new2here

12 hours ago, lopburi3 said:

AFAIK you are not allowed to enter Thailand under current incoming passenger flight ban (but that hopefully will end before you have to return).  Only pax currently allowed are returning Thai with Embassy documentation on special flights.  Scheduled flights come in empty of pax and take out paying customers.

Yup,

I've asked friends who work for KE at ICN and they said that it is true, they DO have and fly one flight to Bangkok.. but their one flight that operates TO Bangkok usually goes out empty on the passenger side but tends to carry a fairly heavy cargo load (all ULD) -- occasionally there will be some pax - but they are usually Thai nationals or a random Thai government official, sometimes Thai or Korean medical personnel... but that's about it.. Their one flight, KE 651, shows all "zeroed out" in the GDS', (ie Y0 B0 M0 S0 H0 E0 K0 L0 U0 Q0 N0 T0 G0 ) so its not even bookable on an outside platform as I see it.   So while there may be the ABILITY for those with WP's to return/enter Thailand, it seems there is no FLIGHT available to do so.

I also see a wholesale "zero-out" for most other Asia origins to BKK.. Such as TG643 (NRTBKK) among many others...  So, while they (the CAAT or larger Thai government),  may not have explicitly barred WP-holding non-nationals from reentering via one of past few orders, there appears to be no way for such a person to actually get to Thailand in order to avail of such reentry ability in the first place.

1 hour ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

Your needs are obviously different from those of others.

I own several properties, vehicles, watches etc. having considerable assets here in Thailand security is a priority for valuables. As I mentioned earlier having a Thailand credit card was the only way I could get a safety deposit box within the Kasikorn bank's vault, some things are just too precious to be stored in the home safe.

My Thai credit card gives me lots of local privileges as well as free visits to Airport Lounges worldwide, this is very useful as I've been working offshore for decades, travelling to many cities around the world the Lounges have become a very needed place when crew changing.

When visiting a Kasikorn branch I go to the front of the queue each and every time, over the many years jumping the queue has saved me a lot of time. Time is so dearly welcomed when working offshore as you're away from your family 4 weeks at a time.

 

The list goes on and on as to why I need a THAI CREDIT CARD
 

I agree.. while I think it's fair to say that, on the whole, most of the Thai bank issued credit cards (here I am speaking to truly unsecured cards or credit cards that are issued in the foreigners name, based solely on their own credit merit, without the need to deposit any type of funds/assets as a precondition or to offer up any assets as collateral) don't really have any >>major<< benefits that far exceed what can be found on many "western" bank issued cards -- call me lounge access, cell phone loss coverage, primary/secondary auto rental coverage, etc..  and it's my opinion that the market within Thailand is quite small with only about two dozen issuers in total (compared to thousands in the US and I'm sure well into the hundreds for many other nations outside of Asia) and it's this issue, in part, which is what stifles the need to really offer up a more competitive product.

For me, a US national, who is working (thus work permit holder) and with documented monthly salary in excess of B100,000 going back four years plus, I initially chose BBL and KBANK largely for two reasons:  I wanted to build a local credit file with the NCB and I wanted to access some of the local "perks" that are mostly dining offers... both of which essentially require you to hold a locally issued Visa/MC credit card from a Thai bank.

So, I can agree that, IMHO, for the "typical" non-working, non-national, who has fair access to their "home" credit system, there probably isn't a whole lot of real need if you will, to have a Thai-bank issued credit card -- but I think that IF you can get one, I can't see a whole lot of downside either.. While using the dining perks on my BBL/KBANK cards haven't materially changed my finances for the better, I can say that from time-to-time, I've managed to save a few hundred baht here and there off what I would otherwise normally otherwise had spent while dining anyway.. I've also managed to save a few hundred or few thousand off some domestic hotels when doing some long weekend trips.

I think, and have said for some time, that the Thai government - regardless of what one thinks of them, past actions or whatever - isn’t blind to the realities inside and outside of the Kingdom.. I am absolutely sure they watch and talk to neighboring countries about their plans and such forth.. I am also sure that at some level “discussions” are had with major business entities like the department store/mall operators, airlines, hotels, manufacturing, agriculture, etc.. after all, those entities represent a fair percentage of the economy.

To me, I think the government has already laid out if you will, their initial plans.. right now, it’s all about getting/allowing nationals (Thais only) to come “home”... and I myself think that’s the right thing to do...

