realfunster

I'm not really clear what you are trying to communicate : 1) If you are saying my opinion doesn't matter to Thai government, that's already understood but I can have a viewpoint - correct ? 2) Not sure what you are talking about, my comment was aimed more at the "now" and piggy-backing others space programs (and other "fashionista" issues) whilst there undoubtedly more prosaic concerns and spending priorities for the average Thai citizen. If you are going back to the 70s to discuss "giants" and their space programs, then presumably you are referring to either Russia or US, anyway, not relevant. 3) I don't understand the link between this and my post. Anyway, my point remains, go and walk around the Bangkok slums or pretty much anywhere outside of Bangkok and come back and tell me it's a good use of Thai taxpayers' money.

What a surprise that the minister involved has a reasonable looking soundbite to justify his department’s existence and spending. I recall seeing plenty of satellite images during the floods in 2011 and over the last decade with our persistent poor air quality issues. It would appear alternatives already exist. Certain elements of Thai society love nothing better than implementing the latest international trends from developed countries. The problem is, the wider societal foundations for these are not yet in place. Rather than standing on the shoulders of giants and messing around with vanity projects such as space exploration and submarines, below is a list of what I would describe as much higher priority spending issues for “the wellbeing of Thai people”. Education Health services Social and old age care Water/flood management infrastructure - engineering/construction Air quality management Road safety

I ... did a quick Google. https://www.cdc.gov/respiratory-viruses/background/index.html This article from early March is an interesting read...below some excerpts which don't 100% state "it's flu" but the message is clear. Data in the link indicates that flu deaths are now similar COVID deaths for 23-24, and as the CDC openly state, it is probable that flu deaths are/have been understated for several years now. This is not to downplay the massive impact of COVID during 20-21-22 but merely their opinion on the matter. Below the hospitalisations graph for the period, which show COVID falling to comparable flu-type levels, although the seasonal variations seems different. "The 2023-2024 fall and winter virus season, four years since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, provided ongoing evidence of the changing face of respiratory diseases. COVID-19 remains an important public health threat, but it is no longer the emergency that it once was, and its health impacts increasingly resemble those of other respiratory viral illnesses, including influenza and RSV." "As the threat from COVID-19 becomes more similar to that of other common respiratory viruses, CDC is issuing Respiratory Virus Guidance, rather than additional virus-specific guidance. This brings a unified, practical approach to addressing risk from a range of common respiratory viral illnesses, such as influenza and RSV, that have similar routes of transmission and symptoms and similar prevention strategies."

Well, one thing is for sure, you can smell the economic panic oozing from every pore. A period that should have seen Thailand kick-on economically post demographic dividend appears to have been largely wasted over the past 30 years. I offer no comments on that, you can make your own evaluations. Anyway, Thailand is now staring down the barrel of a very real socio-economic crisis on the horizon with a reducing workforce and aging population. What Srettha failed to mention was that any such casinos will probably be staffed by Burmese or Laotians, who will be repatriating their earnings home…just look at the recent crane collapse, a Chinese firm employing migrant workers. Who knows what the supply chain is but you could imagine that the benefit to Thailand from all of that is marginal at best. The economic panic is justified and I would not be at all surprised to see a raft of “creative” solutions being touted over the coming years.

Blimey, and many on here are quick to criticize the Thais for being money obsessed… In response to your specific comments, as the article notes only Taiwan and Nepal have taken this step so far, so not sure how Thailand has lost ground on this issue. I would have thought that Thailand would have been seen as a pretty welcoming and tolerant destination for LGBTQ+ for a long time already? A brief Google indicates lots of potential legal/rights/societal challenges (and I don’t mean just not being able to marry) for LGBTQ+ across most of SEAsia and Asia, I didn’t bother checking Malaysia and Indonesia for obvious reasons…. Anyway, a decision to be applauded and let’s hope the Senate dinosaurs don’t block it.

Likely not the only incentives on offer.. Sending Thai government officials to be indoctrinated/turned in a foreign country, what could possibly go wrong….

A look at their Q3 2023 financials shows a lot of significant matters identified by the auditor. Looks like IT have got into bed with various governments for concessions including Myanmar, Laos and Mozambique. Seems these “assets” are unraveling now. Not an expert but doing business in these countries would seem excessively high risk… After debacle at Stark, the last thing the SET needs is another major corporate scandal.

Kinky. He may have actually "enjoyed" that ?

Indeed, been this way for at least 15 years ?

Well put. Like a few others on this thread, the emotional reaction came out first for the poster you responded to, without an effort to understand the situation at hand and make a fair and balanced assessment . Responding to to headline - quite common these days..

