Would Normal Tourists Accept This?

[OneMoreFarang]

2 minutes ago, patongphil said:

She must be hiding - can't see her!

I found another picture ????

 

[Liverpool Lou]

11 hours ago, KhaoYai said:

16 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

Why the nasty insult directed at us Middle Easterns?    Maybe that hotel wouldn't normally allow you to buy a cup of tea there?

Where's the nasty insult?  I'm not a fan of Arabs or their habits, is that illegal?

 

is the whole purpose of your membership to disect people's posts and make negative comments?

Clearly, you're no fan of Arabs, no need for you to point that out again and no, it is not "illegal" [sic] but, then, no one said that it was.

 

The purpose of my being a member here is, obviously, none of your business but, to answer your question, it is to be able to comment on posts on a public forum, just the same as you.   That you see my posts as negative is probably more of a reflection of your posts that it is of me.   

 

If you post on a forum don't be surprised if your comments attract responses, particularly if you choose to have a go at specific groups of people such as Arabs.

[KhaoYai]

1 hour ago, Liverpool Lou said:

The purpose of my being a member here is, obviously, none of your business but, to answer your question, it is to be able to comment on posts on a public forum, just the same as you.   That you see my posts as negative is probably more of a reflection of your posts that it is of me.   

And your excuse for negativity on other threads is?

[ed strong]

21 hours ago, KhaoYai said:

And add 6 hours to my journey? No thanks.

 

Not true - note my comments about the Qatar business class check in.

Tbh im not surprised you have difficuluties when travelling, or just like moaning about travelling during a busy time.

 

Of course if you are flying direct (non economy) you dont fly Qatar, choose another airline (not the busiest one lol))

 

[KhaoYai]

7 hours ago, bojo said:

You say that.......................... but some might say that it just sounds like a rant in disguise from someone (who isn't shy to state they are a professional and experienced traveller) that deliberately sets their bar too high and by someone who is annoyed at themself for not sticking to their original airline and enjoyed all the associated Gold card benefits ......................... If tourists like the unfortunate German girls mentioned were to have read the OP's opening statement, then they and the whole world might not travel to Thailand......................................But i would imagine most expect travel to be pretty topsy turvy and wouldn't blink when hotels 'failed to comply'..........................................................

Quite frankly, some members poked typical TV fun at the OP and they were abrubtly shut down, almost as if the OP was literally just waiting to pounce..........................hardly condusive to what could have been an engaging thread....................................................

Not a rant at all. I've said several times that I have to accept this.  Everything I have reported is accurate and although I accept it, my question is whether tourists will and in doing so, help the Thai government achieve its goal.  If I was simply looking for some winter sun and knew the situation in Thailand, it wouldn't be on my list. 

 

I want Thailand to succeed but they are doing very little to help themselves - 6 days wait for Test & Go approval, hotels not being directed to refund, despite a promise they would be.

 

I'm not annoyed at myself at all - don't jump to conclusions.  The reason I tried a different airline is that Etihad will not extend my Gold card because I haven't travelled enough - that's down to Covid and in my opinion its unfair.  I met a guy in Abu Dhabi in January who told me that although they don't advertise the fact, Qatar will transfer Gold Card benefits.  I called Qatar before I booked but they wouldn't confirm or deny that - I was told I'd have to ask at their office in Doha - I did and they don't.

 

I'm not trying to 'engage' anyone, I'm simply reporting my experiences which in 20 years of travelling economy, were the worst I've ever known. Yes there are reported problems at Manchester but that doesn't explain the queues at Doha and Bangkok.  I travelled in December and January when overall it was much busier and did not experience the same problems or anything like them but that was with Etihad.  There is no excuse for a 24 hour airport with many flights arriving and departing during the night not to provide passengers with facilities for hot drinks and food.  There is also no excuse for the fact that my PCR test result took 13 hours when its supposed to take 6.  I had a flight to Chiang Mai the next day - if I'd chosen a morning flight I would most likely have missed that.

 

Qatar weren't helping the situation at all - their staff asking for documents that were not required only served to make an already massive queue, longer.

 

You and I have knowledge of matters Thai - we know they often don't work as they should, do tourists?