.. and since the clear plan is to put ALL returnees into 14-day forced quarantine, that’s most likely what any non-national will have to do as well.

so, my guess is that once most of the Thais have come home, then they’ll start with foreigners... and given there is a limited amount of quarantine space, it makes sense to allow for a few days to as much a week or two, to “clear” space to allow a new group to start their 14-day stay.

.... and I think - based only on what they did with the first of the several stages of inbound travel “bans”, (I’m referring to those out into place by the CAAT), that those non-nationals in the first group allowed back will be work permit, SMART visa and diplomatic... again- just based off what they showed as being the priority earlier.

i do agree with an earlier comment that I could see it managed somewhat like the have done for Thais.. a foreigner who qualifies for group 1 reentry would have to get a re-entry type permit from their Thai embassy.. and to get that, you’d have to show the local embassy a COVID test and heath insurance... since the embassy would be “local” it would be easier for the embassy to verify documents; then issue a permit or assign a return date.... again, that’s how I could see it managed. 
 

What I’m somewhat dying to know is how much will be the change be for the forced quarantine be? as example, Korea is over $1K I recall for the 2-weeks.. part of me can easily see this has having the added “benefit” to local hotels as a means of income generation during the lockdown/no-tourist period.

3 hours ago, Vigilante said:

Terrible time for any rehabilitation, restructuring or anything of the sort.

Air travel in the dole-drums for the next year or so, no sane investor will be pouring any money in a bloated, bankrupt company

 

I’m not so sure about that.  Clearly, one major part of that process would be conditioned on TG being able to access the larger capital markets (ie bonds, equity) in any post-restructuring scenario.

Looking at the Bank of Thailand’s (BoT) latest public bond offerings they issued a 3yr note on May 7th which had a bid coverage ratio in excess of 2.00. They also issued a 4.5yr note on May 13th with bid coverage above 3.25....

so... it appears to me, even in this COVID environment, that state debt notes are still in high demand (any bid cover ratio above 2.0 signals a strong demand by investors)

Therefore, I’d argue that with the right traunch maturity schedule matched with the correct asset-backed collateralization, a post-restructured TG could in fact find adequacy financing.

naturally to do all this also means that most all common equity holders will be wiped out entirely, severely liquidated or be required to accept substantial restricting of their equity position.

To me the larger issue for Thai isn’t their immediate financial restructuring issue per se.. it’s the willingness of the existing leadership and general public to accept the reality as to where Thais’ business is really at right now and going forward AND also accept the painful (but IMHO necessary) steps that it needs to make in order to put them back onto any semblance of a legitimately viable long-term business operating without the need for constant state-backed equity infusions.

6 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

Until all Thai's are repatriated back to Thailand who wish to be brought home, I do not see CAAT, or the Thai Government allowing any international flights to come in from anywhere else that would be carrying foreign passengers from another country.  It makes me wonder about those with Families here who are stuck on the outside.  It would truly be nice if they made an attempt for the Thai people who have foreign spouses or children who are of a foreign nationality the ability to bring them home as well.  But then I do not see the Thai government doing much for the people as it stands already.  I have to wonder what the cost of these repatriation flights is costing and whether or not those returning are having to reimburse  the government or had to pay up front....

I have heard directly from the mother of a Thai national that I know. Her son was a foreign exchange student in the US. She said that they (family) had to pay for the flight costs and that they didn't get any kind of discount, rebate/refund of the fare. She said that they (the Thai national) could choose any airline they wanted -- they didn't have to fly X or Y airline, but the reality was that given the super small number of airlines that even offered service, it ended up being either a no-choice or two choice scenario for most... They did have to tell the embassy about their itinerary before the permit would be issued (i guess it was emailed) which they had to show to the airline staff at check-in time.

I forgot to ask about the quarantine expenses upon arrival, but she didn't mention that as having a required payment either before US departure, upon arrival at Suvarnabhumi, upon arrival at the facility or at time of discharge either.  My gut feeling is that there is/was no charge for nationals... but I'll bet it will be a chargeable service when it comes to non-nationals... my guess only on that point.

16 hours ago, lopburi3 said:

From COVID briefing response today there is no plans for even allowing those with work permits to return anytime soon (talk of having to return Thai before thinking of such matters and hope that could be done in June - but from amounts that were mentioned needing to return it does not seem realistic if quarantine of only 300 per day is available).  As for those married to Thai and stuck outside country they do not even seem to be on any radar above general tourists - it could be months. 

