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new2here

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Posts posted by new2here

  1. On 3/22/2024 at 4:15 PM, Callmeishmael said:

    It doesn't help getting an AI to issue the tickets, the Tuk Tuk & Taxi drivers still won't pay the fines.  There doesn't seem to be any consequence for breaking the laws or not paying fines, so until the police actually start doing their jobs, nothing will change.

    I’ve said many times in similar threads.. You start with education (some may legitimately not know XYZ is against the law), step 2 is light enforcement (ie basic fines), step 3 is “the hammer” - you seize, confiscate forfeit to the “state” the vehicles and auction it off with proceeds to the state, of repeat offenders 

     

    same for repeat offenders of illegal clubs, gambling venues and drunk drivers ..

     

    you seize and forfeit any assets used in the commission or derived from the crime in question. 

     

    Once you start seizing and auctioning off tuk tuks of repeat offenders I’m sure you’ll see some meaningful change. 

    • Like 1
  2. 5 minutes ago, Chongalulu said:

    They could use the aircraft they had available on more profitable routes and during COVID Thailand kept messing around with allowing passenger flights then not,not what an airline wants. Also they switched their hub to onward routes to Australia etc. from Bangkok to Singapore who obviously were better organised and more competitive. As a single point destination 3 flights per week from Gatwick is all it merits 

     absolutely agreed.  Coming out of C19 the rebound in demand was far faster than anyone would have thought.. and that came on the heels of carriers doing sweeping manpower reductions and aircraft storage - as C19 began to really bite - and the resumption of service meant unwinding furloughed crew and aircraft — both of which take substantial time to complete … so there was a pretty big capacity shortage initially

    .. so the carriers had to deploy where the demand was the greatest .. and the reality was that Asia - as a whole - was far slower to fully reopen than other parts.

     

    Thailand has long been a high volume, but low margin destination and with nominal onward connection traffic .. so it would make sense that it might be one of the last / later destinations that BA would look to either open or restart. 

  3. 17 hours ago, Korat Kiwi said:

    These stories cease to amaze me.  It appears that no two Immigration Offices operate the same. 

     

    They may all have the same rule books but interpretation is wild and varies from immigration officer to immigration officer. 

     

    Why so many hurdles? Is it the unofficial push for customers to  use agents, so staff can indirectly begin to get a reasonable salary? 

     

    No wonder people are getting miffed with this bureaucracy. 

    to a large extent i agree.  Thai immigration law is written nationally and not provincially .. so what the law is in province A is the same as B and so on..

     

    That said, I DO think that in totality it’s wise to allow some level of discretion or flexibility to allow each office, officer and case to be adjudicated based on the most relevant matters …. While i can certainly see a strong upside for saying “no discretion” and strict and literal adherence to national law, I DO think that leaving some minor wiggle room to allow for special circumstances to exist is wise.: because you’re bound to run not unique case that unfortunately fall outside of the literally law, and without allowing for discretion, might otherwise be a denial.

     

    But.. of course the tricky part is how does one police that discretion so that it’s bot abuses or taken too far. 

  4. 3 hours ago, hotchilli said:

    Re-assigned not sacked?

    I do think that they should have the same basic right - that is to the presumption of innocence and not be sacked until their guilt is proven..

     

    that said, what often concerns me here is that given how centralized governmental entities are, I think it’s hard - very hard - for a true, unbiased, independent investigation to be done.. even from a public perception basis alone, you can’t really have entity A investigate allegations of malfeasance within entity A.. and even if you call on entity B, given their rather close ties to all the other entities, I’d question if there’s sufficient independence for them to report back what they’ve found without fear or favor. 

    • Thumbs Up 2
  5. On 2/24/2024 at 1:13 PM, richard_smith237 said:

     

    Is not tipping being a cheap charlie ?

     

    If you tip in Japan its considered an insult. 

    Why don't businesses (i.e. US) pay their staff a decent rate so tipping is not needed ?? - isn't that being a cheap charlie ?

     

    I want to ask all the 'big tippers'... ?? Do they tip their hotel staff in the breakfast buffet?...  do they tip the flight attendant on the way over here ?

     

    We just arrived in Bangkok after holiday.. we had 90 kgs of baggage (and I was injured), 2x baggage handlers helped us, they each got 100 baht - which I thought reasonable. 

     

     

    Personally, I don't like the practice of tipping at all as I struggle to know where to draw the line ? 

    Tip the taxi driver ? the bus driver ? the Pilot ?

    In most cases over here its obvious though.

     

    So is a tip suggesting that 'I get paid more than you so you should be happy with my scraps' ?

    Its a very grey area that is often complicated. 