 

Try to look at this as if you were a tourist - if you became aware of the way things are, would you want to go?  If you were unaware and travelled, would you want to go again?

[KhaoYai]

10 minutes ago, ed strong said:

Tbh im not surprised you have difficuluties when travelling, or just like moaning about travelling during a busy time.

 

Of course if you are flying direct (non economy) you dont fly Qatar, choose another airline (not the busiest one lol))

Wrong again - you'd be well advised to fully read all posts before commenting. I don't have difficulties when travelling - this was the first time its been so bad in 20 years. This is not a busy time - its almost low season. Christmas was far busier and the only problem I had then was with the Mor Chana App and a hospital that couldn't get its act together for the Day 7 test. No problems with the airline, no excessive queues, PCR result within 6 hours, etc. etc.

[ed strong]

21 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

I'll help you because you seem to be more intent on flippancy than knowledge. 

BKK-AMS-LON is not a direct flight from BKK to LON.

 

BKK-LON... 

 

EVA - No

British Airways - No

Thai Airways - A couple of times per week and have recently cancelled a lot of flights (not trustworthy)

Scoot - A couple of times per week - They are a budget airline, I wouldn’t trust them. 

 

So... the ‘direct option’ is not quite as simple, you may have checked this before pulling the trigger and posting a silly response....  Additionally, not everyone wants to or can readily afford to pay business class, again, you may have considered this before posting a flippant response. 

 

 

The Op has a valid complaint - Long check-in times are extremely poor planning / baggage delays again, poor planning. 

 

It seems Covid has been used as an excuse by a lot of companies to cut a load of staff - these same companies had been slow to bring people back into the fold as things pickup, poor planning again. 

 

 

Thanks for letting me know that a flight from BKK - LHR via Amsterdam is not a direct flight. ( a real eye opener)

 

Also however i take your point that some of the airlines are not flying direct but there are still direct flights.

 

Also you dont need to pay business class levels in order to not be in economy. Eva for eg, book premium economy and you can check in at 1st class checkin, no queues!

 

[KhaoYai]

2 minutes ago, ed strong said:

Eva for eg, book premium economy and you can check in at 1st class checkin, no queues!

Unlike Qatar where they were at least 40 people in the premuim check in queue - again, something I've never seen.

[KhaoYai]

5 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

What was the guaranteed time for that test? I.e. 24h? Only because you received a service one or a few times faster than expected doesn't mean it will be always like that.

 

And about those ignorant young German girls in Bangkok: Let me guess, they all had smart phones, and probably they were using them about 23h a day. But they didn't know clubs are closed. What does this tell us about the intelligence of those girls? 

 

Don't tell me that the flyer below was for November - it has not been rescinded.

[ed strong]

3 minutes ago, KhaoYai said:

Wrong again - you'd be well advised to fully read all posts before commenting. I don't have difficulties when travelling - this was the first time its been so bad in 20 years. This is not a busy time - its almost low season. Christmas was far busier and the only problem I had then was with the Mor Chana App and a hospital that couldn't get its act together for the Day 7 test. No problems with the airline, no excessive queues, PCR result within 6 hours, etc. etc.

'This is not a busy time - its almost low season. '

 

Where on earth are you referring to, not everyone travelling through London is going to Thailand. Its Easter time and also the middle east is certainly not in its low season!

 

All the models on seasonal travel are out of the window during this past year. Most that normally goes to Thailand at Xmas did not go then and are now going (yes out of season)

[KhaoYai]

11 minutes ago, ed strong said:

'This is not a busy time - its almost low season. '

 

Where on earth are you referring to, not everyone travelling through London is going to Thailand. Its Easter time and also the middle east is certainly not in its low season!

 

All the models on seasonal travel are out of the window during this past year. Most that normally goes to Thailand at Xmas did not go then and are now going (yes out of season)

Again you are failing to read posts fully.

 

I travelled through Manchester not London.  I also travelled on 15 March - a month before Easter!!  Did you travel at Christmas?  I can assure you that on all stages of my travel in December/January, all the airports I travelled through were far busier overall than my last trip with none of the same problems.

 

Manchester and Bangkok were actually fairly quiet this time - except for the huge queues at Qatar. Doha was very busy but it would be, its a hub.