I agree 100%  I think that before the government allows any non-nationals back into the Kingdom, all the Thai nationals that have applied to return, need to come back... and given the limited daily quota, it's clear that May into June will be needed to "clear" this backlog.

I think that after June 30 and assuming that all (or substantially all) of the registered Thais waiting for repatriation have done so, THEN i think we'll see foreigners being slowly allowed back..   but here too, this does assume that by the end of June, that the list of reparations is pretty much done..  I also think that concurrent with how the first "ban" exception was drafted, that the first group of foreigners being eligible for readmission will be work permit holders, SMART visa holders and diplomatic .. same groups as before...

I could see them (also my opinion) making it a requirement that any foreigner in one of the eligible groups (see above) wanting re-entry would need to secure a date-specific reservation (like a quota system -- just like for the Thais) from a Thai embassy; to insure that each days arrival count doesn't exceed their processing capacity AND quarantine facility capacity..  It's also my opinion that any foreigner will still be required to have a COVID test (within 72hrs) and US$100K health insurance.. IF they required the Thai overseas embassy/consulate to manage the issuance of queue numbers to foreigners, then I would think that it would make insuring the legitimacy of any COVID test/insurance is valid and legitimate as the embassy would be "local" making it far easier for the embassy/consulate to verify authenticity of the documents presented to them.

So, bottom line, I agree that there is no real chance for non-nationals to reenter... until all the Thais who want to come back have done so.. once that's done, THEN i think we'll see movement on this...  To be honest, I was expecting to see this start by June 1 or even mid-June, so I'm a bit surprised at the numbers of Thais who apparently are still outside of the Kingdom and waiting their turn for reentry.

33 minutes ago, KhaoYai said:

There already is a tax. It was previously 500 baht and payable on departure. A few years back it was incorportated into air ticket prices. Now they want more? - great idea for attracting tourists........not!

That is a Passenger Service Charge and is collected and remitted to the Ministry of Transport.  Like most countries that have a similar fee built into tickets, it’s used in part to partially subsidize/defray the cost of services provided by the airport or government to individual passengers, such as Immigration and customs processing, security processing and even aircraft operations.  
 

Yes, airlines also pay for these services through fees collected, however their fees tend to be for things that are more airline-centric such as aircraft landing/take-off, use of gate space, etc.

So in total both the passenger and the actual airline pay for the services.

in this case, unless the ministry of transportation either remits some of that fee income collected back to the national government for later redistribution through the normal budgeting process or they have some type of pre-arranged revenue split/sharing with the ministry of sports/tourism, I highly doubt the ministry of sports/tourism sees  

any of that B700 charged today.

in my opinion, adding a new fee that’s essentially a tourism-support fee, and adding it into ticket prices - and to be collected at the time of ticketing is a GREAT move.... 

why? First, every air ticket sold will be equally impacted and at the same time, so there’s no price impact variance.. everyone’s ticket would go up B300 at the same time .... and secondly, and IMHO most importantly, few, if any passengers ever really look at nor make a purchasing decision based on any one Included-in-ticket-price tax... they may see the price went up, but I’d guess that less than 1% take the time nor understand what really drove that fare increase...  and lastly, given that fares can move up and down by the thousands of baht per day or even intra-day, its my guess that an across-the-board levy of a new B300 tax on every single ticket issued regardless of the airline nor point of sale, will have a near zero long term impact on the typical air ticket buyers decision making process. 

I think, and it’s only my guess, is that some kind of easing entry for foreigners will start either June 1 or thereabouts.

i also think that when it does eventually reopen it will be very slow... I think they will first start with foreigners who have a work permit, hold s SMART visa (those are BOI based visas) or Permanent Residents.. the reason I think this is because when the first “ban” on non-national entering Thailand came into effect there was a very small carve-out exception, and it was for these classes of folks... and thinking about it, this makes sense.

Work permit holders are currently and an active part of the Thai economy.. SMART visa holders are part of a BOI-governed business which are fairly high value/impact to the economy and permanent residents are the closest thing to a Thai national as you can get.  Again, these were the same folks who got exempted before - so at some level the government recognizes different different classes of foreigners. 

i do think they’ll keep the COVID test mandate, the “Fit to Fly” PLUS the $100K insurance mandates - I myself don’t think keeping these requirements in place would be done explicitly to discourage foreigners to reenter, but is in part to satisfying the “paperwork” urge that tends to be pervasive in officialdom.  I’ll also bet the mandatory 14-day (foreigner paid) quarantine will also be applied.

