RHCP

Why are return flights from Bangkok to England aprox £300 more than England to Bangkok? thats even flying on the same planes with the same operator. Do Thais have to pay a high flight premium or something?

I am asking as i want to fligh my girlfriend over to the UK as a birthday present to her (if i can sort the holiday visa out) but it looks like it will cost me £800 where as it will only cost me £450 or 500 to go see her.

Thailand want people to come and not to leave airlines should be ashamed of them selves.

I do think that Thailand based residents are paying over the odds.

As an example to support my belief I recently checked Singapore Airlines’ return business class fares from London – Bangkok and Bangkok to London / Singapore – London. The fare was unsurprisingly much lower departing from Heathrow than from Bangkok. But when checking the fare from Singapore it was about 50,000 baht cheaper than from Bangkok or to put it another way that equates to a 50,000 baht business class round trip Bangkok – Singapore.

I challenged Singapore Airlines about how they can justify such differences in their fares but perhaps as an admission of being unable to defend these differences they chose not to respond.

To any frequent flyer the results of some categories in this poll are just laughable:

TG's business class product outranks Qatar, Malaysia, Virgin? Try telling that to the large number of disgruntled punters who have paid for a lie-flat seat on a long haul flight, only to meet one of Thai's notorious last minute equipment swaps, and then have to sit bolt upright all night.

Suvarnabhumi outranks KLIA?? Schiphol??? There is no credibility here.

On the subject of last minute equipment swaps, what's the present situation on the important Bangkok-London route? Are they now using new aircraft or guaranteeing upgraded cabins in each class or do they still use the old 747s which haven’t been refurbished?

Does anyone use the above calling card for overseas calls?

Today I am getting a message of invalid Pin number on 2 cards I use despite re-entering the numbers. No calls are being taken on their 24 hour customer contact number. Is the company having technical problems or more ominously has the company ceased operations taking customers money with them?

Has any UK citizens’ Thai spouses taken the Life In The UK test as part of the process for Indefinite Leave To Remain?

I have just quickly checked through the What You Need To Know section http://www.lifeintheuktest.gov.uk/htmlsite/self2_110.html and couldn’t believe the ridiculous depth of knowledge required. I am sure that a lot of UK citizens alone wouldn’t be able to answer many of the questions.

Can anyone update me on the types of aircraft used by Thai on the twice daily Bangkok – London route as I want to avoid using the older 747 aircraft that have a relatively poor in-flight service. Do they now use newer aircraft with a more competitive and acceptable in-flight service?

Thai have clearly been in long-term decline for a while now. Just to reinforce that belief I have tried speaking to them on the phone on some matter this afternoon since they did not respond to my email. All I got were recorded messages and music for 40 minutes before I gave up.

Quick question. Are there any countries in Europe where ordinary Thais don’t need a visa for trips of a short duration?

Just been checking out some fares to London in early May and Thais recently publicized cheaper fares don’t stack up. Using their website I’m getting a ridiculous fare quote of just under 50,000 baht compared to lower priced airlines such as Singapore, Qatar, Emirates and more significantly Etihad who all offer lower prices and much better in-flight services and newer planes. I can’t see Thai International filling empty seats when they continue to remain uncompetitive.

via email.

Sorry I meant to say Hotmail

I am having problems getting personal emails delivered to the UK and this isn't the first time it has happened. Since no message is sent to me stating unable to deliver what could be the possible explanation? Are ISPs in this country intercepting mail for whatever reason? It does seem to be a Thai ISP issue as I was able to successfully send the messages via email. Any suggestions?

Need some advice or information on a repeat application for a UK visa for my Thai wife.

She initially was granted a 6 month visa in 2004 and obtained a 2 year visa in 2005.

To obtain a new visa VFS (agent for UK Embassy) informed me that consideration would be given to issuing a 5 year visa next which from a cost and convenience point of view is preferable. However, VFS can't give me a definitive answer on what criteria the British Embassy would consider for a 5 year visa against applying for a 2 year visa. My worry is that the application might be turned down and the fee lost whereas it may not happen if applying only for the 2 year visa.

Has anyone had experience of moving up the timescale ladder in applying for UK visas and if so what was the result.