 

To be able to comment accurately, you would need to have travelled at both Christmas and in March - I did, did you?

[NanLaew]

23 hours ago, KhaoYai said:

On 4/3/2022 at 3:44 AM, Swiss1960 said:

Sooooo... what are you doing in Soi Cowboy, if you claim to have family in Thailand?

Since when do I have to answer to you?

Since you opined to whine on this forum?

 

And what a godawfully pathetic whine it is too.

 

Poor thing, trembling in the corner, waving a white flag at the world.

[NanLaew]

18 minutes ago, KhaoYai said:

Unlike Qatar where they were at least 40 people in the premuim check in queue - again, something I've never seen.

Since Qatar were probably the ONLY airline that managed to steadily service major global routes over the past couple of years, I imagine they've acquired loads of pax that qualify for the front of the bus.

 

PS: If you fly more often, it may happen to you as well.

[ed strong]

10 minutes ago, KhaoYai said:

Again you are failing to read posts fully.

 

I travelled through Manchester not London.  I also travelled on 15 March - a month before Easter!!  Did you travel at Christmas?  I can assure you that on all stages of my travel in December/January, all the airports I travelled through were far busier overall than my last trip with none of the same problems.

 

Manchester and Bangkok were actually fairly quiet this time - except for the huge queues at Qatar. Doha was very busy but it would be, its a hub.

 

To be able to comment accurately, you would need to have travelled at both Christmas and in March - I did, did you?

''To be able to comment accurately, you would need to have travelled at both Christmas and in March - I did, did you?''

 

No way would i travel, would be hell out there i imagine!?

 

In all seriousness, i hope things improve for your future travels.

[KhaoYai]

1 minute ago, NanLaew said:

PS: If you fly more often, it may happen to you as well.

You might note that there have been travel restrictions - I normally visit Thailand 6 to 8 times per year.

[KhaoYai]

1 minute ago, ed strong said:

No way would i travel, would be hell out there i imagine!?

 

In all seriousness, i hope things improve for your future travels.

Again, I have explained why I travel but to go further, my house was broken in to in December - I didn't get everything I wanted to done then so I had to return to deal with security and insurance issues - try doing that from 6000 miles away.  I also have family that I've seen very little of over the last 2 years

 

But its not about my travel - its about the experience in general and whether real tourists will accept that.

 

I certainly hope my next trip in June is better but I'm not holding my breath.

[richard_smith237]

59 minutes ago, ed strong said:

Thanks for letting me know that a flight from BKK - LHR via Amsterdam is not a direct flight. ( a real eye opener)

 

Also however i take your point that some of the airlines are not flying direct but there are still direct flights.

 

Also you dont need to pay business class levels in order to not be in economy. Eva for eg, book premium economy and you can check in at 1st class checkin, no queues!

 

Please find me a flight with Eva from BKK to London...  !!! 

 

Which reliable airlines are flying direct ? (I wouldn’t trust TG not to cancel at the moment and I wouldn't count Scoot as an airline I’d want to fly on - it a budget airline. Neither TG or Scoot are flying daily). 

 

Now... you’ve criticised the Op but havent made suitable or realistic suggestion, or recognised that there was in fact a series of horrible issues which were abnormal compared to pre-covid travel. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[richard_smith237]

43 minutes ago, NanLaew said:

1 hour ago, KhaoYai said:

Unlike Qatar where they were at least 40 people in the premuim check in queue - again, something I've never seen.

Since Qatar were probably the ONLY airline that managed to steadily service major global routes over the past couple of years, I imagine they've acquired loads of pax that qualify for the front of the bus.

 

PS: If you fly more often, it may happen to you as well.

More people are paying to go business class perhaps because.

- Avoiding Covid being the primary reason. 

- They are taking fewer trips and thus splurging (combined with the above reason)

 

In the past 18 months I’ve been in and out of Thailand on Emirates / Finn Air / Qatar (mostly)

 

Finn (nov) and Qatar were full in business on flights I’ve been on in the past 6 months (before that QR were half full in business).

 

Things are definitely getting busier - some facets of the travel industry seem slow to catch up. 