You’ll know the ins and outs better than me but aren’t these kind of services provided by the airport or another agency and not the actual airline itself ?

It seems difficult to wind this back both on retail and production. I expect some tightening of licensing & regulations may be implemented. These might, coincidentally, limit the licenses to, ahem, “approved”, producers and vendors to reap the benefits. For sure, there’s been foreign companies investing heavily in this space, and setting up production facilities here for export back to US/Canada. It would be disastrous for foreign investor confidence and possibly lead to legal actions if they fully retrace to the previous laws.

Sorry to hear about your problems. I think you are misunderstanding the budget airline business model. One of the most complained about airlines is Ryanair, their customer services department have the charm of a hungover undertaker, yet it continues to go from strength to strength. Cheap as chips prices for a very basic and inflexible service - all variations/add ons from the standard package to be paid for. People keep returning for this very reason. A few unhappy customers griping on the internet does not put anyone off, let alone hundreds. In fact, I think they even enjoy the complaints and they spin it as evidence that they are constantly fighting to keep their prices down.

Yep, nail meet head. I’m sure there’s plenty that AOT and the Government could do to reduce prices unilaterally. I am “flabbergasted” your reasonable and common-sense post got two “confused” emoticons. Waiting for those two people to expand on their compelling counter-arguments…

Of course, these figures, like many here, are a complete nonsense. There is no way that such a high a proportion and overall number of people have sought medical treatment for this reason. How do I know ? Literally no-one in my personal/work circle of several hundred has ever mentioned this and I have never seen a sick leave request on the topic.... Anyway, I give these spurious statistics a free pass as they are rightly drawing attention to this issue - which needs urgent action !

Dear Thaiger/Khun Puntid/AI Bot, Could you clarify how is this even vaguely related to the news regarding BAs plans for their business operations globally and across SE Asia ? Answers on a postcard please… Regards, RF.

I'll keep the champagne on ice for now, a quick Google shows a number of airlines airlines had very strong profits last year. Not surprising really, as consumers, we have all noticed the significant fare increases on 2019 levels pre-COVID. Combined with some enforced efficiency measures taken during the pandemic, bottom line should improve. Most fares I have checked over the past year are running 20-40% above 2019 levels. One wonders if there is some price-fixing going on in the industry... As for THAI specifically, one swallow does not a summer make. There are years of mismanagement and a toxic culture to address. Let's see how they progress with a normalising global airline industry over the next couple of years.

If the Thai interest rate (2.5%) starts getting nearer to other countries rates, particularly the Fed (currently 5%+ but expected to drop), that will likely encourage foreign capital inflows, which will strengthen the Baht. Many on here will be changing their tune at that point… Economics is a very complicated subject matter, well above my pay grade, but there might be a train of thought from the Government that an immediate drop in interest rates, further widening the gap with US rates gets them “ahead of the game” and would probably result in a weakening of the Baht. That might be positive for some key economic sectors in Thailand, tourism, property and exports to name but three. Holding interest rates at around current levels with the Fed expected to be dropping rates throughout the year might see the interest rate gap closing and may have the opposite impact.

Ironic, given they are one of the most bent departments in Thailand.

My best guess is that it's a case for Bluetooth ear pods.

I can't speak for others but my own allergic reaction to unfounded conspiracy theories certainly kicked in around the time I got my COVID vaccine. 😉

I think if I knew if was potentially a matter of life and death, then yes I would probably mostly eat my own prepared or production controlled supermarket foods. Realistically, that would likely get boring, so I guess I might start to test out proven safe dishes that are consistently and blandly served across multiple locations e.g fast food chains and maybe develop a trusting relationship with one or two local restaurants but I reckon visiting a new restaurant/food shop whilst on your travels with potentially unfocussed teenagers doing the order-taking and cooking would be putting your personal safety too much in the hands of others.

Someone mentioned the well known UK case involving Pret-a-manger (sandwich shop). The teenage girl in that case injected 2 epi-pens whilst on the plane but still went into cardiac arrest and died. I am far from an expert on these matters but it would appear if someone has an extremely severe allergy, then even the epi-pens are not enough. I don't know in practice whether sufferers can actually be aware of whether they are just severely allergic or potentially fatally allergic to something.

Well, they are certainly convenient and well-run but I do try to support my local Bangkok mom & pop shop as much as possible. I'd rather give my trade to an independent than a monopolistic corporate but I expect I am pissing in the wind and they will gradually all close down in future.

Public sector - meet private sector. The airport is a complete cash cow for all involved (looking at you AOT jacket man) , the only reasons for poor service are incompetence and/or greed.