International airlines return 80% of their airport slots in Thailand for the next five months

[ftpjtm]

12 minutes ago, tomazbodner said:

Surely nobody will ever want to go to Singapore then.

I definitely prefer Singapore's rules over Thailand's.

[casey1]

4 hours ago, Jerno said:

They want quality tourists who all stay at 5 star hotels and don't drink at bars.  Its simple (mindedness).

This resonates not just Thailand thinking... .....Head of Air New Zealand made similar comments regarding future tourism for New Zealand earlier this year...lets not waste the perfect opportunity given by covid to be more discerning about whom comes... we want only the very wealthy.... that way we can meet our climate change goals and targets and and have fewer flights but bringing big spenders...we don't want the back packers or cheap tourists lowering the standard of New Zealand as he sat in his glass tower office with his 6 figure salary and perks....and Government in NZ gave some backing to this....

[ftpjtm]

1 hour ago, shdmn said:

Because maybe they are not an alcoholic and/or sex addict.  There is a lot more to Thailand than bars and broads.  Even just in Pattaya.  I am sure that will fall on deaf ears to the whiner crowd around here.

There certainly are some who don't mind the testing, quarantine and insurance requirements. And don't mind vacationing in a country with no night life. 

 

But apparently the airlines are betting that only 20% of those who traditionally visit Thailand are willing to put up with all of that.

[WingFat]

Int'l airlines can downsize their planes to Thailand by using turbo-prop sea planes that carry 10 passengers; they won't need a gate at any of the Thai int'l airports. Land off whatever location is desired in the Gulf of Thailand and let the passengers row themselves ashore in a rubber raft.

 

 

[khunjeff]

19 minutes ago, internationalism said:

from those airports only BKK and  HKT had international traffic, the rest had not any at all.

Closing domestic routes in the summer had no any impact on international routes.

He is confused. 

He is beyond confused - the information he gave is absolutely untrue, as anyone who lives in Thailand would recognize immediately. I have no idea why the press accepts and prints statements like his so unquestioningly.

[Rimmer]

A misleading troll post has been removed

[Chad3000]

Som nom nah.

 

Policy indecision, endless trial balloons, conflicting and ceaseless proclamations from various poobahs...

 

To this moment nothing is concrete or clear.

 

There goes high season dreams. People can't come even if they wanted to.

 

Would be a great time to invest in education but wait a second...smart people challenge unsmart government flunkies.

[internationalism]

36 minutes ago, khunjeff said:

He is beyond confused - the information he gave is absolutely untrue, as anyone who lives in Thailand would recognize immediately. I have no idea why the press accepts and prints statements like his so unquestioningly.

I have just red the rest of the post on pbs link:

"The situation has improved since Thailand eased travel restrictions in October this year, with an average of 30,000 arrivals a day.".

 

So he claims that July-September they had only 300 passengers daily (6 airports by 50 travellers), but from October it jumped by 100x. Pre-covid there was some less than 100k daily entries. 

Thailand opening was delayed from the promised by Prayuth 100 days from phuket sandbox to 1st november. 

From 1st october only ASQ was lowered from 10 to 7 days and with phuket sandbox needing only atk instead of pcr second tests.

I would think that many who already booked for October are still postponing their travel to November. They have cancelled their sha+ and ASQ and waiting for just 1 night AQ and one test

Edited October 25, 2021 by internationalism

[Chad3000]

B500 mystery tax lol 

 

Up in (northern Thailand) smoke

 

This really is a breaking point for me. I lost what modicum of respect I had for this government when that was stated to be implemented. Worse, that minister was pushing b300 for years. It's as though someone said...hell, b300 make it 500 farang have monneee! Now, they get none. WTFU

[keithkarmann]

5 hours ago, scorecard said:

Also, easy to fix, just change the test on arrival to one of the very reliable accurate fast response (15 - 20 minutes) tests and add the cost into the ticket price.

 

Done. 

And still end up with two weeks quarantine if tested positive.

[Sydebolle]

What did these nerds in the government house expect; extra flights with A380-ER on an hourly basis from all over the world? 

You earn what you sow; you've been doing bashing on alien, farang, jeck, kaek and whatever else you call non-Thais and now you expect them to queue at your borders with suitcases full of cash? 

Of all the people I know - who came to spend the winter in Thailand -  all found alternatives which are, by their own claims, better, less bureaucratic, more welcoming, less racists - apart from cheaper with less/no counterfeits, no booze ban hours before 11am, 2pm-5pm and after midnight again. 

Go back to the drawing board and check, what went wrong and you'll find out, that this country is a failed state because of consecutive most corrupt governments under absolutely incapable leaderships! 

Edited October 25, 2021 by Sydebolle

[ChrisKC]

6 hours ago, NanaSomchai said:

Let me fix your post:

 

You mean no one wants to deal with the constantly moving goal posts and jump through the interminable hoops required to enter a deserted, devastated entertainment adult industry, shuttered down for good all across Thailand?

 

What a surprise!

