Chester-le-Street dad trapped in Thailand since lockdown desperate to get home

[Don Mega]

2 minutes ago, NCC1701A said:

I'm trapped in Bangkok right now. A unemployed gogo dancer will not let me leave. 

God bless her.

[shackleton]

What happened the British Embassy here has a blog on contacting them if you require a flight back to the UK

According to them they will help organise a flight for you plus sort out the payment ect?

[shackleton]

What happened the British Embassy here has a blog on contacting them if you require a flight back to the UK

According to them they will help organise a flight for you plus sort out the payment ect?

[BritManToo]

7 minutes ago, Don Mega said:

NY-London $375 first class, $255 coach during peak season, $210 coach for most of the year.

Freddy Laker was doing return flights for $240.

You're not googling budget airlines, but looking at the prices the big boys charged.

[Don Mega]

1 minute ago, BritManToo said:

Freddy Laker was doing return flights for $240.

You're not googling budget airlines, but looking at the prices the big boys charged.

Laker Airlines, seems they shut up shop back in the early 80's..... did they go broke ?

[Pilotman]

6 minutes ago, Don Mega said:

Laker Airlines, seems they shut up shop back in the early 80's..... did they go broke ?

Yes it did.  He bought/leased the aircraft in US Dollars, as was fuel of course, at $2 to the £ and then the pound bombed and his debt ridden company collapsed.  Using DC10s didn't help either as they had a bad reputation for crashes at that time. 

[Don Mega]

1 minute ago, Pilotman said:

Yes it did.  He bought/leased the aircraft in US Dollars, as was fuel of course, at $2 to the £ and then the pound bombed and his debt ridden company collapsed.  Using DC10s didn't help either as they had a bad reputation for crashes at that time. 

So the LCC model worked out great then !!

[herfiehandbag]

6 hours ago, Mr Meeseeks said:

Airlines have a lot to answer for allowing people with very limited financial means to travel.

Hmm, I wonder if you would change your tune if next time you wish to travel anywhere, the airline say: "sorry Mr Meeseeks, but in our opinion your financial means are too limited for you to travel"?

[Don Mega]

1 minute ago, herfiehandbag said:

Hmm, I wonder if you would change your tune if next time you wish to travel anywhere, the airline say: "sorry Mr Meeseeks, but in our opinion your financial means are too limited for you to travel"?

Not seeing the issue personally.

[from the home of CC]

7 hours ago, Dmaxdan said:

Apparently the only flights available would have cost 88,000 baht (£2,200) and he didn't have the money.  

no 'go fund me I'm irresponsible so I need a public bailout' set up?

[from the home of CC]

5 hours ago, Ian Nagle said:

Rubbish. Airline fuel is very cheap and airlines will find a way to be competitive no matter. Furthermore, more and more people will be flying in 18-36 months so the prices will once again be affordable. 

it's not just the fuel. imo the only one's that are flying for the duration of this problem will be those whose company pays for it or those with disposable cash - and when the full economic downfall culminates those that can throw money at a flight will not be the average joe..

[Don Mega]

1 minute ago, from the home of CC said:

it's not just the fuel. imo the only one's that are flying for the duration of this problem will be those whose company pays for it or those with disposable cash - and when the full economic downfall culminates those that can throw money at a flight will not be the average joe..

The ones flying are probably losing less money than those that parked up their planes.

[from the home of CC]

4 hours ago, blackcab said:

The British Embassy published excellent daily information about flights back to the UK, including cost and availability. The British Embassy also has a covid find-a-flight service if you really can't find a flight yourself.

 

The UK government also arranged loans to pay for a flight back to the UK for those in genuine need.

 

 

if I was his family I would be embarrassed..

[NamH2O]

2 hours ago, drbeach said:

Emirates has confirmed it will start flying to Bangkok again on July 2nd with 1 daily flight (revised schedule). The original flight plan was showing 2 daily flights to Bangkok to begin on July 1st, and 1 daily flight to Phuket. Under the revised schedule, Phuket flights resume July 16 I think with initially 5 weekly flights.

 

I don't think Thailand will extend the flight ban this late, given the situation is under control now, it's almost the end of the month (and last month they extended it like 10 days before the end of the month). Plus, starting July 1st, a large group of foreigners (50,000+) are going to start arriving in Thailand. They wouldn't be able to, on the current skeleton schedule of just 6-8 daily international flights in place until June 30th.

