skorts

13 minutes ago, stevenl said:

So not relevant for the sandbox program.

Perhaps not yet but …..
 

https://www.pattayamail.com/latestnews/news/brits-could-be-banned-from-joining-thailands-sandbox-program-362223

1 hour ago, merijn said:

The UK is (still) on the country list for the sandbox program.

The last country list I saw had the U.K. moved to the “red” list. The list is updated on 1st and 16th month. I saw the list on 3rd July. This was not a Phuket sandbox program list though. 

1 hour ago, Neeranam said:

This is a private hospital. I don't see people complaining when they get their medication there that is much more than 50 % more than local chemists. 

Absolutely. The mark-up on one drug I was offered by a private hospital

was 600%!  Exactly same drug, same manufacturer etc. can be obtained from a reputable pharmacy in Bangkok who deliver across Thailand (for free).. I never buy my medication from a private hospital and the Doctors know, accept and understand. 
A 50% mark-up on the vaccine is not unreasonable in my view. 

4 minutes ago, sanuk711 said:

They wont have it until October--- But the BKK group is doing this...

First formal registrations for Moderna vaccine were launched last month by Thonburi Healthcare Group (THG). 

Registration was closed last month. 

They started taking deposits yesterday. 

Vaccination bookings are transferable and if they do not provide vaccinations by 31st December 2021 they will fully refund your deposit. 

Not sure which THG hospital is in Hua Hin area (Petchaburi?)  but my wife and I registered and paid our deposits today for the Moderna vaccine at Lanna Hospital Chiang Mai. 

It seems THG were ahead of the game as it appears none of the private hospitals in Chiang Mai are taking registrations or deposits with some claiming to know nothing about it. 

This is the article from last month regarding THG and the Moderna vaccine. 

https://www.thaienquirer.com/28173/registrations-for-moderna-jab-hit-100000-on-first-day/

1 hour ago, elgenon said:

Wow! I can't imagine Ford and Chevy co-existing. Document it and send it to the news in America. I guess it really helps Ford expand its presence.

 

They sell Fords but don't service them? That's kind of weird.

They may service Fords there too but I only see Chevy staff when I go. There are other Ford garages in Chiang Mai too. 

49 minutes ago, elgenon said:

Are the Chevy dealers selling any cars or are they just doing Chevy servicing? Seems like it would be more and more difficult to stay in business as Chevys depart this world.

The Chevy dealers are not selling any cars. The dealer I go to in Chiang Mai is now selling Ford vehicles so assume Ford has taken over that side of the business. 
The Chevy servicing side is very busy and they still wear their Chevy uniforms. Whenever I have been the service waiting area and car park has been busy with Chevy customers and vehicles. Apart from not selling cars you would not notice any difference. 
Clearly over time things will change and parts might become more difficult to source but as a service customer it is business as usual for the time being. 

Bought a Chevrolet Sonic LTZ hatchback 2nd hand from a Chevrolet dealer three years ago. It was 4 years old with very low mileage and full Chevrolet Service history. Apart from replacing tyres and a couple of other routine maintenance jobs it has been great. The service we get from the local Chevrolet dealer in Chiang Mai is excellent. Overall very happy with the car and the ongoing Chevrolet servicing. 

3 hours ago, Denim said:

 

I think the 80,000 baht figure is misleading. This would be for a private jet with nursing staff all the way !!

 

He is shown sitting on a bed.  Could he also sit on a chair or a car seat ?

Could a couple of friends  not take care of the relevant paperwork ( covid check ) then drive him to the airport, get him in a wheelchair and push him to check in on a business class seat ( more room ). Airlines have staff that regularly take non walking passengers to the aircraft and get them seated ( I used to do this when working for BA )

 

I agree the above suggestion is only theoretical but surely the figure ( the very round figure ) represents flying home with the best of everything not just getting the poor man home. As soon as the flight landed in the UK he would be met by airline staff and taken through immigration ( done this hundreds of times for wheelchair bound passengers ) so a cheaper option must surely be possible.

 

When I worked for BA I often had to take such passengers right to the taxi rank and help them into a taxi !!

 

Where there is a will there is a way.

