EU blacklisting irrelevant: One-Two-Go chairman

PHUKET: The chairman of One-Two-Go says the recent addition of the carrier to a European Union blacklist will have no effect on the company, which has never flown to Europe.

One-Two-Go’s addition to the updated blacklist was announced in a press release yesterday.

To view the release, click here.

One-Two-Go chairman Udom Tantiprasongchai told the Gazette this afternoon that the listing was irrelevant because, as a domestic Thai carrier, One-Two-Go has never flown to Europe.

Furthermore, One-Two-Go’s parent company, Orient Thai, had already discontinued all passenger and cargo flights to the continent, he added.

Orient Thai is not included on the updated blacklist.

Speaking by phone from a train platform in Tokyo, Mr Udom said he didn’t think the listing was related to safety issues, but rather to the fact that the EU commonly blacklists carriers who don’t own their own aircraft, even though operating leased aircraft is common in Asia.

As for One-Two-Go’s regular service to Phuket from Bangkok’s Don Mueang Airport, Mr Udom said load factors on the 14 flights weekly have been strong at 80% to 90%.

The Bangkok to Phuket route was resumed in December last year after the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) finally lifted a series of three suspension orders on the carrier following the crash of One-Two-Go flight OG269 at Phuket Airport in September 2007.

The suspension followed a pubic outcry after the crash that claimed the lives of 90 of the 123 passengers aboard. The cause of the crash was later determined to be flight crew error caused by systemic failures, both at the airline and within the DCA.

One-Two-Go’s resumption of service came just at the start of the high season for tourism, which this year was marred by the takeover of both civilian airports in Bangkok by People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) protesters.

One-Two-Go is also adding new flights to the northern province of Phitsanuloke, Mr Udom said.

— Stephen Fein