new2here

If I read correctly, nearly half of the “new” fleet will be leased A350s and the other half will be return-to-service a few of their A333s and a few 777s that are currently stored… So, i suspect the vast majority of what you see currently at Suvarnabhumi in storage status, will (most likely) never return to service with TG - therefore I’ll also doubt you’ll see them undergo a repainting or other return-to-service work. I highly doubt you’ll see their A388s fly for TG again… and some of the older 772s and 773s I suspect will go to other carriers, undergo CF (converted freighter) modification or be parted out.

yes.. IMHO.. the relationship really is how tough your enforcement is has a direct proportional impact on the level of compliance It all depends on how “badly” does the government want a fix.

Again, if they really wanted to root out this problem (recognizing that they’ll never get to truly zero) would be to implement consistent and tough penalties... For me, IMHO, two of the greatest “powers” government really has when it comes to implementing penalties to be a deterrent are: seizure of any assets used during the commission of said action and/or remaking the offender to jail. To me, once you start showing that violators will loose their “stuff” - be that their cars, motorcycles etc AND will loose their freedom for X period of time - NOW i think you’ll see a deterrent effect. I like the two-prong approach of asset seizures and/or imprisonment as it really acts as a deterrent to both the normal man; who really can’t afford to loose their stuff due yo law violation… as well as the rich— who can’t buy their way out of a period of imprisonment. Heavy handed? you bet… but again, IF you REALY want to root out a problem, then you’ve got to have a situation whereby people KNOW that the risks just don’t outweigh the possible consequences for non-compliance. yes, in Bangkok, the job is hard… agreed.. and yes, the income can be variable.. but that’s what the job is.. and if they want it different, then there’s a process and channels for them to effect change - self-help via willful non-compliance isn’t the way and should be met with full force.

I agree with the others in that until such time as we actually see prosecutions - people standing in court in front of a judge - then it’s all conjecture if you will. I do think that “Joke” is trying to root out the issue.. but… I also think it’s incredibly hard to investigate one/some of “your own” … and given that TH doesn’t really have a truly independent investigative arm that’s both equipped with the functional backing of law AND insulated from potential interference from the entity/people being investigated, it’s going to make any investigation hard and/or open the door to claims of bias or adulterated findings.

absolutely agree. To me, to be as accurate a barometer as possible, you’d WANT as much verifiable related data as you could get.. So, you bet, smaller bills like post-paid mobile, utilities etc., to me should all be a part of the total picture. Yes, i think that some should carry a larger “weight” in terms of the scoring model, but i do think it should include other forms of debt management - not just the classic credit card and such.

As someone who grew up in the US, I was born and raised on the American version and played it at the college level in a Division I institution as well.. but i’ve also spent probably 80% of my post-university life working/living overseas where the European version of football is played and is wildly popular. My take is that while both the US and Euro versions are both good games, I think as far as continuous action goes, the Euro version is better — that is unlike the US version where each “down” is rather short followed by a period of time to line up for the next down, the Euro game tends to be much more active for a sustained period of time.. that to me, makes the Euro version a bit better from the spectators viewpoint, I do prefer the US version as far as the players go, because comparatively, the US version has bit more specialty (ie punter, KO, etc) and strategy to it (ie “do you punt or go-for-it on 4th down” etc) So, to me, they’re so different that i can’t really say one is better, each one, to me, has its own unique strengths from a spectator viewpoint.

Thai post *does* have pre-printed, pre-denominated stamps… they’re readily available at POs.. In fact, Thailand actually has a fairly active and diverse philatelic community and the Thai Post prints a fairly wide range of stamps as well as many commemoratives as well. True, the validated postage is becoming more common as it’s tied to the scale and address (EDI) notably when EMS service is used.

