Thai citizens unable to return to Thailand on discount carriers

[BazzaJames]

It would appear that Thai nationals are being forced to pay top dollar for reparation flights to get home.

If using discount carriers there unable to use free State Quarantine and are forced into ASQ . Can anyone confirm this?

[ezzra]

Yes it is true, i suppose they have their reasons but if you want an a free ASQ than you have no choice, why? good question, there are many Why's one can ask when dealing with Thai government decisions....

[Carmine6]

Probably just logistics and cost.  With just a limited number of repatriation flights, they only have to arrange for transportation and lodging on about 2 flights per week from the Asian carriers and Ehiad and Qatar.  Plus whatever others may come out of Europe.  I doubt they only put 1 person per van when going to a state paid quarantine.  Probably buses, each with a few people all going to the same hotel.  One person could probably keep up with tracking changes and making arrangements.  Then there's only a presence needed at the airport for several hours for each flight.

 

If they allowed Thais to come in on any flight they could, then it is a lot of coordination to do and it would be 24/7.  It may be several people arriving spread out over the course of a day, almost every day of the week.  The current semi-commercial flight list has 10 daily flights and maybe on average 10 more flights per day depending on the day.  That means someone to meet them and a van or vans depending on how many on that flight are going to state quarantine.  And then all the arrangements with the hotels.

 

People would have to constantly update changes and then somehow they have to track who makes it onto their flight and then they could cancel vans and hotels if missed.  That's a lot more expense in payroll and transportation.

[orchidfan]

My Thai wife in Hong Kong,  returning hete soon is being told by the embassy (consulate) there that she can only return on Thai Airways,  even though Emirates  Cathay and others have daily flights. (Much cheaper than that being quoted on Thai.

 

I think above poster's comments on the logistics in involved are probably the reason. 

 

I initially thought it was just a ruse to bolster, near bankrupt, Thai.

Whatever, it seems she has no choice if she want free government quarantine. 

[ThailandRyan]

Not just logistics, but they are feeding Thai Airways an income this way.  Trying to prop up a dying National carrier in my view.

[chilli42]

On 12/6/2020 at 9:44 AM, BazzaJames said:

It would appear that Thai nationals are being forced to pay top dollar for reparation flights to get home.

If using discount carriers there unable to use free State Quarantine and are forced into ASQ . Can anyone confirm this?

I recently returned to Thailand from Canada - 3 weeks ago.  The Thai consulate in Vancouver offered me a return on a “repatriation flight” whatever that is.  I told them no thanks as I had secured my own way back.  They were fine with that ... could not have cared less. I returned to Thailand  on the flight I arranged.  I am not aware of any specific discount airlines flying to Thailand as it’s not a very profitable business selling cheap tickets and flying airplanes around that are half empty.  BTW I returned to Thailand on China Airlines.  My own sense, speaking to other Thai’s and expats, is that each embassy and consulate has their own interpretation of what the rules pertaining to returning to Thailand ... just the regular incompetence exacerbated by distance from the mother ship.

[davidcraig]

You are correct that if a Thai citizen doesn't use a repatriation flight with Thai Airways, then they have to pay for their own Alternative State Quarantine.

[StevieAus]

1 hour ago, chilli42 said:

I recently returned to Thailand from Canada - 3 weeks ago.  The Thai consulate in Vancouver offered me a return on a “repatriation flight” whatever that is.  I told them no thanks as I had secured my own way back.  They were fine with that ... could not have cared less. I returned to Thailand  on the flight I arranged.  I am not aware of any specific discount airlines flying to Thailand as it’s not a very profitable business selling cheap tickets and flying airplanes around that are half empty.  BTW I returned to Thailand on China Airlines.  My own sense, speaking to other Thai’s and expats, is that each embassy and consulate has their own interpretation of what the rules pertaining to returning to Thailand ... just the regular incompetence exacerbated by distance from the mother ship.

The big difference is that the Thais do not pay for the quarantine, but you do.

[chilli42]

20 hours ago, StevieAus said:

The big difference is that the Thais do not pay for the quarantine, but you do.

I think the posters question was about discount airlines.  That said, yes it’s possible for Thai’s to not pay for quarantine provided they are willing to be guests of the state.  I observed, while incarcerated in my 5 star hotel, that there were many Thai’s there as well.  So Thai’s who can afford it are staying in the same hotels as foreigners to elevate the level of their comfort.  I can assure you, since my son is a Thai and went through the same process, that they are paying exactly the same price as foreigners to stay in comfortable hotels.  So there is a free ride if you want to sign up for that misery.

[khunjeff]

On 12/6/2020 at 9:44 AM, BazzaJames said:

It would appear that Thai nationals are being forced to pay top dollar for reparation flights to get home.

If using discount carriers there unable to use free State Quarantine and are forced into ASQ . Can anyone confirm this?

 

That isn't exactly correct. To the best of my knowledge, no discount carriers (i.e., LCCs like Air Asia) are currently operating regular flights to Thailand, and there are no discount carriers on the "semi-commercial" list, so they aren't exactly an option that's being denied to anyone.

 

It is true, however, that Thais who want to avail themselves of the free State Quarantine do have to arrive in Thailand on an Embassy-designated "repatriation" flight, which could be more expensive than the "semi-commercial" alternatives. (On at least one Government-organized flight that I saw recently, though, the fare for Thais - mentioned only in Thai language, of course - was quite a bit lower than that for foreigners.) Given the cost savings over having to pay for ASQ, though, I think they still come out way ahead using the repat option.

 

23 hours ago, davidcraig said:

You are correct that if a Thai citizen doesn't use a repatriation flight with Thai Airways, then they have to pay for their own Alternative State Quarantine.

 

The repatriation flights are with whichever airline the local embassy or consulate chooses to designate. Some, especially from places with lots of Thais wishing to return, are with TG, but most are not. Given the OP's question, it's worth noting that some of those repat flights - at least from nearby countries - are actually on discount carriers, though not at discount prices. A (foreign) friend of mine will be flying to Bangkok from Saigon on a consulate-organized flight this week, and they're using Vietjet - but at a price about 400% higher than the usual pre-pandemic fare.

[Carmine6]

I was wrong about them putting a "few" per bus.  It looks like they put more on each bus because they use big buses.

 

Go to 1:57 of this video from the LA Consulate about State Quarantine and they're having people get on the bus from the airport.  Double decked buses and from the people already on, maybe seated every 4th row, and probably staggered on the opposite side.  Guessing maybe 12 per bus and in that case at least 2 buses to one hotel (Ambassador). 

 

Ambassador is on the ASQ list as well for 45,000 for a 25 sq m room and 49,000 for 60 sq m 1 bedroom.  I think I'd go the extra 4,000 for the much larger room if I were staying there.

 

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