What I myself think makes more sense is to administer the test (foreigner paid) right there at the airport - be that blood-based testing or otherwise - to everyone... then quarantine (for as long as test processing requires) everyone until the test comes back.  If it’s negative, you’re free to go.. if positive, then you go to medical (at your expense) 
 

this to me makes sense.. there’s no real financial “loss” to the government as testing and any quarantine is paid for by the foreigner — and once you’ve determined, by testing- not just observation, they are negative I can’t see any additional risk to the general public. 

16 hours ago, mtflamingo said:

Thank you everyone who posted on this topic, as it really put some things in perspective.  Its nice to have a sounding board to discuss different possibilities with.  As it sits right now I am way more comfortable living in BBK then I would be back in the US.  I mean I have access to toilet paper and hand sanitizer! Being stuck in the US isn't an ideal option due to my current employment.  I moved away 4 years ago and with the way things have headed since then going back really isn't something I am interested in.  

 

Again thank you for all of the points/ideas you have suggested.

 

I empathize with you.  I made the decision to return back in early early April - knowing full well there was risk as to my ability to return timely for work..

.. but for me, and this is only me, I made the decision that I was willing to take that risk (ability to return to Thailand timely) in order to be with my parents who are getting up in age. Quite simply, I valued having time with my parents at this stage of their life and mine, over the potential to be able to return timely for work.
 

To be fair, for me, financially, I’m ok- the job in Thailand isn’t essential to my day-to-day survival- I like it, I’m good at it and my employer and I get along very well; so yes, I want to keep it.. but I won’t go hungry or the bills go unpaid without it...  in fact, before I made the call to return, my boss and I discussed it at length.. and we were both in agreement as to what was the right thing to do in totality.

9 hours ago, blackcab said:

For those people who think otherwise, I'll make this very clear:

 

Unless you are a Thai citizen, you will not be admitted into Thailand. You can have a Covid19 free certificate, a million dollar health insurance policy, a work permit, permanent residence, a Thai spouse and Thai children, and you are still not going to be admitted.

 

Entry is for Thai citizens only, and even then only on a pre-arranged repatriation flight. There is an exception if you can get personally approved by the Prime Minister, but you are going to have to be extremely, extremely well connected to get that.

 

Understand that the repatriation of Thai citizens is the government's number one priority, above all else. The government has publicly pledged to leave no Thai citizen behind.

 

There are limited state quarantine facilities in Thailand, and the number of repatriations of Thai citizens is being managed so that there are adequate quarantine facilities for Thai citizens when they land.

 

As a result of this you would have to be very special indeed to be placed ahead of the many, many Thai citizens who have registered to be repatriated and who are still waiting to have their repatriation flight to Thailand confirmed.

I absolutely agree.

thats why I’ve long said that the whole month of May is what I call “repatriation” month - exclusively for Thai nationals period...

i ALSO think that by June 1, most all of the Thais who do want to repatriate (here I’m talking about returning by air and not land borders) would have done so... as noted by @blackcab there is limited facility space to house all these returnees (note that it’s kind of like a treadmill in that not everyone enters nor exits on the same day.. they should have people leaving quarantine on a “rolling” daily basis - and for now, also have people entering as well).

IF there is no real backlog or demand for additional Thai reparations AND the people previously admitted into quarantine is either out of the 14-day cycle or there’s enough new space to accommodate, THEN I think we will see the government start allowing SELECTED foreigners back... with COVID/Fit-to-fly and insurance required, plus submitting to the 14-day quarantine at the foreigners expense. (Remember there was an article in the Post about the PM meeting with some bangkok area hotel operators about the hotels becoming part of the stare quarantine infrastructure- and their ability to earn revenue from it)

my guess is that it will start with Work Permit and SMART visa holders - as these are the two major classes of non-nationals who were granted earlier exemption before the total foreigner ban began.. 

15 hours ago, Berti said:

For those who did not see it:

 

Bad news for us waiting in Europe or US to enter Thailand and see their loved ones.