How many times has she used the 2 year visa and for how long in total. If she has a good history of using the visas given and hasn't misused them, then there is obviously a good chance that you will get the visa you apply for. I have no experience of a 5 year visit visa, but if you have always been honest with them and abided by the terms of your visas, then there is no reason that they should refuse if you give them the same level of proof as you have in the past.

Thanks for the response.

In answer to the first part she used the visa only twice and complied with all conditions. I am not sure if using it only twice would be sufficient justification for granting a 5 year visa though.

Need some advice or information on a repeat application for a UK visa for my Thai wife.

She initially was granted a 6 month visa in 2004 and obtained a 2 year visa in 2005.

To obtain a new visa VFS (agent for UK Embassy) informed me that consideration would be given to issuing a 5 year visa next which from a cost and convenience point of view is preferable. However, VFS can’t give me a definitive answer on what criteria the British Embassy would consider for a 5 year visa against applying for a 2 year visa. My worry is that the application might be turned down and the fee lost whereas it may not happen if applying only for the 2 year visa.

Has anyone had experience of moving up the timescale ladder in applying for UK visas and if so what was the result.

Hi,

I read some of the old posts here and understand that it's not entirely necessary to put some certified documents (namely the Passport) in the application. I'm applying for a Settlement visa and because it's quite expensive I'm leaving nothing to chance so will get copies certified.

My local Solicitor quoted £30 for this service which does seem pretty steep for, err, signing something pretty much! (I had the copies etc and was ready to go)

Is it true you can use a serving Police Officer to certify this?

If so, my father is a serving Police Officer so I just thought it may be a lot easier if he just did it? (Although he doesn't really know what he's doing) I just assume he can just sign all the pages and maybe write up a declaration to stick in?

- Hugh

Check out Sunbelt, I understand they provide a reasonably priced service.

I use it also but haven't had my 'phone bill yet but even at 5 baht per minute it's cheaper than the 001, 007, 008, 009 numbers.

Hi,

I recently tried DeeDial(http://www.deedial.com/web2/en/home.php). They charge 1.25 baht to US and 1.50 baht to UK. They have a list of provinces that you can get a local number to call to connect to your international number. I've used them for the past 2 months and no additional charges on my phone bills. Also their is no calling card to purchase at some shop. Everything is done online including any recharge of your minutes.

I have used DeeDial for months to call the UK with no problem. BUT. They have just hiked their prices to 7 Baht/min to 441 numbers, ie most UK landine numbers. So read the latest small print.

Agree. I also have been caught out so can't recommend them for UK phone numbers. They were still quoting 1.5 baht to UK land line numbers on their website last week whilst on another page they vaguely showed a rate of 1.5 baht for 44 and 7 baht for numbers starting 441. I think they are misleading customers a complaint they have failed to respond to, not that I expected their management to answer anyway.

Skype worked well in the past but not any longer for me now as the line quality experienced is awful at times.

As an alternative http://thaitelephone.com/EN/index.php looks interesting.

Although I have not been impressed with Thai’s high prices and generally old aircraft with poor in-flight service facilities for a while now I have to say that their customer service phone system has improved dramatically and recent calls to their Call Centre were answered by a human being within 1 minute and also were efficiently handled.

I know that this subject has been done to death but when, if ever, will the public here put enough pressure on all those involved in this country to provide an acceptable broadband service?

The service has deteriorated significantly over the past 20 months and I can’t now even download local pages at a decent speed, even in the morning. As for VOIP calls it is getting to the stage when the only practical alternative of making calls overseas is to use the mobile phone or land line. I don’t mind paying more to get a guaranteed and satisfactory service but when reading other threads this seems to be just throwing money down the drain.

Is this newspaper still being distributed? I have not come across it at the locations where it is supposed to be found for ages now. Has it succumbed to the inevitable in attempting to attract enough interest in the population as a whole to a non-Thai language newspaper?

I’m a Buddy customer as well and have noticed a sharp deterioration in speeds over the past 2/3 months, even frequently in the early morning when normally speeds are quite decent. They were quite decent when I signed up in December 2006 in terms of speeds but the service has definitely worsened since then.

I honestly don’t know if it the company to blame or the generally poor state of internet speeds in this country.

Being a bit of an IT novice can anyone tell me if the range of Acer desktops are compatible with Windows XP or not since I do not want Vista installed. I am particularly interested in the model Aspire M3641.