Clearly travelling without a medical team is down to medical assessment and acceptance by the airline. 
A friend of mine was escorted back to the U.K. on a commercial airline with a paramedic and a nurse who flew over to Bangkok from the U.K. to repatriate him. Cost was c£35,000. The airline removed several rows of seats from the plane to enable a stretcher to be accommodated. 
This was pre-COVID. 
The issue at the moment is lack of commercial flights although a lot of the flights that are operating are not full. 

Also, if a medical team is flying across from the U.K. then presumably they will have to do 14 days quarantine on arrival. 
The team that escorted my friend spent a couple of days in Bangkok as they had to liaise with the Thai medical/hospital teams and the airline and make sure everything was in order before the flight. 
14 day quarantine would add significantly to costs (ASQ costs plus medical team salaries) and would anyone from a repatriation team in the U.K. want to spend 14 days in quarantine before they can begin the process of repatriation?
Under these circumstances £80,000 might not be that unrealistic. 

1 minute ago, theoldgit said:

 

After opting for a refund for her cancelled February flight, and joining you in the queue, my wife asked to change it to a credit.

As with all things Air Asia related they didn't make it easy, but they did and she subsequently rebooked a flight, which actually went ahead.

 

They've moved the availability back yet again, the first available date is now 18th June, we want to travel again in August, we certainly won't be booking early again.

Sorry to hear that. Our flight is on 23rd July. Let’s hope it operates. I think the Government is fixated on the “sandbox” scheme starting in Phuket on 1st July and Chiang Mai and Hua Hin on 1st October.

Measures and restrictions in place now are totally geared up to that in my opinion. 
Chiang Mai moved down two zones from dark red to orange on Sunday and only had 9 new covid cases yesterday but apart from allowing restaurant dine-in nothing has changed. 

So according to the Governor it is safer for me to dine in an air conditioned indoor restaurant full of complete strangers than it is to swim in an outdoor pool with a maximum of 1 other  person - restriction in place prior to current measures introduced over 3 weeks ago. 
I know I digress but it is these sort of restrictions that are impacting on flight schedules and resulting in cancelled flights. 

22 hours ago, theoldgit said:

Now not operating, or at least showing availability, until Friday 4th June.

We managed to change our cancelled return flights from Chiang Mai to Hua Hin departing  7th May until July, free of charge. 
Let’s hope they will be flying that route again by then. 
We are still waiting for our refund for our February cancelled flights. 

44 minutes ago, NanLaew said:

 

If the WHO does have this restriction on vaccine sales, why didn't the DPM and HM say exactly that instead of claiming that Thai private hospitals "want" to deal with the government "only" and not deal direct with manufacturers?

 

Maybe he doesn't know what he's talking about or it was a rubbish translation?

 

Both are highly likely.

On Thursday 29th April the Thai Enquirer reported:

The Thai Chamber of Commerce released a statement to private hospitals on Wednesday evening (28th April) confirming the new direction following meetings it had with the prime minister.
The statement, which was shared with the Thai Enquirer, reads as follows.

“The government has informed the Thai Chamber of Commerce that it has sourced enough vaccines to meet the requirement of every citizens, therefore the private sector does not need to buy any additional vaccines.”

17 hours ago, Brierley said:

I posted this in a different thread but I'll post it again here.

 

The Nation reports that vaccine companies will only sell their product to governments, not to private organizations such as hospitals.....this is a new one on me, I thought earlier that the private hospitals were waiting for government approval to buy the vaccine!

 

Anyway, the Nation reports that the Thai government has said they will buy the vaccines first and then sell them onto the private hospitals, as if they are going to take a slice of the action or protect their incountry vaccine manufacturing concern, don't know. Perhaps read the Nation for the story.

 

 

I believe it is  down to the World Health Organisation only allowing drug companies to sell to Governments as they take on the risk/

liability if anyone dies from the vaccine and agree not to sue the drug companies.
So the Thai Government refusing to sign the vaccine acquisition forms means the private hospitals cannot secure any vaccines themselves. The Thai Government issued a Notice to the private hospitals last Wednesday telling them they did not need to secure any vaccines as the Government has secured enough. 

