A Massage from President Director

March 23, 2011 7:57 AM

Tri-M.G. Intra Asia Airlines (Warning: Sound, Flash, airplanes) has taken regional airline website design to new heights (Warning: Airline banned in the EU for being unsafe). via
posted by swift (25 comments total)

Naturally, it crashed my browser.
posted by Optamystic at 8:08 AM on March 23, 2011 [1 favorite]

I don't think I've ever seen a working left-right balance control on a website. Bravo!
posted by theodolite at 8:11 AM on March 23, 2011 [3 favorites]

I got massages from the President Commissioner AND the President Director!
posted by Krazor at 8:13 AM on March 23, 2011

> Naturally, it crashed my browser.

Every airline likes to bring to their website a flavor of the experience they bring to flying.
posted by ardgedee at 8:19 AM on March 23, 2011 [8 favorites]

The new heights link talking about bad web design popped up one of those overlay "Sign Up for our Forum!!!" things. I hate those things.
posted by Uncle at 8:21 AM on March 23, 2011 [9 favorites]

I wonder if this is the only airline in history to have to write off an airplane because someone crashed it into a water buffalo on the runway.
posted by jackflaps at 8:29 AM on March 23, 2011

OK, their web site sucks. But their Geocities page is awesome.
posted by PlusDistance at 8:35 AM on March 23, 2011 [1 favorite]

Their An-12 seems to still have both the tail gun turret and the Russian panel labels in the cockpit, as well as some funky funky music. Seems to me that were it not for the Cyrillic script, they might have found the right button to go all Apocalypse Now on that water buffalo before they hit it..
posted by Ahab at 8:38 AM on March 23, 2011

What Uncle said. Oh, the delicious irony of briefly glimpsing the headline "how not to design a bad website" before REGISTER NOW THOUGH YOU ONLY CAME TO READ THIS PAGE WE JUST OBSCURED pop-up covers the text.
posted by zippy at 8:43 AM on March 23, 2011 [2 favorites]

Interesting fact: This background music plays constantly on the intercoms of Tri-M.G. planes, from the moment you get on to the moment you stagger away. In the cockpit, the pilots cooly bob their heads to the rhythm. They love it.
posted by bicyclefish at 8:55 AM on March 23, 2011 [3 favorites]

Also, has anyone noticed how the people on the "managements" org chart have fewer and fewer names the further down you go?
posted by bicyclefish at 8:59 AM on March 23, 2011

This website could only be improved by changing to Comic Sans.
posted by Mister Fabulous at 9:20 AM on March 23, 2011 [2 favorites]

This deserves a Webby for outstanding contribution to web graphics. Steve Job must surely be regretting his decision to support Flash on the iPAD.
posted by popecork at 9:31 AM on March 23, 2011

Yay, I flew Merpati. Not a bad flight but the water was in those tiny cups for o.j. and the approach into Labuan Bajo was a little hairy.
posted by jsavimbi at 9:42 AM on March 23, 2011

Their An-12 seems to still have both the tail gun turret

I wonder if they use the tailgunner seat as a 'jump seat' for standby passengers. If so, they just got way cooler.

Also, the MIDI sounds like a clip from an unreleased version of a Nintendo Contra game.
posted by chambers at 9:48 AM on March 23, 2011 [1 favorite]

HEY HEY HEY! Watch this slide show! LOOK! We have modern chairs and minimalist light fixtures!! LOOK! It's an orchid floating in a pool at sunset! Want to hear some DANCE MUSIC???? Mute it any time you like! Just click the animated parakeet flying around the screen! You want to get into the site??? Just click the smallest fork!!! DANCE MUSIC!!!!!

posted by The White Hat at 9:49 AM on March 23, 2011 [1 favorite]

For some reason water buffalo never entered my mind as a flight risk.
posted by Felex at 9:52 AM on March 23, 2011

I actually really like the music. It is going to be my "Eye of the Tiger" style theme song for this afternoon's batch of invoices. Also, if you click the play button repeatedly you can overlay the song on itself, creating some neat rythems and interweaving the awesomeness.
posted by ChrisHartley at 10:21 AM on March 23, 2011 [1 favorite]

Catchy tune! That list of banned airlines was interesting. Sierra Leone's "Air Rum" airlines...yes, I think I'd skip that one too.
posted by medeine at 10:23 AM on March 23, 2011

Thanks swift, this really is the best of the web!


(I honestly mean that)
posted by blue collar orc at 11:41 AM on March 23, 2011

They've somehow identified a mutant picture of either an old Convair or McDonnell-Douglas trijet as a Boeing 727 not once but multiple times.

Actually, I'm not sure what plane that's a picture of. It's... kind of cartoony and edited looking and doesn't really actually match up with either a Convair or MD trijet, but I know it's not a 727. For starters, a 727 has wing mounted engines.

Do they take passengers as well as cargo? I'm going to bookmark this site for later in case I need to book a flight for someone I really don't like.
posted by loquacious at 11:54 AM on March 23, 2011

Derrr, sorry, I was thinking of the 737. That is a 727, but it just looks frickin' weird. But the pics they have of the 737 look weird, too.
posted by loquacious at 11:58 AM on March 23, 2011

what a fantastic soundtrack - reminds me of that contra-like game - the one with the overhead view where you went through the jungle......
posted by sgt.serenity at 12:40 PM on March 23, 2011

"For some reason water buffalo never entered my mind as a flight risk."

It was probably a surprise for the buffalo too.

Here's a nice place to catch some sleep, all warm from the afternoon sun. Time to dream about tasty grass... Hey, what's that noise?
posted by Kevin Street at 3:47 PM on March 23, 2011

Just for visiting our web site, you get to listen to some awesome tunes AND get a free massage from the president!
posted by miyabo at 9:58 AM on March 24, 2011