pilot

  • Business NewsThai Vietjet’s foreign pilot plan under scrutiny by AirAsia executive

    Thai Vietjet’s foreign pilot plan under scrutiny by AirAsia executive

    The Airlines Association of Thailand (AAT) deemed Thai Vietjet’s request to allow foreign pilots to fly domestic routes via a wet lease arrangement as acceptable, citing its temporary nature. However, an AirAsia executive has expressed strong opposition to this proposal. AAT President Puttipong Prasarttong-Osoth says he sees the wet lease arrangements as a win-win situation, as airlines can temporarily increase…

  • Aviation NewsFlying foreign: Thai aviation industry in a tailspin over pilot proposal

    Flying foreign: Thai aviation industry in a tailspin over pilot proposal

    The Thai aviation industry has been stirred by the proposal to allow foreign pilots to operate domestic routes, a move considered unusual as such roles are traditionally reserved for Thai nationals. Thai Vietjet’s request, though temporary, aimed to address an aircraft shortage during peak travel seasons, has met with significant resistance from the Thai Pilots Association. A global shortage of…

  • Business NewsTurbulence ahead: Thai pilots unhappy over foreign job wet lease plan

    Turbulence ahead: Thai pilots unhappy over foreign job wet lease plan

    The Thai Pilots Association expressed significant concerns regarding the potential liberalisation of pilot jobs for foreigners through wet lease agreements for domestic routes. This move, they argue, could risk another red flag from the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). Several stakeholders, including the Department of Employment, the association, the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand, and an airline that requested the…

  • Aviation NewsPilot trainer dies in plane crash, family mourns loss

    Pilot trainer dies in plane crash, family mourns loss

    A grieving mother received the body of her son, a pilot trainer who tragically died in a small plane crash. Although devastated, she expressed immense pride in her son, who passed away doing what he loved. Phudit Supawatnakul, a 33 year old flight instructor, perished when his small aircraft crashed into a house within a golf course in Samut Sakhon.…

  • Thailand NewsThai pilot turns midwife to deliver baby on Taiwan to Bangkok flight

    Thai pilot turns midwife to deliver baby on Taiwan to Bangkok flight

    In a tale straight out of a gripping Hollywood movie, a Thai airline pilot stepped up to the plate as the heroic Bruce Willis/John McClane-type protagonist to deliver a baby after a pregnant mother went into labour on a flight from Taiwan to Bangkok. The courageous Thai pilot, Jakarin Sararnrakskul, reportedly lacked medical training beyond basic first aid but he…

  • Business NewsClear for takeoff: Thailand’s aviation adopts pay-to-fly models amid post-Covid revival

    Clear for takeoff: Thailand’s aviation adopts pay-to-fly models amid post-Covid revival

    Thailand’s aviation industry is witnessing growth in pay-to-fly employment models after the struggle to regain its pre-Covid footing. In these arrangements, licensed pilots are required to pay more than 1.5 million baht (US$ 42,702) for training, a prerequisite to securing a job. This is happening against a backdrop of pilot salaries remaining below pre-pandemic levels due to a decrease in…

  • World NewsYouTuber pilot faces jail for crashing plane as stunt

    YouTuber pilot faces jail for crashing plane as stunt

    A YouTube pilot who bailed out midair and deliberately sent his plane crashing into the ground to boost viewership on his channel could face up to 20 years in prison, US authorities announced recently. In a video watched by nearly three million people titled “I crashed my airplane,” Trevor Jacob, 29 years old, appears to experience engine trouble while flying…

  • Thailand NewsFormer airline pilot arrested for secretly filming women and selling clips in private group

    Former airline pilot arrested for secretly filming women and selling clips in private group

    Police arrested a former pilot of a prominent airline for deceiving young women and secretly recording them in compromising situations, then selling the videos in a private group online. Nearly 30 victims have been discovered, prompting further investigation into the case. Authorities reported raiding two locations in Bangkok and Chanthaburi province yesterday. The first location was the residence of Phatrawit,…