     

    On the surface of it I prefer the simplicity of a non tipping culture, but a tipping culture also has more people around to help with the small things.

     

     

     

    I agree…. to me, this is where “tipping” kind of got “lost in translation” if you will. 


    The US, in many cases, uses tips as a part of the staff basic/minimum wage — ie they’re paid less (under the otherwise legal minimum) per hour with the expectation that tips, when added to the basic wage, then totals equal to or above the mandated minimum wage. 

     

    where as in other parts of the world, staff are paid full wage by the employer and tips remain a wholly supplemental component.

     

    I also agree that what also gets a bit muddy is the whole “tipping for what?” question.


    Its fair, to me, to ask if tipping is appropriate if you received the basics - nothing great or in your opinion, above basic - but you did get what you paid for - no more, no less.. is a tip to be expected or given.. fair question.

     

    i also agree that, socially speaking, the question of what/where/when is an acceptable or appropriate time to give or even accept a tip, is something that’s less then clear as well.   I do think that many of your classic tipping scenarios (ie your table wait staff etc) are well established .. but where is that line drawn?  fair question again. 

    • Like 1
  6. 2 hours ago, Frankie baby said:

    Looks like a ban on the way for battery power banks. The aviation top brass will be scrutinising this incident.  

    That’s what I was thinking too .. my guess is that as in-seat power is becoming more the norm, that in the not too far future there may be an outright ban on these kinds of power banks be that in checked baggage (as it is now for many carriers) but also in cabin..

     

    True, in-seat power tends to be much more common on larger aircraft (ie more long haul sectors) and less common on short haul fleet types.. but I do think that we might also see it becoming the standard across all fleet types.. and when/if it does become the norm, THEN i could see an outright ban on outside power banks being implemented. 

  7. I’m of two minds.. I agree that legitimate “whistle blowing” is a good thing as it can often uncover misdeeds that otherwise wouldn’t be uncovered or take much longer to discover and potentially cause much more harm.. and legitimate whistle blowing should continue to be legally protected…

     

    On the other hand, I am ALSO of the mindset that deliberate disclose of legitimate state secrets - and yes, I do believe that state entities can and do have legitimate secrets that deserve legal protection- should be a crime and punished severely.

     

    So, I guess where is the line between the two - when does otherwise legitimate whistleblowing become espionage or disclosure of protected state secrets?

    • Thumbs Up 1
    • Agree 1
  8. 6 hours ago, webfact said:

    image.jpeg

    Thai Airways has taken legal action against a passenger who criticised the airline’s decision to divert a Bangkok-Melbourne flight to Sydney due to adverse weather conditions. The airline asserts that the crew followed international safety and security standards and seeks to protect its reputation and that of its personnel.

     

    Thai Airways has addressed the uproar caused by a passenger’s complaints about a captain’s decision to change a flight’s landing destination from Melbourne to Sydney. Yesterday (February 1), the airline announced it was pursuing legal steps to defend its rights and those of its employees affected by the incident on flight TG 465 on January 28. The airline reiterated its adherence to safety and security standards and emphasized the significance of not misleading the public.

     

    The passenger’s post, which criticised the pilot’s actions on the January 28, flight from Bangkok to Melbourne and led to an alternate landing in Sydney due to weather at Melbourne Airport, has sparked widespread discussion. Many have voiced support for Thai Airways’ decision to take legal action against the passenger, praising the airline for setting a positive precedent in a society increasingly filled with disrespect, reported KhaoSod.

     

    One comment read, “It’s justified and a thank you to Thai Airways for setting a good example for society. Insulting and slandering are not honest criticism. Remember this, or better yet, tattoo it on your forehead so you see it every time you look in the mirror!”

     

    by Nattapong Westwood

    TOP FILE PHOTO: A Thai Airways Boeing 777-300ER plane takes off from Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport February 23, 2015. REUTERS/Chaiwat Subprasom/File Photo/File Photo

     

    Full story: The Thaiger 2024-02-02

     

    - Cigna offers a range of visa-compliant plans that meet the minimum requirement of medical treatment, including COVID-19, up to THB 3m. For more information on all expat health insurance plans click here.

     

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    I am not the biggest fan of this course of action.  I DO think it’s fair for TGs “PR” or Media Unit to tell their side of the story and to get their version of the narrative out there.. but.. when you go the legal route -especially when the opposing side is an individual customer, to me, that makes you look some what like a bully or being “heavy handed” so to speak.
     
    In my head, given the amount of social media content that out there each day and the speed to which it comes and goes.. IF I were TG, I might be tempted to make one “corrective” statement - then leave it alone.. the odds that any one post will actually go “viral” is very very small… and the “shelf life” of any such post is quite small. 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

     

     

     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
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  9. 5 hours ago, smutcakes said:

    I am of the view that opening any kind of bank account is going to get more and more difficult with the relentless KYC requirements.

