PHUKET: Strategic Airlines has apologised to hundreds of passengers stranded on Phuket last month and pledged to revise its customer service.

Phuketwan fully reported the anxiety of the trapped passengers over four days and published their criticisms of the airlines in detail.

A report in Saturday's Sydney Morning Herald newspaper notes that a number of the stranded passengers took the case to the Thai media [Phuketwan], ''complaining that Strategic didn't have a system in place to properly deal with the disruption.''

The Herald's report quotes Strategic spokesman Damien Vasta as saying: "It's been a lesson learned and we apologise. All the excuses that we might have had only go so far when you're disrupting passengers.

''Certainly this has been an eye-opener for us to understand exactly what passengers require.''

Australia's newest airline has been flying the Phuket-Brisbane Phuket-Melbourne routes since February, bringing hundreds of holidaymakers to Phuket.

But just one Airbus A330 flies the routes and when that had to be diverted to Kuala Lumpur on June 16, Strategic's problems began.

The mechanical failing was originally diagnosed as a minor fault but a replacement part had to be sent from France, putting the aircraft out of action for four days.

Passengers were not told that the delay would be anything like that length of time and on at least one occasion they were transported to Phuket International Airport and forced to wait for 10 hours for a flight that was never coming.

Lack of communication from Strategic was the passenger's main complaint. Passengers on a flight to Brisbane - one of three planeloads that were delayed - were accommodated in a business hotel in Phuket City, which came as an unpleasant shock after the swish resorts they'd mostly been staying in on Phuket's west coast.

Once the passengers were transferred to the Naithonburi, a swank resort with all holiday trimmings close to the airport, some of the angst lifted.

However, it was left to one of the stranded passengers to coordinate the ''relief of Phuket'' and place fellow passengers on flights home with other airlines.

Long before then, Strategic should have flown in a representative to handle what was a ''hot'' situation.

While Phuketwan was at the resort, the Good Samaritan passenger was reduced to tears when another passenger took out his frustrations on her.

The Strategic spokesman told the Herald that the exercise cost the airline more than $1 million - and has prompted permanent changes in procedures to handle similar situations in the future.

''We consider ourselves a full-service carrier and that doesn't just mean the service you get on board," Mr Vasta said. ''We're absolutely committed to ensuring we get through these growing pains.

''We do realise we have to get this right now because, if we do have disgruntled passengers next time, they may not give us another chance.

"We've taken a policy decision that, wherever possible, we will put one of our own staff on any flight that has in any way changed, where accommodation may be required because of a disrupted service.

''We'll have a representative of the airline to chaperone them, to make sure their questions are answered so they feel they have a direct conduit to the business.''

One couple who were stranded on the Phuket-Melbourne route later suggested that all airlines should have to find alternative transport home for passengers after 48 hours.

Phuketwan endorses that concept and hopes Strategic and other airlines take it up as standard practice.

We welcome the refreshing approach adopted by Strategic in admitting its mistakes, apologising, and flying on.

Phuket needs Strategic and its new attitude and wishes the young airline every success in plying the Australia-Phuket route and other routes in the future.

Strategic aims to rebrand in the next few months as it prepares to launch new holiday flights from Australia.