  • Transport NewsNepal crash pilot is the widow of a pilot who died in 2006 crash

    Nepal crash pilot is the widow of a pilot who died in 2006 crash

    Dipak Pokhrel was a pilot with Yeti Airlines whose career ended abruptly in 2006 when he died in an aeroplane crash. The small Twin Otter passenger plane he was flying went down minutes before landing in Jumla. Four years later, his widow, Anju Khatiwada joined Yeti Airlines in 2010, after receiving pilot training with the money she received from the…

  • Thailand NewsPilot seriously injured in F-5 fighter jet crash in Lop Buri

    Pilot seriously injured in F-5 fighter jet crash in Lop Buri

    Warning: Some may find the photos below disturbing. An F-5 fighter jet crashed during training in the Chai Badan area of Central Thailand’s Lop Buri province today morning, critically injuring the pilot. The fighter jet, from Wing 21, crashed onto a training field in Chai Badan district at 11am, according to Air Force spokesperson AVM Prapas Sornchaidee. The pilot ejected…

  • Tourism NewsPhuket’s ‘safe and sealed’ plan does nothing for the majority of the island’s hospitality sector

    Phuket’s ‘safe and sealed’ plan does nothing for the majority of the island’s hospitality sector

    OPINION Damned if they do and damed if they don’t. Thailand is now taking a decisive step towards reopenits its borders to tourists with a pilot project in Phuket this October. The pilot precedes the annual high-season, and if successful, then will form the basis of a wider push for re-opening the country’s borders to the lucrative tourist market. TAT…

  • Covid-19 NewsGrounded Thai pilot now does motorbike food deliveries

    Grounded Thai pilot now does motorbike food deliveries

    “I have my motorbike, so I found my part time job. And now I am a food delivery man.” With many of the world’s international airlines grounded by the Covid-19 pandemic, many in the aviation industry, including even pilots, have been forced to find other ways to make a living. Here in Thailand, a ban on international arrivals remains in…

  • Covid-19 NewsThai airline pilot works for Grab Food delivering your food in style

    Thai airline pilot works for Grab Food delivering your food in style

    Airlines in Thailand are facing hardship to survive during the ‘Great Disruption’ of the Covid-19 pandemic. Border closures, travel restrictions and airline groundings have led to many staff and pilots ending up on the patient waiting queue or, for some, the unemployment queue. But another industry, the food delivery business, is booming at the moment. So when opportunity meets demand,…

  • Transport NewsThai Airways’ pilot under investigation for botched landing at Frankfurt

    Thai Airways’ pilot under investigation for botched landing at Frankfurt

    A Thai Airways International pilot, flying for Thailand’s national flag carrier, is currently being investigated by Germany’s BFU (Bundesstelle fĂĽr Flugunfalluntersuchung), the country’s civil aviation investigators, for flying a Thai Airways plane below the standard altitude as the flight he was piloting, was approaching Frankfurt International Airport. The flight had originated in Phuket. The incident has been related through the…

  • World NewsFake Garuda pilot arrested at Jakarta Airport

    Fake Garuda pilot arrested at Jakarta Airport

    PHOTO: The Jakarta Post Police at the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Jakarta have arrested a man posing as a pilot for the Indonesian national flag carrier Garuda at the airport’s Terminal 3. The arrest happened last Friday. The man has been identified as Alvin Adithya Darmawan. He was wearing a Garuda pilot uniform when he checked in at the Garuda…

  • Bangkok NewsThai Airways apologises for the Zurich-Bangkok stuff up

    Thai Airways apologises for the Zurich-Bangkok stuff up

    Thai Airways is promising disciplinary action after an investigation found both the flight captain and the station manager based in Zurich had acted ‘unethically’ in the delayed Zurich-Bangkok flight earlier this month. The Thai Airways president Sumeth Damrongchaitham has apologised for the incident stating the investigation showed that the problems happened due to lack of coordination between the flight captain…