     

    It costs nothing to keep an account open so why not just leave it open, you never know when you might need it. At the very least no harm could come of it. I am actually the complete opposite to you- i have 2 Bangkok Bank accounts and 2 Krungsri- Now i solely use the Krungrsi ones, but maintain some funds in BB to keep the credit card, not that i ever use it, but its there in an emergency. Actually last week i had to send off payment details for Govt payment, and a day later Krungsri called me to cancel my card due to an unauthorized transaction.

     

    Luckily i still had the BB credit card so i could immediately replace the details for the payment.

     

    Sorry for the long winded blurb. Personally i just dont see the reason in not keeping them- costs nothing or next to nothing and with online APP banking its very easy to manage.

    I wholly agree.. I also don’t think we will ever really see any “easing” so to speak.. KYC and related laws and BoT regulations I suspect will only increase .. who knows how it when, but I don’t see an easing coming.


    Given that for most banks the requirements for keeping the account open are very very simple and usually fee-free as well, if it were me, I’d make the reasonable effort to keep them open if possible.

    • Agree 1
  10. 2 hours ago, sqwakvfr said:

    Last time I flew TG to the US was back in 2013.  They were flying a B777-300 ER and the routing was BKK-ICN-LAX.  The stop in ICN was about 2 hours.  I do not see TG ever flying to the US again.  

    Agreed. They don’t have enough “market” in the US via LAX (or SFO/SEA if they were to even go that way) to really sustain themselves - especially when one notes ALL the other one-stop options that currently exist, such as TPE/HKG/ICN/NRT/HND/SIN/PEK/PVG and i’m sure a few others.  TG is much better off flying with their strengths; that being long-haul Euro traffic, intra-Asia and regional flying, plus the domestic market. 

  11. On 1/20/2024 at 6:38 AM, sqwakvfr said:

    Last time I flew BKK to LAX nonstop was back in 2008.  It was on Thai Airways on an A350-400.  The plane was half empty because of the amount fuel needed to fly almost 9,000 miles nonstop.   I believe Air Canada is planning a Vancouver to BKK in the near future.  

    Those BKK-LAX/JFK non-stops were a good idea.. but largely fell victim to timing .. once fuel skyrocketed, that A340-500 quad-jet just become impossible to operate profitably on those kinds of “long, thin” routes.. 

     

    The other issue is that as I’ve noted earlier US-TH traffic is skewed to the leisure end of the spectrum.. making any kind of ultra long haul US-TH non-stop very difficult to operate without consistently filling the premium end of the cabin.

     

    once TG went back to the single-stop routing (be that via JP or KR) on the 777s, they then ran smack dab into some of the most competitive and seat-saturated (lots of available seats) markets, with more than a handful of both Asian carriers flying this same US west coast JP/KR market, as well as US carriers too.. making it hard for them to compete and gain any real marketshare.

     

    MH tried the same thing; KUL-NRT-LAX and they too couldn’t make it work long-term either. They could fill that -400 easily.. but they filled it largely only in Y and with few true paid C/J seats.. 

     

    I think that one big “strike” against TG is something that’s out of their direct control. Unlike SIN, BKK/DMK really has little true international connection traffic.. domestic, sure.. but as is common, domestic has to operated by a Thai carrier, and most every domestic route is covered equally or more by a LCC..  So anyone choosing to fly TG, is pretty much locked into terminating in TH.  SQ by comparison, carries much more connection traffic beyond SIN.. and the north asian carriers like OZ/KE or JL/NH carry a massive amount - taking a lot of pricing pressure off their US-JP/KR sales quotas… all to the detriment of TG when it comes to flying to/from the US.

  12. To me there’s a few ways you could go.

     

    Clearly a straight cash handout is the most desired, but the government looses their ability to target where those funds go 

     

    So.. they could give vouchers that can only be redeemed against X, Y or Z purchases and can’t be banked/saved (as saving doesn’t drive immediate economic activity) nor used by anyone else (ie non-transferable) 

     

    if the worry is that only a handful of larger corporations will benefit, then implement redemption caps both in aggregate as well as geographic.  So a large entity can accept them but only up to X value, after that other smaller entities would be beneficiaries.

     

    to help multiple industries, you could also make X% of a person's total voucher value redeemable for Y type goods and another percentage redeemable for Z type goods 

     

     

  13. 3 hours ago, kickstart said:

    Not ignorant, just do not understand Thai customs, the tour guide, if they were one, most tours are at sights just long enough to see the sight ,not to sun bath , should have said something............that is if her English was good enough to explain about Thai customs.