 

While THAI won't resume flights until August or September (or perhaps never?) other airlines should slowly see schedules return to normal during July and August...except Qantas, which won't offer any flights to/from Bangkok until late October at the earliest. Interestingly, Bangkok Airways from the beginning said - no international flights until October 24th, not even to Myanmar or Laos.

I think if you check again Emerates have put restart of flights out of BKK back to 16th July. From 1st July EVA have 3 flights a week to London, every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.The price for today's flight to London was 20750 THB in economy and 29180 THB in premium economy. 

[lee b]

8 hours ago, Don Mega said:

Most likely the "trapped" part is the BS he fed his family back home so he could stay longer to play with cheap Thai......................

I kind of like that excuse lol.

[Enoon]

9 hours ago, Dmaxdan said:

Apparently the only flights available would have cost 88,000 baht (£2,200) and he didn't have the money.  

 

Which is *ollocks.

 

I left on an EVA air flight on 1st May, booked about 2 weeks previously.

 

It had been available since the day that my original April 1st flight was cancelled (March 25th).

 

£330 one way to Heathrow.

 

Up until the time I booked, and after, low Baht20,000's flights, from several airlines, were plentiful.

 

Many who panicked into immediate re-bookings, around the week of the decree, without gambling/waiting to see which airlines would "stay the course", lost out.

 

Some people, in their desperation, managed to have 1st and 2nd re-bookings cancelled.

 

And some people have been/are.......taking the *iss.

 

 

 

Edited June 28, 2020 by Enoon

[vinny41]

6 hours ago, Don Mega said:

were in the article does it say he lost 90,000 ?

 

A County Durham dad who has been trapped abroad since March hopes he may finally make it home next month.

Allan Coughlan, from Pelton, near Chester-le-Street, County Durham, has been stuck in Thailand since his flight home was cancelled on March 21.

Rapidly running out of money and enduring strict lockdown conditions, Allan, 57, was unable to get on a rescue flight back to Britian as coronavirus spread.

 

After the March 21 flight was called off, Allan had booked a further place on a flight out on March 30, but again his hopes were dashed when Emirates was forced to cancel the flight.

 

Now, trapped in a foreign country and desperate to get home to his family, Allan registered with the British Embassy for flights home, but was left mired in uncertainty as embassy bosses said they still couldn't guarantee he would get home.

Allan said: "This really has been a nightmare from start to finish. There was some limited flights to London but the prices were 88,000 upwards Thai baht [over £2,200].

 

"I am registered with the British embassy about flights out, on Korean air or Aeroflot to Russia, but the emails from the embassy were saying they could not guarantee your onward passage, i.e. You could be quarantined in Korea or Moscow depending on that country's Covid-19 response, plus I didn't have the £2,000 upwards cost for a ticket.

 

"I heard many stories of airlines booking tickets and people going to the airport only to be back at the hotel six hours later saying it had been cancelled: there was even one English guy who was sitting on a Aeroflot flight waiting to fly when he was told to leave the plane because a Russian national was allocated his seat."

 

Now finally booked on a flight, with Emirates on July 4, all Allan can do now is wait and hope he'll finally be making it back to the North East.

He added: "All I could do was wait for Emirates to resume flying and hopefully I will be home on July 4 now."

To add to Alan's distress, until recently he was facing the prospect of having to pay for a holiday to Mexico - despite not having made it back to the UK yet.

 

Long before Covid-19 hit, Allan and his 14-year-old daughter Amber had planned to take the luxury two-week trip together this September. Amber's school had agreed to let her take some time off for the special journey, but, with months of school missed due to lockdown, later rescinded permission, which Allan said was "fair comment".

 

On top of that, the three months away abroad have meant self-employed car dealer Allan can hardly afford the holiday, and is merely eager to get back home. Attempts to get back the much-needed £500 deposit had proved fruitless as the travel company told him his circumstances weren't covered by their exceptions policy.

 

However, after ChronicleLive presented Allan's case to the company, a spokesperson for TUI UK said: " We’re sorry to hear of Mr Coughlan’s situation. We will be in touch with him directly to offer him a full refund."

Allan said he was delighted to be offered the deposit back.

 

It seems the guy is £500 better off now due to the article which he wouldn't have received if the article hadn't been published

[stouricks]

8 hours ago, Mr Meeseeks said:

Airlines have a lot to answer for allowing people with very limited financial means to travel.

You forgot the SARCASM emoji, I hope.

[Skeptic7]

PLENTY of us locked OUT and desperate to get home. Perhaps we could do a swap! 