Unless and until the Thai Government changes its position private vaccines will not be available.

18 minutes ago, rabas said:

 

There are no AstraZeneca variants. The will produce the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Agree, I did not know what Thai Enquirer were referring to here either ....

1 hour ago, anchadian said:

 

 

Richard Barrow 

 

 

@RichardBarrow

·

18m

 

 

For those who don’t want to wait for the government roll-out of vaccinations for foreigners, they should contact private hospitals. It’s believed at some point in the future you’ll be able to pay for a vaccination with them. One big advantage is that you can choose which vaccine.

I am hoping a choice of vaccines will be available at the private hospitals too. 
Unfortunately, it may be a long wait. The article below appeared in the Thai Enquirer 2 days ago which seems to block the private hospitals acquiring vaccines. 
My understanding is that the World Health Organisation will only allow the pharmaceutical companies to sell the vaccines to Governments as the Governments are taking on the liability for any deaths that occur as a result of the vaccine, meaning the drug companies cannot be sued. 
Until the Thai Government signs the papers referred to in the article below there is noting the private hospitals can do as they cannot purchase the vaccines without the Government’s backing. 
 

Thailand’s government, through the Thai Chamber of Commerce, said late Wednesday that the private sector and hospital groups have no need to order vaccines on their own as the government would be able to provide for all vaccine needs.

Thai Enquirer reported on Wednesday that private sector requests for the government to countersign vaccine acquisition orders were being ignored by the public health ministry. 

The lack of government action came despite criticisms from opposition and coalition politicians over the lack of movement on vaccines and the government’s stonewalling of the private sector’s request.

Now, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha appears to be walking back promises made in a public address two weeks ago in which he promised to expedite and allow private hospitals to acquire their own vaccines to supplement the national pool.

The Thai Chamber of Commerce released a statement to private hospitals on Wednesday evening confirming the new direction following meetings it had with the prime minister. The statement, which was shared with the Thai Enquirer, reads as follows.

“The government has informed the Thai Chamber of Commerce that it has sourced enough vaccines to meet the requirement of every citizens, therefore the private sector does not need to buy any additional vaccines.”

The news will likely spark outrage among critics of the government and the general public who accuse the Prayut administration of not doing enough to inoculate the people leading to a rapidly worsening third wave of Covid-19.

Among the major criticisms has been that the government has not moved fast enough on its vaccine acquisitions program – rejecting offers from Pfizer and Moderna in favor of Sinovacs and locally produced AstraZeneca variants.

It is unclear why the government has chosen to change directions announced just two weeks prior. Calls to Government House and the Ministry of Public Health were not returned.

27 minutes ago, theoldgit said:

 

Thanks for that, maybe you could provide the actual reference to Thai Law and the insurance companies take on it. 

I do note that you only say "they could just refuse to pay because you are not living/residing in Thailand, but just visiting, according to Thai law" and don't claim it to be a definitive answer.

I have taken out the Dhipaya Policy for my wife and I too via Roojai. Agree the application process is very simple.
The six month reside clause is common in the insurance industry. The U.K. has this (they use 183 days) on many insurance policies e.g. Nationwide placed this restriction on their Flex Plus account travel insurance policies. 
We have both been classed by HMRC in the U.K. as a non-U.K. resident for tax purposes for several years and our place of residence is Thailand. 
We have resided in Thailand for more than 6 months and not left Thailand for 2 years. 

I would also be very interested to see the reference to Thai law and the Insurance companies take on it. 
if I am not classed as residing in Thailand then I would love to know where the Insurance Companies think I reside!
 

On 4/25/2021 at 8:56 AM, theoldgit said:

Seems they've suspended the routes again for a couple of weeks, not sure what it says, maybe Covid, it seems to be operating today but not from next Friday.

 

This would seem to be the reason for cancellation?
 

Hua Hin airport sanitized after executive tests positive

A senior executive at Hua Hin airport tested positive for Covid-19, according to a media report. The 59-year-old state employee is currently in Hua Hin Hospital with mild symptoms after testing positive on Friday.

High-risk contacts have been ordered to be quarantined and health officials sprayed disinfectant throughout the airport terminal.