 

[richard_smith237]

The Ops complaint is valid: 

 

The Manchester experience horrible (poor management there - not QR’s fault) - how an airport can fail to provide sufficient baggage handlers is astonishing...  terrible management (avoid Manchester for the foreseeable future !).

 

Check-in (in any class) is slower, Check-in staff are having to check more documents and due to a downturn they’v laid off a load of staff and failed to re-employ. 

 

The hotel the Op dealt with seems to have cut corners and has mislead the Op. 

Transport in a shared van is unacceptable after they confirmed a private car (to avoid risk of being a proximity case) - the delay in PCR result also seems to be a facet of ‘corner cutting’. 

 

People have attacked the Op for voicing a realistic and genuine issue.

 

I think anyone in the Ops shoes would also feel irritated by the issues involved with travelling. 

I saw the QR Economy check-in queue in Bangkok last week, I think I’d have just turned around and not bothered !!! (fortunately Bus had 2 people before me - I still waited 20 mins !!!)

 

 

 

The Op is right - Its a S#itty time to travel.....   there is just more hassle, more checks, more delays than before.

Those of us who have to travel have to suck it up... But if I had a choice, I just wouldn’t bother at the moment. In fact, we’d usually go back to the UK for Christmas, but didn’t because of the potential hassles. 

 

 

 

[CG1 Blue]

23 hours ago, Polar Bear said:

The problems at Manchester Airport are out of Qatar's control. The only reason they appear to be worse affected is because their flights are busier, and they are still a full service airline, so there are more checked bags (compared with the LCC).

Manchester Airport laid off a lot of staff during the pandemic and then completely failed to plan for reopening. Now people are flying again, and they've got no baggage handlers. It takes 6-8 weeks to get them trained up, and they are still actively recruiting, so it's going to be months before they are fully staffed again. 

When the baggage handling area gets overwhelmed, they stop accepting bags. The check in desks can't send anything down until it's cleared, so everything grinds to a halt. When that's a technical/engineering issue, they send handlers up to check in to stack bags anywhere they can behind the desks to keep things moving. When it's a staffing issue, there is no-one to send, so everyone just has to sit and wait. 

It's a mess, and it was completely predictable and preventable if Manchester Airport management had done their job.

That's a great explanation and makes sense of how easily the baggage handling systems can get clogged up. 

 

If only the airports could make a simple announcement (saying sorry, we're short staffed or something) rather than let all the passengers stand there getting confused and angry. 

[OneMoreFarang]

3 hours ago, KhaoYai said:

Don't tell me that the flyer below was for November - it has not been rescinded.

The information is straightforward...

[ed strong]

2 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

Please find me a flight with Eva from BKK to London...  !!! 

 

Which reliable airlines are flying direct ? (I wouldn’t trust TG not to cancel at the moment and I wouldn't count Scoot as an airline I’d want to fly on - it a budget airline. Neither TG or Scoot are flying daily). 

 

Now... you’ve criticised the Op but havent made suitable or realistic suggestion, or recognised that there was in fact a series of horrible issues which were abnormal compared to pre-covid travel. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well it would seem there are no viable options, the point is dont expect to have seemless travel as its really not an option, prepare for the worst and take a deep breath are my only suggestions.

[Liverpool Lou]

4 hours ago, KhaoYai said:

6 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

The purpose of my being a member here is, obviously, none of your business but, to answer your question, it is to be able to comment on posts on a public forum, just the same as you.   That you see my posts as negative is probably more of a reflection of your posts that it is of me.   

Expand  

And your excuse for negativity on other threads is?

I don't need "an excuse" for anything that I post here.   Perhaps some posts are so full of nonsense that they deserve negative responses.    Since when has it been a forum rule that every post has to be positive and acceptable to you?

[richard_smith237]

42 minutes ago, ed strong said:

Well it would seem there are no viable options, the point is dont expect to have seemless travel as its really not an option, prepare for the worst and take a deep breath are my only suggestions.

I certainly agree with those....    Take a deep breath a hope and don’t get upset about things out of my control but try to manage what I can control. 

 

The issues at Manchester airport have been widely reported (in the UK press).

Baggage has taken so long to reach the baggage carousels that many returning travellers are simply giving up and leaving their baggage there which creates a further backup of baggage... then there are the security checks.. Airports are no busier than before, but they have less staff....   