Same here.. i got mine (for free*) in the US during my late fall return trip… I had and still have doubts that the “updated” version will ve available here in TH and IF it is, that the supply will be much lower than earlier versions and/or will require some “payment” to get it. (free means no immediate out-of-pocket payment required at time of vaccination, but i acknowledge that in the broadest sense, it’s not free as it’s government supplied ie taxpayer funded)

I agree that in totality, US cards offer far more “perks” than any Thai card does.. but.. I tend to associate that with the reality that credit cards here don’t have the “reach” as in the US or other western countries…. plus there are far far fewer issuers here in Thailand.. and that means far fewer cards to choose from. In addition, the Bank of Thailand does regulate some aspects of the credit card space (ie maximum credit limits for example are subject to BoT regs) which also ends up shutting many lower wage workers from the credit card marketplace. For me, while i primarily wanted credit cards to start and develop my local credit file, i also find that there can be some decent promos (many are for dining out i’ve found) offered when paying via your locally issued credit card… but again, in totality, US cards far far surpass anything i’ve seen here (aside from an ultra-high card) as a regular offering in terms of perks” offered.

I did the same as you— when I decided that I would make TH my permanent home, I wanted to create and build my official credit profile (as maintained by the NCB) here. I asked my banker at BBL (I have BBLs Bualuang Banking) and she said that for a non-citizen worker (ie holds a non-B and work permit) the best way was via an unsecured** credit card, I did ask about unsecured personal loans, but was told a credit card was better as it was open ended and not fixed term like a personal loan. So, that’s what i’ve done.. I applied for, and was ultimately approved for unsecured cards from BBL, Kbank and Krungsri. Each one reports my monthly balances and payment history to the NCB. I also get a letter from each creditor annually which summarizes my activities for the year. Unlike the US, the NCB itself only acts as a data collection entity, they not create any “score” for borrowers- that’s up to each creditor and their unique risk analysis models in use for any selected lending situation. **(some banks may require you to deposit X funds into a deposit account which then becomes pledged against your card and can’t be withdrawn until the card is paid in full and account closed; these are still credit cards and are reported to the NCB as such)

It’s clearly an unfortunate situation. I agree that nearly all forms of insurance really do come down to “fine” print.. rightly or wrongly, unless it’s an expressly covered event, then it’s not.. that’s just how insurance works … and how it’s priced I might add.. Obviously, the more perils a policy covers and the higher the likely hood of a payout becomes, will naturally have a sizable impact on premiums…. so the more comprehensive the policy, the more likely a claim, the higher the premium and perhaps the tighter the underwriting criteria also becomes. unfortunately many policies aren’t written for the layman to easily read and understand- but to me, that’s somewhat a result of the litigation risk an insurer may be exposed to if they were to only release a “layman’s” policy wording and not one that is fully vetted by their legal counsel. I also agree that the proposed (but as far as I am aware, not yet actually implemented) B300 tourist tax*, is not designed, as far as I’ve read and seen details, to be a wholesale replacement for individuals buying their own coverage- but rather acts as a safety net - for catastrophic cases, has not been actually implemented, thus no relief from that end either. I have empathy for him and his family.. they’ve got a long physical recovery ahead, plus their financial obligations as well.

Clearly “crude” prices globally have fallen off their covid peak levels… however, carriers tend to watch and use the Platts fuel index as that’s specific to their commodity- Jet-A/A1 https://www.iata.org/en/publications/economics/fuel-monitor/ So, on that front, there’s a case to be made for downward pressure on fares.. But… I think the other major element that’s still keeping upward pressure on fares is “supply” … with load factors in some markets in the upper 80s plus, carriers see demand and their inability to add capacity is somewhat like leaving money on the table so to speak. I suspect that carriers do want to add capacity, but most are also acutely aware they adding capacity can drive down fares IF load factors don’t remain high to support the incremental costs. but adding capacity for some is also problematic as planes they put into storage can take weeks to re-certify for revenue service … and their crew and staff.. many who were furloughed or laid off, now have to be recalled… and like in many other fields, some of these previously employed airline staff, have found new jobs and careers, and don’t want to go back ..: so they have to hire “off-the-street” and for many positions, there’s a lengthy licensing and training period required before they are ready In totality, I DO think that the cut of the excise tax will help, but that’s just one piece of the pricing equation and in the longer term, not really going to have a MAJOR impact on bottom line ticket prices.

