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ONE TWO GO, NOK AIR, AIR ASIA, DANGEROUS AIRLINES IN THAILAND ? ARE LOW COST COMPANIES RISKY ?

Following One Two Go low cost airline accident in Phuket in September 2007 tourists and potential passengers can wonder if it could be dangerous to fly with a low cost airlines in Thailand and in the rest of Asia, as Laos, Malaysia, and Singapore.

The 12Go low-fare airplane carrying many foreign tourists that crashed in heavy rain and broke into pieces on Thailand's resort island of Phuket killing most of the passengers and crew on board was an old plane that has been owned by many companies before being bought by One Two Go, and this is what is often complained about low cost airlines: they use second hand aircrafts, and the maintenance is not always done the perfect way.

The exact cause of the crash remain unclear but witnesses said that the plane slid off the runway soon after touching down in heavy wind and rain, then the plane broke in pieces, maybe because it was too old.

The low-cost airline boom pioneered by America's Southwest Airlines and perfected by Ireland's Ryanair and Easyjet in UK is now a good business everywhere in the world, and also in Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore.

But running an airline by cutting cost usually brings with it accusations of cutting corners on safety, even though all international carriers are subject to stringent safety checks, mandated by intergovernmental treaties, and that dangerous aircrafts can be stuck on the ground.

Of course nobody can deny that some countries in South America and Africa have a less strict policy in enforcing aviation rules for internal flights but it seems that the situation is a lot better in Thailand and in Malaysia where low costs airlines are managed the same way they would be in Europe or in America.

So one's wonder why so many accidents involving these carriers occur, and these problems have raised questions about maintenance and overall safety.

For example Orient Thai airlines, the international arm of One-Two-GO, was warned about its safety procedures in 2006, and now nobody knows if things have since improved.

Another problem for these low cost airlines is the pilot shortage due to the rapid growth in airlines and as European airlines have been forced to raise salaries to attract more pilots into the workforce it's sometimes more difficult for Asian airlines or any smaller and low cost airlines to find good pilots.

So pilots are becoming younger as a result, and some say that the accelerated training program that some trainee receive spits out co-pilots rather than captains, raising the spectre of an under-qualified first officer having to take over if the captain is incapacitated.

No cause has been determined for the One-Two-Go crash and it could turn out pilot error was to blame, but anyway that is not a damning of the Thai aviation safety oversight nor Asian low-cost airlines.

And fortunately budget airline One-Two-Go's aircraft that crashed in Phuket was insured for US$305 million which should be enough to cover damage to the aircraft and passengers, so at least it seems that low cost carriers apply good insurances, as if they knew that their aircrafts could have problems...