 

I agree.  It doesn’t help the cause of allowing non-nationals from outside ROK or PRC.. but... what I think is going to happen is that they’ll start with allowing non-nationals but initially only those who hold WPs, diplomatic or SMART visas - the exact same people who were exempted just before the “total ban” came into effect earlier in March.

of course, I’ll bet COVID tests and insurance proof will still be required AND 14-day mandatory state-quarantine will also be a part... I think this will be at the foreigners expense; not state-paid.  My guess 

18 minutes ago, Sakeopete said:

I have been stuck in Angola since mid February. I know how you feel. Hoping everyone  makes it home soon. The Covid19 certificate and special insurance will make it very difficult for travelers. Hopefully the Thai government comes to their senses and removes them I am guessing the Chinese will be allowed in without them. 

Unless some form of a universally recognized test certificate and one that can be had in one day or less from test date is widely available — I doubt they’ll drop the test mandate for foreign returnees... insurance I think will also still be a mandate.

what I wonder is IF there is a rapid test option available - like Emirates apparently now does for some Dubai departures - then I can see them dropping some of these requirements, but then mandating all foreign returnees must agree to undergo the rapid test option  (and pay for it as well) immediately upon arrival and IF it is negative test, then they’re free to go...

what I’ve wondered is if they keep the 14-day quarantine in place, given we’re now talking about foreigners, I would expect that the foreigner be required to also pay for their accommodations/food for that 14 day period.

16 hours ago, dallen52 said:

I reckon they get one decent crack at this.

Either they make the conditions acceptable for tourists and long stays to return,  or they will lose them, maybe for a long time. 

Many farang have left, and some like myself are still waiting for the relaxing of restrictions so we can get black.

I'm stuck in Australia. 

 

If travel between low risk countries first is allowed and then progressed to the rest as conditions change. 

 

If covid19 insurance coverage is mandated then why not the government issue the same for a fee.?

It's virtually impossible to purchase. 

Isolation on arrival is possibly a condition too.

 

Consider this. 

If farang don't return, or stop support for the Thai people and families, there's going to be bigger problems than the missing 5000 baht payments that no-one is receiving. 

I agree.  The easiest way to address the potential health care costs incurred by non-nationals is via some form of a pay-upon-arrival health care fee - or building it into ticket prices (this however would really only easily apply to air tickets and less so for land border crossings).  

You could price it at some nominal level and impose it each time a foreigner enters (aka single-entry).... or... you could have a slightly higher fee, but make that fee cover a longer period of time - say 60 or 90 consecutive days covering multiple entries - for those who will use Thailand as a base to explore neighboring countries.

to me the key to allowing any form of mass tourism restarting is having access readily available “instant results” COVID testing (kind of like what EK has in place for outbound DXB passengers)

21 hours ago, steven100 said:

I am sure Khun Prayut Chan O Cha is not happy with the way THAI airways has been losing money over the past three years and more .... has it ever made a profit  ?

Sack all the directors, managers, airline staff from upper level management and start again, cut the airline up into smaller pieces and make a budget airline from it's wasted stock.

If anyone can assert their authority on these clowns it's Khun Prayut Cha O Cha.

I'm glad to see he's discussed this issue and hopefully kills the old THAI.

I’m not so sure that breaking up TG into smaller pieces and going the LCC-style carrier route is a good move.

The LCC market in Thailand (speaking for Thai registered carriers only) appears to me to be well saturated with Thai Air Asia, Thai VietJet and Thai Lion.  Thai AirAsia already enjoys strong market share holding, name recognition and one of the largest networks - plus, they offer connectivity via their other national partners (the other AirAsia arms in the region)...

newer entrants Thai VietJet and Thai Lion don’t yet have the reach, network or market share of Thai AirAsia, their presence at minimum act as a means to keep downward pressure on fares where they compete.

so, given the market saturation and market dominance by Thai AirAsia, I can’t see TG moving to a LCC-style carrier and going head-to head with AirAsia as being wise.

TG remaining as a legacy carrier to me plays to their strengths... Through Star Alliance and their geographic base (BKK) they have fairly solid inbound/outbound interline traffic possibilities as BKK is within 3hrs to most of central/south Asia — and there really is no other competing carrier or city, that offers the same...  HKG offers solid options to North Asia/PRC and SIN offers solid options to South Asia/Australia - but neither offer the same level as BKK does for South/Central Asia.

yes.. Thai has been mismanaged for quite some time.. and yes, they’ve got a lot of restructuring work ahead if they want to “right” this business going forward... but to me, breaking it up into smaller units (which means each new piece would presumably have their own independent management structure, head count and costs) doesn’t play to TGs strengths and puts them head-to-head against a well established market leader in an already crowded, low-yield marketplace. 
 