 

Imagine jumping through all the expensive hoops only to end up on a deserted Walking Street, Soi Buakhao, Patong, Phuket, etc with a nasty curfew, no alcohol being served in restaurants/dining places and no nightlife at all.

 

What a bargain!... NOT.

And from my experience just this month in the South of Thailand and various trips around the Northern Thailand in the last 18 months, not much daylife either!!

[Chongalulu]

2 hours ago, shdmn said:

Because maybe they are not an alcoholic and/or sex addict.  There is a lot more to Thailand than bars and broads.  Even just in Pattaya.  I am sure that will fall on deaf ears to the whiner crowd around here.

So you’re feeling bullish about Thailand’s imminent tourist high season then …..?

[Cake Monster]

6 hours ago, smedly said:

but but but the sandbox was such a success and now we have sandbox open up in one week all over Thailand - it seems the airlines are as ## off with the Thai government as everyone else is 

 

No tourist is willing to put up with your silly nonsense and Thailand is "NOT" open as you keep claiming, you want foreign tourists to came here the just copy what other countries are doing - how difficult can that be - UK Green - open to tourists, one test before boarding a plane and that is it ....simple

 

The puritan Prayuth and his merry bunch of CCSA tea sippers are demolishing what is left of the Thai tourist industry brick by brick - why can they not see it 

 

If they want to open Thailand then fully open locally first then if all is well then you invite foreign tourists - right now they have it all backwards - Thailand is not open and the airlines know it and they are not playing and neither is anyone else

It is impossible for the Airlines to operate under the flip-flop conditions, and uncertainty that the Thai Government seem to throw out there every single day.

Planes need to be scheduled, many are stood idle and need pre use checks Etc, Many Pilots will need retraining, and then of course there is the burdened cost of the slots at the Airports, that if not utalised fully, are a massive burden on costs.

Until Thailand can get its act together and give the Airlines " Concrete Plans " on reopening, the Planes will stay in Mothballs in some Desert, and the Pilots will be unemployed.

[Chongalulu]

1 hour ago, ftpjtm said:

There certainly are some who don't mind the testing, quarantine and insurance requirements. And don't mind vacationing in a country with no night life. 

 

But apparently the airlines are betting that only 20% of those who traditionally visit Thailand are willing to put up with all of that.

That 20% will be their estimate of a best case scenario and you can bet they have made provision to quickly downsize slots numbers even further when the inevitable catastrophe unfolds.There will be NO high season ,folks. 

[Bohemianfish]

This is really sad. We had hope, ever so briefly, for December to travel to be as normal as possible. We have family and friends there. We are planning on maybe 2023 to visit when all the hassles go away.

 

This is like one train wreck after another. The decisions get worse, the impacts worse. Praying for the people of Thailand. Unbelievable what's going on.

[poskat]

TAT is being shown that reality is a harsh mistress

[Bangkok Barry]

2 hours ago, shdmn said:

Because maybe they are not an alcoholic and/or sex addict.  There is a lot more to Thailand than bars and broads.  Even just in Pattaya.  I am sure that will fall on deaf ears to the whiner crowd around here.

So you're one of those who believes that anyone who likes a glass of wine with their meal or a beer at a bar as they watch the world go by is an alcoholic? If not, why the post?

[tjo o tjim]

It will be interesting to see where we are in a few years.  As it stands today for me, it would be illogical to go back to Thailand and visit friends.  I generally feel like my home is a better place to be.

 

If Thailand wants to become a relevant tourist destination again, they are going to have to focus on the young crowd and hope they grow up and spend more in Thailand as they get older, just like generations before them.  I think for most people over 40 the luster of Thailand has faded and is unlikely to save the tourism industry.

[Jingthing]

6 minutes ago, poskat said:

TAT is being shown that reality is a harsh mistress

But will they learn the lesson?

[robertson468]

8 hours ago, Shuya said:

With the current 'no-quaratine' rules no wonder only a few peoole will come

Furthermore, Russia has a rocketing infection rate and China are not allowing people to travel.  Two of the biggest contributers to Tourists.  Kind of blows a hole in the TAT outrageous forecasts!

[John Drake]

6 hours ago, sirineou said:

The only thing I would have done differently would have been to eliminate the health insurance requirement, If it turned out that that without it there were so many cases. they could have introduced it later on. 

Not going to happen. Some real greedy insurance companies are strangling Thai tourism. Didn't a few months ago the government announce a 500 baht entry fee to be applied on plane tickets? Now, on top of that, they want to add the insurance scam. 

[rupert the bear]

but this cant be true millions are coming,they told me so and theyre always right,the laws always rules in their favour so it must be so.what is happening?is the sky collapsing,does the emporer have no clothes  but thais are always right theyre never wrong and if you dont like it ....go home.the sky is collapsing and.....the only mass incoming will be yep....them. screaming pushing and demanding,this will be an interesting clash of greed ignorance corruption and racism as an enconomy scoured out by incompetents finds itself laid bare to the wolves,both there own rich ones and the vulturine northern hordes.im sure we will see the 2 sets of chinese  and people in power gang up on the helpless impoverished and disenfranchised and pick the bones clean and if they dont like well.....the same old story,men with guns,round and round we go.