    I think it’s fair to acknowledge that as the worlds most visited city, invariably there will be some who just plain don’t know … others will be lack of compliance… 

     

    Either way, I think it’s fair play for the authorities to post relevant signage saying what is and what isn’t ok.

     

    True, you can’t really post EVERYthing that’s not allowed - you can take that past the nth degree, but I think a reasonable list of prohibited actions is necessary.. and then i’d be ok with the authorities taking punitive/enforcement action; as proper notice was given in advance   

  14. 3 hours ago, Tubulat said:

    Yes, that is true but then in many other countries that is regulated by law, here it is not.

    It only remains a LOS

    Agreed.. I’ve said many times.. rules or laws without reasonably consistent enforcement and with consistently applied material penalties, become only mere suggestions

     

    .. and when it comes to most traffic and motor vehicle issues, I’ll say that they’re effectively suggestions … really not laws in the most true sense.

     

    if you knowingly block an emergency vehicle and fail to use all reasonable measures to “yield” then I’m an advocate for the state to seize said vehicle for X number of days with storage fees and fixed penalties applied.. on any subsequent conviction, I’d support the court ordering the convict to forfeit said vehicle to the state, as it would then to be clear the convicts unwillingness to comply with law and that their non-compliance puts the public at risk. 

    • Agree 1
  15. I all honesty, this isn’t the world worst idea.

     

    If you look at TG (and for now, I’ll include Smile (WE) as it’s going to be rolled into parent mainline TG) while their mainline A320’s are are quite new- the fleet coming over from Smile appear to be all around the 10+/- age range.. not at end of life, but not exactly new either and as we know, there are more efficient models in todays market - not to mention lower MX costs as well.

     

    Ad for TGs mainline long haul goes .. that’s where I really think the idea takes hold.  Their 772s are approaching 18 yrs.. and about half of their 773s are now pushing 10yrs 


    So, I can see a solid logic for wanting to do fleet modernization now and replace their long-haul 772/773s and a bulk of their short-haul/domestic fleet A320s… I could ALSO see TG looking to find an aircraft that is more of a MoM (Middle of Market) that can be deployed on routes to cities in AU/NZ/CN/IN and such, that perhaps don’t need fleet type with extensive range (like a 778/9 or A359) but yet also don’t give up massively on the payload either.. 

    • Like 1
  16. 1 hour ago, connda said:


    ....and then comes the inflation as the money supply in Thailand is amped.  Then over the course of the next couple of years, inflation will claw back the 10K THB and more. 
    Expats should enjoy the inflated exchange rate as Thai currency loses value.

    I wonder who will holding the bag for the 500 billion THB "loan?"  The bondholders are going to be sorry.
     

    I don’t know that the bond holders will be sorry. Right now, Thai sovereign debt holds - as I recall - mid Investment grade ratings.. and if I’m not mistaken, direct Thai government bonds are “general obligation” debts - thus backed by the governments full taxation ability.  Different than say special purpose bonds which would be backed only by revenue from XYZ project… 

     

    To me, the more.. realistic risk, as I see it, isn’t P&I repayment risk, but the risk that someone like Moody’s, Fitch or S&P cut the ratings on this kind of debt, after it’s issuance, causing the yield to rise as the price falls…. making it hard for a bond holder to resell in the secondary market or to use it as collateral for other investments (or margining). 

     

  17. Location aside, I think it’s one thing IF the price was NOT fully and prominently displayed on the menu before ordering… it’s something entirely else IF it WAS.

     

    It’s fair to perhaps argue the value of a B300 plate of noodles— ok, that’s a fair discussion…. but if it the price was disclosed up front and in advance .. and within that disclosure, you still went forward and ordered, then you can’t really argue that you were somehow duped, conned or ripped off. (so long as you got what was pictured and/or described) 

     

     

  18. It’s unfortunate, but that kind of how things are.. it’s when the MINority do something “wrong” that enforcement action is taken, and it commonly hits the MAJority who weren’t a part of the wrong that was done.

     

    I don’t know that percentage of Thais who enter are deemed to be illegals (ie entered under false pretenses and/or overstayed their otherwise legal entry) .. but it *sounds* like it’s not a small number — so — to that end, I can’t say that the KR Immigration service is unreasonable or acting without some measure of necessity.

     

    As far as their actions being “arbitrary” goes- I think by it’s very nature, immigration screening at the airport is almost always going to have some element of randomness and subjectivity to it - while the law may be written quite objectively, how each person presents themselves, the documents they have, the verbal statements made etc do require that an subjective assessment be made.  

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