Posted on 04/10/2005 1:57:30 PM PDT by Central Scrutiniser
I never got a good answer, flight left HNL about 9 pm, after about 40 minutes we turned back, sat on the ground for 3 hours, got back on, sat for 2 hours, then they cancelled it. They couldn't get the gear doors closed and didn't want to fly 5 hours with it open back to the mainland.
I nonreved on Phillipines Airlinesthe next morning. The next night they got the plane up and returned again. Boeing had to come out and they got it fixed 2 days later. It was our only 747 at the time, major disturbance.
I was there recently, its fine, 98% of the hotels are still there, the beaches are in great shape, and the diving is fantastic. I could very easily live there, its beautiful.
Look, I've been in the restaurants.
Where else can you order "Pud Prik King?"
It's Phuket, damnit.
They're lying. Anyone who knows anything about 747s would know that the 747 pictured could only be a 747-200. No one other than the US government was taking delivery of 747-200s in 1990, and those were for the two VC-25s otherwise known as Air Force One. Those were the last 747-200s ever delivered. All the other 747s delivered in 1990 were 747-400s. Considering that most 747s delivered between 1983 and 1989 were 747-300s, it is doubtful this plane is less than 22 years old.
It's no worse than the name of a Chinese restaurant that used to be in business near my home. The first time I saw a flier for the restaurant, Fookim, I thought it was a joke.
If you can get the register number on the plane, you can find out how old it is, and when it was built.
The one in the pic is a 200, I am not sure if this was the one with all the problems, they do fly 747-300's which are ex KLM.
I've seen both variations on the ground at BKK, as well as their ancient 737-200 with the longwave antenna, and their old UsAirways Metrojets and the Jurissac YS-11's.
Phuket Air is stopping London service and moving to Amsterdam I believe, the laws must be a bit more lax there!
Yeah, I spent about 18 hours without sleep in that airport, but I got to SFO for 100 bucks on Phillipines, Mabuhay!
Maybe the pilots can get some weed in Amsterdam.
But didn't KLM also have some of their 100s and 200s retrofitted with stretched upper decks?
Not the 100, but there were a few 200's that had the stretched deck of the 300. Just like there were some 100's that only had 3 windows up top, and some that had the 16 windows (IIRC) that the 200 series had. Lots of varients in the 747 series.
There are still 200's flying, JAL has some, Northwest has a few (being replaced with the A330), and QANTAS has some of the 300's. I even saw a well kept 747SP(my favorite) in BKK, and there is one that stays at Baltimore.
He got upgraded.
Was that in the late 70's? I remember a news story about a single passenger on an overseas 747 flight.
Damn!
I remember the YS-11's when PBA (Provincetown-Boston) used them to Nantucket.
THAT was 20 years ago and they were decrepit THEN!
*sheesh!*
I'm no pilot any means but is the main landing gear supposed to look out of kilter like that?
Early nineties, we started service to Japan the same week as the gulf war, when Japan told its citizens not to fly on any american airline.
We went bankrupt, go figure!
(But we survived!)
Thanks for the pronunciation info--I certainly needed it! LOL
Yeah, it looks funny at first, but it really is a great place.
Funny thing is, they aren't based in Phuket, and only do a few flights a day there.
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