Thais smile (WE) arm addresses TGs exposure to LCC style competition in their key domestic markets but doesn’t dilute their mainline brand.

I suspect that there is a fairly active market for both the 772s and 773s... the 772s I’ll bet is more for parts than as an intact airframe... the 773s I’ll bet can still be sold as an intact airframe to smaller market or regional carriers or even charter ACMI (aircraft, crew, maintenance & insurance) outfits. 

a lot of this will depend on the number of cycles on each frame/gears, engines and their time, plus maintenance schedules and associated parts that come with the sale.

There’s still a fairly active market for mid-age 744s that have undergone conversion from passenger to cargo - aka the 747-400BCF.  
(BCF = Boeing Converted Freighter)
 

However, this alone isn’t going to do it.. after all, it’s my opinion that you can’t really “save” your way into profitability... this will help drive down their direct operating costs - lower maintenance costs as well as fuel use- but that’s just a small part of the total cost-side picture.  They’ll have to look other parts such as employee efficiencies, staffing levels across the company, etc.

Regardless of all that, they still have to address the revenue side...   that’s not just fares, but also ancillary revenue, outsourced services revenue, etc.

but the disposition of those aged airframes is most definitely a positive move and one that - if handled correctly - can still be nett positive for TG.  (If I were TG, I’d use an outside 3rd party firm to handle the sale like ILFC or Air Lease Corp who I recall, both handle 3rd party sales)

To me Thai (TG) is very fixable.  But I do think that first there must be some form of commitment by the various stakeholders that TG will be run as a for-profit enterprise.. yes, it is and will most likely remain majority state owned, but that alone dies not mean it can’t also be run profitably — but I think that everyone is going to have to be “all-in” in rehabilitating TG

fleet-wise, to me, moving towards a slimmed down and mostly leased fleet I think will serve them well.

I just don’t think that CASK/CASM for their current 4-engine A388s and 744s  plus their older B772s are going to financially viable going forward to the next 7-10 years.  Right now, JET-A is relatively low- but that won’t always be the case.. plus more costly maintenance will start becoming more of an issue with their A388s which are closing in on 10yrs, their 744s (20+ yrs) and their B772s (13+ yrs)
 

The B773/A359 is an ideal replacement for their longest haul Euro markets currently served by the A388/B744 will have the best CASK and while keeping decent passenger capacity combined with cargo lift. For mid-range or mid-load markets their B788/9s are ideal..

so fleet-wise, TG has some options... 

on the revenue side, I’d push their catering arm- they already have a small retail presence (Puff&Pastry) and I think TG can capitalize on Thai food and it’s generally positive view worldwide.

maintenance repair and overhaul (MRO) is another HUGE opportunity... most major Asian carriers leverage their MRO abilities— be that like EVAs  EGAT arm, Swires HAECO or even Lufthansa’s JV like Lufthansa Teknik.. TG can compete for MRO work in BKK as it’s centrally located and cost/labour competitive.

Next, I’d leverage the heck out of their FFP programme, Royal Orchid Plus.  For many, “miles” can be a very sought after thing and as such, drive their day-to-day spending.  I’d be seriously looking to partner with someone like KBank (BBL partners with AirAsia), SCB or even Krungthai.

many carriers mileage programs are a leading source of revenue - Thai has got to get to that point,

Lastly, I’d be looking to leverage their Smile arm (WE) so that they can compete better with the Air Asia’s if the region.. I think there’s big value in a passenger being able to book a single-PNR for places like CNX, UTH, HKT or even KBV through BKK to Europe, Australia or North Asia.. bags go straight through, single-check in, CIQ processing, etc.  I think there’s big value in having WE as a LCC-like subsidiary, that can be interlined to TG.

bottom line, TG is very fixable- but I think a hard look/decision has to be first made as to what is Thai going to be.. a state-subsidized carrier (which is fine, some countries operate their flag carriers this way) OR... a state-majority owned but for-profit enterprise.

I tend to agree with several others.. it’s hard to say... that and while IMHO it IS somewhat possible to estimate the monetary costs incurred due to a down, I do NOT think the same can be done when we talk about the loss of life.

so the “worth it?” question, to me at least, is one that’s largely unanswerable from an unemotional, factual or purely quantitative basis.

I think the other part for me that makes this issue hard is while we know what DID happen post-lockdown, there is no reliable way to say, for fact, what would have happened, had there been no lockdown.