[Walker88]

I'd be curious as to what airlines gave up these 80% of slots. Is it Euro and North America? Middle East? East Asia? China mainland?

 

Thailand was once kind of a bucket list destination for many in the West, as it was viewed as 'exotic' but easily accessible. That has likely passed. It's still a go-to place for Chinese and now Indians, but lesser for Westerners not coming specifically for the (closed) nightlife. I would guess the cancelled airport slots are mostly from Europe or NA, and China because they've blocked travel.

 

Perhaps I've been here too long or too often, but I don't really know what Thailand offers anymore. Other than for nightmarket trinkets and pirated items, shopping in Thailand is more expensive than most other destinations, due to the high import tariffs. Sure, everybody can buy a t-shirt or two, but they are rather low cost.

 

How about temples? Not particularly interesting, frankly. Ayutthaya is okay, but pales in comparison to Bagan in Myanmar and Angkor Wat in Cambodia.

 

What is the remaining draw for non-Chinese and Indians?  Medical care, perhaps, which is a major draw to Middle Easterners. Beaches? Some are okay, others are not particularly clean, and places like Penang or Bali offer something better.

 

I'd bet that Westerners still looking to visit Thailand have as their #1 goal the nightlife, with #2 perhaps being golf.

 

Open the bars and agogos, and maybe 5-10% of those airport slots are retaken.

 

As much as the Thai govt, I am quite curious about what happens re arrivals after the 1st. Those with family or property likely came in already through the Sandbox, so the mix of those after 1 November will be something different.

[GeorgeCross]

27 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

But will they learn the lesson?

of course they will..

 

once they realise sandbox 2 isn't any more successful than sandbox 1 (phuket) they'll rapidly roll out "sandbox thailand" to the rest of the provinces and allow the whole world to enter.

 

glory awaits!

 

 

[chilli42]

9 hours ago, webfact said:

80% of their airport slots at Thailand’s six international airports between October 31st and March 26th next year, indicating their uncertainty over a recovery in the aviation sector,

Appears to me that the aviation sector is in fact very certain people will not be traveling.

[John Drake]

I don't drink alcohol. But this I know. An integral part of the fantasy vacation to the beach is lounging under an umbrella with a Mai Tai or Blue Hawaiian and watching the waves come in. Just look at the tourist ads. Substituting cold coffee or a Coke isn't going to cut it.

[NanaSomchai]

4 hours ago, nchuckle said:

Thais do not have the skills nor education to embrace more sophisticated technology and the relatively low skilled tourist industry was ideal for them.

Lack of skills and education you say? Do they even WANT to embrace a different World than what they are being trained through public school?

 

If only the lack of skills or education were the only hurdles to overcome, we could eventually with time get past it.

 

The reality is that Thais kids are being sent to schools at their youngest age and are being trained like animals in a circus, they are not being educated or taught how to do any criticism thinking, every morning they have to stand in uniforms right in front of the flagpole and must recite the national anthem, then while in class they are being fed lies about how privileged they are, how the Kingdom is the greatest nation on Earth, how the Thais are supposedly superior to the rest of the World (anyone not Thai) during the course of the entire scolarship, thus creating a false nationalistic rhetoric in the mindset of almost nearly every Thai.

 

The damage being done at a such young age is going to leave marks, most of those "cases" are irreversible as the years go by, this is essentially what creates the "farang must pay double" mindset, giving us the "farang must pay" analogy that we must deal with when later we encounter them in the nightlife entertainment areas or across the touristic zones.

 

The harsh reality is that out of all the bar girls I have sponsored VISA-wise over the years, bringing them over to Europe, none of them ever wanted to return back to the Kingdom, not a single one.

 

Once they mature at a the age of 25+ and the reality hits them back, realizing how they have been lied to their entire lives, well... they just don't want to return to the Kingdom as they finally get to see what kind of deceptive cesspit it actually is.

 

Fun fact: The first Thai girl I brought over to Europe, it took me weeks of arguing with her and explaining to her the general concept of "what a retirement pension is", she somehow could not understand no matter how hard she tried the general idea and concept of having your government essentially paying you a pension at retirement age based on your work history. She kept repeating "pay me for what?", "pay for what?", "I too old already pay for what?".

 

It is not just a skills or education issue we are dealing with here, the issues arising today are rooted way deeper in the Thai society than just a matter of skillset or education.

 

This is Thailand.

Edited October 25, 2021 by NanaSomchai

[10baht]

6 hours ago, sirineou said:

The one night stay is a realistic approach.

No it is not, you do not need to covid test done with in 72 hours of each other. Just get a less expensive fast test on day 3 or 4 after arrival. Remember, every one is vaccinated. Unlike 70+% of Thailand

[ArcticFox]

9 hours ago, fusion58 said:

Wait a minute…

 

If they do this, then who will transport the million wealthy foreigners Thailand is expecting any day now? ????

They'll all be flying in on their private jets.  Who want's to fly with commoners anyway!