Agreed. Until such time as the general public has a sizable shift in their collective thinking and actions - it will remain this way. I do think policing - be that better, more consistent and frequent enforcement would help, but i’ve long argued that you can’t really “police” your way out of problems like this.. it takes a collective shift in how people think and act for that to really happen and have a sustained change. ….. for now, as many of these events are (IMHO) seen, internalized or explained away as either “fate” or accidents (as opposed to what i call many to be crashes due to one or more controllable factors) there’s no real NEED to change the mindset… and so it goes on body after body

I agree.. I highly doubt that one of the leading drivers to travelers choosing to come to TH is, on large part, due to the much higher home heating and energy costs… I suspect that right now, we’re still seeing that “pent up travel demand” that’s finally been released… i suspect that’s more the driver that energy costs back home would be.

At the end of the day, “visas” really act as an administrative advance documentation check if you will.. think of it as a “pre” approval.. but… it is in in most all countries, the mere fact that a foreigner holds a legitimately obtained visa, does not then somehow automatically mean you’ll be admitted nor does it prohibit the local on-site immigration officials from verifying your eligibility for entry *at the time of your actual arrival* in the country.. It is what it is… and to be fair to Thailand, IMHO, not unique to Thailand nor a practice that’s not equally used around the world either

That is, in some small part, why there’s no real rush to fix things… IF/WHEN something happens, there’s commonly little “blow back” and the costs of whatever DOES happen, is comparatively small - to that of the costs to actually fix the issue I don’t think massive lawsuits is the solution mind you, but having a situation where there a very very low risk of real financial liability due to successful liability cases, is one contributing reason why a business may low prioritize these matters

While no one welcomes a fare hike, I’d reasonably expect that the the BTS operators expenses have also go up - largely like everyone else’s… it’s kind of a vicious cycle between rising businesses expenses/costs and rising employee wages … i also think that because the base fare, when expressed as an absolute number is - relatively speaking small- any increase, even 1 baht, then translates into a rather large percentage…. unfortunately because i’ll bet it’s simply not feasible to use a unit of currency lower than 1 baht ( ie 25 or 50 sarangi coins) this also limits how fine any increase can be applied.

True.. one can argue about the real-world impact the arrest (and what i’ll guess will be the ultimate deportation) in this case and the value in using X limited police assets to apprehend and process her… … but…. it’s also fair to note that (based only on what’s written here) there was in fact a violation of law.. and as such, the RTP would be wholly within the rights to take action… again, is there bigger “fish” to go after in terms of crime? of course.. but IMHO, that alone doesn’t then say that lower crimes - regardless of what they are - then somehow get a pass until such time as higher crimes are addressed..

I agree.. I can’t see the deceaseds choice to refuse medical treatment as somehow the fault of the property owner.. that said, what I would think is that the law would allow property owners to be able to protect their lawful property … but … that whatever means used may only be “reasonable and prudent” and only to the extent to stop the illegal taking. That to me would seem to be fair.

I don’t think it’s the baht getting stronger per se.. i think it’s more to do with how the market views the USD going forward. Given Chairman Powells’ comments I suspect the market sees the dollar at perhaps topping out as the signal seems to be smaller FOMC upticks of perhaps 50bp and not the much larger 75bps they’ve done. So, i suspect the THB/USD issue is more to do with movement in the USD than it is the relative strength or weakness of the THB itself

I agree.. but i also think that you’re just not going to find situations where wages - across the board - rise .. and do so without there being some form of a rise in consumer prices rising as well.

I suspect it is because there is simply little real-world consequences for doing so… such as giving false statements to law enforcement, falsifying official government documents etc. Ive long been a believer in the notion that laws without properly and consistently applied consequences are just guidelines or suggestions.

i agree.. while it is speculation, I do think charges such as fleeing the scene of an injury crash, should be a mandatory criminal charge, not subject to prior civil settlement.

i believe they use “block” time.. or the time the aircraft brakes are set at the gate, as recorded by ACARS or their onboard Flight Management System

I have been a witness in a case before .. I can attest that SO LONG AS your case falls within the law, then they will act.. Thai or not.. they don’t care .. To me the key is what are the facts… I was rather impressed …. they listened, took copious notes, copies of relevant documents.. it wasn’t an overnight process, but if i recall within about a month, after calling in both parties and their respective witnesses, a department case manager had ruled and their written decision - which is effectively a government order - was sent to both parties with an order that it had to be completed within 30 days i recall.