All Air Asia flights to and from Chiang Mai and Udon Thani have been canceled until mid-May. – Prachuap Post

6 hours ago, theoldgit said:

Seems they've suspended the routes again for a couple of weeks, not sure what it says, maybe Covid, it seems to be operating today but not from next Friday.

 

Message above says:

“Cancel flight route arrival and departure temporarily

Hua Hin - Chiang Mai and Udon Thani

Between 30 April - 16 May 2021”

Yes, we we are booked to fly with Air Asia on Friday 7th May from Chiang Mai to Hua Hin and back on 16th May. We don’t think we should be travelling at present so the decision is now taken out of our hands. 
No communication from Air Asia yet about the cancelled flights but expect an email soon. 
We are still waiting for our refund from Air Asia for our cancelled flights in February. Due to have received it by now. 
Just tried contacting them on Twitter which previously got an immediate response but they seem to have withdrawn that communication channel. Just get told on Twitter to contact them on Ava or WhatsApp both of which never get any answers or any contact with a human being. 

Hua Hin to Chiang Mai and Udon Thani flights will resume April 2

Air Asia plans to resume its previous flight schedule between Hua Hin and Chiang Mai and Udon Thani. The flights are scheduled on Fridays and Sundays.

• Hua Hin-Chiang Mai – Friday and Sunday; depart 15:10, arrive 16:30
• Chiang Mai to Hua Hin – Friday and Sunday; depart 9:40, arrive 11:00
• Hua Hin to Udon Thani – Friday and Sunday; depart 11:30, arrive 12:55
• Udon Thani to Hua Hin – Friday and Sunday; depart 13:25, arrive 14:40

On 3/6/2021 at 12:39 PM, jerrybeirne said:

i was at chiang mai airport a couple of days ago and asked at the airasia ticket office when the chang mai- hua hin route would start again?

"maybe" in april was the reply.

hence i flew viet jet to suvarnabhumi and took the bell transport coach to hua hin. 3.5 hours.

My last Air Asia flight from Chiang Mai to Hua Hin took 55 mins - can’t wait for them to start flying this route again as so much more convenient than flying to Bangkok followed 3.5 hour road journey to Hua Hin. 
I left home in Chiang Mai just after 8:00 a.m, and was in central Hua Hin just after 11:00 a.m. 

Fantastic!

22 hours ago, clokwise said:

Well, my wife's just booked her flight to CM on 2 April. Seems unlikely at this point that they'd be selling tickets with no intention of flying. Let's see how it goes...

Keeping my fingers crossed. However, we still have an outstanding refund due from our last cancelled flight on that route and given the route was due to stop on 26th March 2021 and there has been no official announcement from Air Asia that the route is re-starting, we are going to wait to book until we definitely know they are operating the route again. 
Personally, I think they will be operating the flights as before they cancelled the last set of flights on this route you could not book behind 26th March 2021.  
The fact you can book for 2nd April onwards is a good thing. 

4 hours ago, theoldgit said:

They're selling tickets, and whilst that doesn't mean they'll actually operate they have announced in the media that they're increasing their flights

Thai AirAsia has announced it is to fully operate its domestic flights in Thailand by April. 

A number of routes have been mentioned specifically as shown below. It does however not specifically mention Chiang Mai to Hua Hin. 
 

“The routes include Don Mueang – Chiang Mai for 7 flights a day; Suvarnabhumi – Chiang Mai for 3 flights a day; Don Mueang – Phuket for 6 flights a day; Don Mueang – Hat Yai for 5 flights a day; Don Mueang – Khon Kaen for 4 flights a day; and Don Mueang – Udon Thani for 3 flights a day.”

Guess we will have to wait and see .....

2 hours ago, theoldgit said:

They're selling tickets, and whilst that doesn't mean they'll actually operate they have announced in the media that they're increasing their flights

Yes, as I mentioned before you can get all the way through to selecting your baggage option and choosing your seat on the Chiang Mai to Hua Hin route from 2nd April.

we will wait until Friday 2hd April and will check the airport departures from Chiang Mai to see if the flight actually departs.

We can see the planes take-off (depending on wind and therefore take-off direction) from our condo balcony so will report back.