[DaRoadrunner]

4 hours ago, drbeach said:

How come she was allowed into Germany as a foreigner? Unless she has a residence permit there?

Germany is now open to all EU countries, plus Thailand is not on the list of countries banned from Germany.

https://www.rki.de/DE/Content/InfAZ/N/Neuartiges_Coronavirus/Transport/Archiv_Risikogebiete/Risikogebiete_19062020_20Uhr_en.pdf?__blob=publicationFile

 

Roadrunner has a return ticket for July 22,000 Baht to Germany, valid 1 year. Austrian Airlines, who say they will switch me to Lufthansa if flight is cancelled. I will believe it when I see it!

 

4 hours ago, thonglorjimmy said:

As a matter of interest what is this large group of foreigners (50,000+) who are going to start arriving from Wednesday?

And will they still have to be quarantined 14 days in a Thai hotel at their own expense? In which case 50,000 will be a no show. Anyone got up to date info?

[Rimmer]

Troll post removed

[DaRoadrunner]

3 hours ago, NCC1701A said:

I'm trapped in Bangkok right now. A unemployed gogo dancer will not let me leave. 

Isn't quarantine a bitch.

[ukrules]

7 hours ago, pixelaoffy said:

Pathetic comments from keyboard *****s who know nothing about someone situation ! ' just buy a ticket remarks '   after the guy had already lost 90,000. Sums you all up 

You make a good point, airlines are very eager to take your money for a flight.

 

When they cancel it they prefer to offer 'credit' instead of a refund, essentially they're saying 'try again later in the year' but we're going to keep your money anyway.

 

[nkg]

The first day I tried, BKK-LHR for £253

 

 

 

[AndrewMciver]

Utter nonsense. If the airline cancelled, they could have put him onto another flight. If not, there were plenty of other flights he could have taken. 

 

He chose to stay. But now he's changed his mind, and wants to return home.

 

Utterly irresponsible. 

 

There are many like him. 

[holy cow cm]

And the general consensus is Total bs. I know for a fact there have been and are flights out. 

[VBF]

5 hours ago, Enoon said:

Which is *ollocks.

I left on an EVA air flight on 1st May, booked about 2 weeks previously.

It had been available since the day that my original April 1st flight was cancelled (March 25th).

 

£330 one way to Heathrow.

Up until the time I booked, and after, low Baht20,000's flights, from several airlines, were plentiful.

 

Many who panicked into immediate re-bookings, around the week of the decree, without gambling/waiting to see which airlines would "stay the course", lost out.

Some people, in their desperation, managed to have 1st and 2nd re-bookings cancelled.

 

And some people have been/are.......taking the *iss.

 

<clipped for clarity>

Agreed!  ???? 

And some of us who were cancelled by Emirates about the same time the FCO advised all Brits  to return home, (around March 23rd) bought a Thai Air Business class flight back to LHR, for 85000 Baht (the only direct flight available on that particular day) on the credit card which they carry for emergencies and claimed it and associated travel costs from LHR to home on our insurance which we'd been sensible enough to get before travelling halfway around the world!

 

(Oh, and got it all paid back and to be fair, my original Emirates ticket was Biz Class, and i got from the airport to home by bus and Uber so no I wasn't taking the amber fluid ????)

 

And if you think i'm having a pop at this world class idiot...........you'd be right ????   

Edited June 28, 2020 by VBF
Clipped for clarity - content not changed

[Blumpie]

He was here in March?  It was in full swing by then.

His problem.  

[tingtong]

14 hours ago, Captain Monday said:

????Rescue flight? A sensationalist article. He was either broke, lacked initiative or actually didn't want to leave. I wouldn't blame him.

 

Rewind a little...

 

Who would really think this pandemic panic lockdown of all borders will last more than maybe a couple weeks?

These scale of worldwide coordinated response was unprecedented in this lifetime!!

 

I was planning to fly back to Europe in July-August.

Now June is ending, and pretty much hopeless to fly before September, if...and even that is a big IF.

 

Personally can't blame the guy for trying to sit out what was looked like a few weeks max vs paying 4-5x the normal airfare.

 

Retrospect it is so easy to be start.

4 long months the borders are closed.

Of course he is running out of money by now.

So are a billion other ppl around the world who suffering from the stop of economy, millions of Thai included.

 

 

 

[kingofthemountain]

8 hours ago, from the home of CC said:

no 'go fund me I'm irresponsible so I need a public bailout' set up?

Not yet 

they need to ''prepare'' the public first

hence this article