Anyone recommend a good retailer and fitter of window mosquito nets that are located in downtown or in the Ratchada area. We had the more expensive retractable nets for aesthetic reasons fitted by someone at one of these trade shows which have turned out to be a complete disaster so will now stick with the more traditional type of net.

This whole thread makes me wonder how you people actually survive in Asia without having a stroke or heart attack from exasperation. This is not the western world, learn to live with it.

I completely agree...I mean, talk about having petty complaints. I guess it's just that most of these people got so used to no service staff in stores (as well as gas stations, restaurants, cafes, etc.) back home and they can't get used to the idea of businesses actually employing service staff to SERVE their customers! I mean, what an original idea Make you wonder why some people choose to live in Thailand/Asia if this stuff bothers them...talk about no cultural understanding.

I guess it was the best day of their Thai existence when Starbucks came to town and they were allowed to pay the most expensive price in town for lousy coffee beverages AND had the privilege of busing their own dirty tables and self-serving it to themselves For me, I prefer my local Thai coffee cafe that does a fine latte for B 35 (and about 2x size of Starbucks to boot) AND they bring it to my table with a glass of water (in a glass...not self-serve water I pour for myself into a paper cup) and a couple small cookies. Oh, and they also have a buy 9 and the 10th is free card (that doesn't expire in 30 days)!

All the "hovering" doesn't bother me in the least...I just consider it good and (trying) to be helpful service. Of course, some of the following around in stores is to prevent shoplifting (but I'm sure if you were financially responsible for any losses in your department you would keep a good eye on the customers too). In department stores, I also like the fact that I can get most basic alterations done on the spot...and an ironing for free too. I also don't even have to move to pay...just hand off the goods I want to the clerk with the money and in a few minutes it comes back all bagged and with my change. What's not to like.

All you complainers... Get a life!

Get Real! Their only motivation for this harrassment and stalking is to get commission.

How is this a helpful service? More often than not they are pushing you to buy something that you are not interested in. As many have said when you do actually ask them for some product information their knowledge on the whole is limited.

My wife's brother is getting married next month in Phrae province.

Has anybody stayed in Phrae and if so which hotel would you recommend? Maeyom Palace Hotel Hotel seems to be the best according to my research.

Also any recommendations or suggestions on getting up there from BKK. We would prefer to avoid using the bus directly from BKK. Are there any realistic alternatives involving plane or train with a short connection to get into Phrae by bus?

Reading the various comments I think an analogy can be made with the mass transit operators (BTS & MRT). Because capacity is adequate at off-peak times there is no need to boost capacity during peak periods, Perhaps one contributory factor to all of this is the mindset of the operators of such businesses.

To add my piece. I use Buddy Broadband and have suffered much slower international website speeds over the past few months. In the evenings now or on weekends from late afternoon connections to international sites can often be frustratingly slow or occasionally impossible. In addition, I previously had little problem viewing videos online or making Skype calls but not now.

The problem is clearly a bandwidth issue as I guess more people are switching to Broadband. The question is who is to blame for not providing more bandwidth: the ISPs or CAT? I don’t know enough to make a judgment but speaking to someone quite senior in the telecommunication business a few months ago she had a very negative opinion of CAT describing the organization as full of old style beaurocrats who have little knowledge of modern telecommunications or much interest in being proactive to offer an acceptable service.

I don’t think much will change in the future unless there is much pressure from all involved and affected parties.

It certainly makes the previous government claim that Thailand will become the IT hub of Asia look dubious to say the least.

It appears the Bangkok Post has fully embraced 1990's technology which allows key words to be used to link relevant websites to locate related news, products and services. The key word in my post is "relevant". The links do not relate to anything remotely on the subject. There is probably the 16 year old high school gaming wiz who belongs to some hi-so member of the Bangkok Post's upper management has done this for them. Any real IT department would be replaced if this publication was in a developed country. When I saw it a few days ago I just shrugged my shoulders and smiled at a very weak attempt to bring in more ad dollars while inconveniencing their readership. The Bangkok Post can now be compared to any western high school newspaper. The management will do anything to lower the credibility of this English daily.

A few days further on and still embracing this ill-thought out technology tool. One has to wonder about the caliber of the management of what I believe is a public listed company.