to receive five stars, Qantas Airways [Australia], Japan Airlines and Skymark Airlines [Japan] were all awarded four stars, with over 85% of flights on time," said Mark Clarkson, executive vice-president of product management at OAG.

Philippine Airlines, China Eastern, Indonesia AirAsia and Cebu Pacific all received one star.

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