5 hours ago, cornishcarlos said:

I hope when things are opened up and they start letting people back in, they don't restrict it to Thais, WP holders and diplomats again... Some countries on that list provided are actually recognising family of citizens too, maybe Thai will wake up to that ???

My guess - and it’s my guess only - is that they’re first going to get all the registered Thai nationals back home.. and remembering that they all have to go through a 14-day forced quarantine in a hotel of the government choice.

After most of the Thai nationals have come back, THEN I’d guess they'll revert back to what was the pre-foreigner ban policy —- that being work permit holders, diplomatic etc... in other words, a rather short list of eligible people. 

The reason I guess this, is because there is a limited number of Bangkok-area quarantine hotels set up - therefore, so long as the government chooses to follow the same 14-day forced quarantine upon arrival policy for all foreigners returning, and what will also most likely be a time period where there will still be no acceptable/recognized vaccine in existence, they’ll have to have some way to moderate/control/limit the inbound flow as to not exceed quarantine hotel capacity.

so.. my guess is that we’ll see a Thai-only re-entry policy until the end of May.. at that point, I’d hazard a guess that the vast majority of Thais who do want to return (by air) will have already done so.. and the majority of these nationals would have already cleared the 14-day period.. thus quarantine hotel space would be sufficient to begin accepting “new” guests.  
 

Therefore, my guess is that June will be the first window where those explicitly granted reentry ability (under the old policy) can return.. then after one month (assuming all goes well), the doors may open to larger groups - for instance other long-term visa holders or the like.. 

... and this timeline somewhat meshes up with what the major carriers are now pre-planning for their  operational resumption — July 1

Again.. all my guess 100%.

I too use the 11 pro max... but.. here’s my take.. I think it is very possible for you to get a solid, reliable and reasonably priced earlier model iPhone.... but... what I tell people to also think about is Apples planned length of support - meaning continuing updates of the iOS to their level of device.

While having or buying a device that no longer gets regular iOS updates doesn’t mean that the device is now unusable, it’s not, only that you’ll find that security issues may become problematic and over time, more and more apps that you may have won’t work as the apps require more and more correct iOS to run.

... but not everyone cares about this or doesn’t really use the Apple app ecosystem...

to me, the sweet spot in terms of price and features is somewhere in the iPhone 8 range - specially since the just launched iPhone SE will effectively take the place of the iPhone 8.. making it a discontinued device...   I might also think the newest SE is also a good buy at the US into price of $399... you get a pretty solid phone with their current generation processor, but without some of the more high end features that would otherwise add to the price.

38 minutes ago, TikiT said:

Thank you I was wondering about that because the IRS just accepted ours 3 days ago on the 14th. How long did it take for you to receive it after the IRS accepted it? I don’t have any doubts at all because they’ve been really clear about who’s eligible pretty much anyone with a US Social Security number is eligible even if you pay no taxes still eligible!! 

I did my e-filing on March 2 and got notice (via the check my refund webpage) that my return was accepted and refund approved on April 13.. so about 6 weeks.  Now that my refund is ready and it will be via DD, that means my stimulus funds can now be done as my bank info is on file now as well.

I’ve noticed that the last 2 times I have done my 90-day via post (to CW) I enclose all the paperwork required, a self-addressed envelope with B40 postage (it’s more than needed, but that’s fine) AND an EMS tracking number.

The EMS tracking label isn’t the EDI-generated label; I’ve been told that they (EDI labels) can only be printed and used when the exact postage is paid AND it is mailed at that time.  It can’t be used for future-use... ok, that seems fine as I know the tracking data also uploads based on the EDI label being generated.

so... the last two times I have had my return EMS label; the “older” version that’s orange, white and blue, that I put on the return envelope replaced/covered by a new EDI-based label when Immigration tenders the letter at CW Post office.

Yes, I still got the letters back.. it’s never gone missing..  but it is nice to know when the letter actually is sent.. plus, if they (immigration or Thai Post) are overlaying a new EMS tracking, how would I know this, thus, IF it were to go missing, how would I know this much less go about tracking it?

i did ask my local post office today (I live not far and had business there anyway) and they said that they are not aware of any official postal policy that prohibits the use of an EMS label being applied to a letter BEFORE it’s actually given to the post - only that you can’t use an EMS label if you didn’t affix the correct amount of postage (obviously) 

Anyone have insight?