For those of you that haven’t been following the news, over the weekend a Thai Airways A330 flying from Guangzhou to Bangkok skid off the runway upon landing. 14 people were injured, though fortunately there were no fatalities.
What’s rather funny is that Thai Airways attempted to cover up their name and logo on the plane after the crash, as if that’s somehow going to throw people off. Here’s an AP picture (enhanced further by the Thai plane taking off in the background):
Initially they claimed that covering up the logo and name was part of a “crisis communication rule” from Star Alliance:
After the accident, workers on a crane blacked out the Thai Airways logo on the tail and body of the aircraft. An airline official said it was part of an effort to protect its image under Star Alliance guidelines. Thai Airways official Smud Poom-On said that “blurring the logo” after an accident was a recommendation from Star Alliance known as the “crisis communication rule,” meant to protect the image of both the airline and other members of Star Alliance.
Though in the meantime the article has been updated to read as follows:
After the accident, workers on a crane blacked out the Thai Airways logo on the tail and body of the aircraft in an apparent effort to protect the airline’s image. An airline official, Samud Poom-On, said the move was normal practice for Thai Airways after an accident.
Samud initially said the practice was mandated by Star Alliance, but later said that was not the case. The global airline grouping also said it had no such policy.
C’mon Thai, it’s your home airport, you’re not fooling anyone! Now the plane just looks like a picture that Perez Hilton drew all over.
(Tip of the hat to Point Me to the Plane)
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