 

 

The best options from BKK to the UK at the moment are Emirates, Qatar and Finn. 

 

Finn probably because the Helsinki airport is much quieter and the staff there efficient. 

Qatar are very good - but they are simply slowed by the flights being full (all the QR flights I’ve been on in the past 6 months have been quite full), its the documents checks which are slowing the ground staff. 

 

My last QR check-in to Thailand was on March 3rd (just after they dropped day 5 Test&Go) - ground staff wanted to see a 5 day quarantine booking !!!, then it took a while for them to confirm it wasn’t a requirement. Then they want to see a Day 5 T&G booking, again it took a while, but they insisted I needed a Day 5 Test&Go booking....  fortunately I still had that printed, so dug that out of my bag.

20 mins of unnecessary hassle and messing.

 

On a previous trip in a few motes earlier my certificate of insurance ($3 million US cover) was not accepted - the check in staff didn’t like the wording. There were delays while that got called in, I had to point out that I’d used the same certificate at the same airport with the same airline a few months earlier !!!... eventually they accepted the certificate and checked me in.

20 mins delay and a fair bit of unnecessary stress. 

 

The issue - the airlines are so tight on the documents check, the regulations so stringent, yet inconsistent and frequently changing. Check-in staff have to be aware of the ‘destination’ regulations not just for Thailand, but for all destinations - The result is delays. 

 

Its a PITA, I don’t complain because it is what it is and its out of my control. 

 

But, when someone such as the Op makes a complaint (as he has in this Op) I understand it. His dissatisfaction is perfectly reasonable.

 

What I don’t understand are the few who have dissected his posts, remove or distorted context and attacked his comments - its unlikely that these folk have had to travel anywhere in the past couple of years. 

 

 

 

 

 

[NanLaew]

In the end, it is Covid that is STILL causing all these issues. Just because most everyone catching a flight is either double-jabbed and boostered or caught it already and the checks on arrival (in the UK) have all vanished, people are still catching Covid. The industry that has laid off people to stay in business these past couple of years hasn't been able to ramp up staffing to cope with the surge in passengers partly because right now 1 in 15 people (in the UK) have tested positive. That means they aren't at work.

 

Cool your jets. Literally.

[KhaoYai]

3 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

The information is straightforward...

It says 6 hours and you know very well that you don't in fact have to stay one night. You have to stay until your PCR test results are back.  As it says in the part you have highlighted - 'wait for the test results within the room'.  The time specified is 'within 6 hours'.

 

Or do you simply want to be right?  If so, you're right.......OK?

[OneMoreFarang]

26 minutes ago, KhaoYai said:

It says 6 hours and you know very well that you don't in fact have to stay one night. You have to stay until your PCR test results are back.  As it says in the part you have highlighted - 'wait for the test results within the room'.  The time specified is 'within 6 hours'.

 

Or do you simply want to be right?  If so, you're right.......OK?

I tried to explain to you that there is a difference between what happens if you are lucky and what could and sometimes will happen.

You pick from that poster what you want to see, the 6 hours. I like to point out to you what is right on top of that: "stay at least one night". If you want to ignore that, that is up to you. But it's still written there and personally I think it is not a wise idea to ignore that information. 

[richard_smith237]

 

38 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

I tried to explain to you that there is a difference between what happens if you are lucky and what could and sometimes will happen.

You pick from that poster what you want to see, the 6 hours. I like to point out to you what is right on top of that: "stay at least one night". If you want to ignore that, that is up to you. But it's still written there and personally I think it is not a wise idea to ignore that information. 

1) A Test & Go guest does not have to stay the night - they stay until their hotel receives the negative PCR result....  So that part of the poster / picture is clearly wrong. 

 

2) The 6 hrs is the time frame given to the Lab to report to the hotel. Test may be collected in ‘batches’ then sent off to a lab for testing, then the lab reports the results to the hotel. The hotel reports the results to the guest - with some ‘chaff’ on either side there could be a bit of a delay - so that part of the poster / picture is misleading. 

 

 

The Ops complaint is that on his earlier T&G at the same hotel his PCR test was returned earlier and he could depart the hotel and not have to stay the night. 

The next time he stayed at the same T&G hotel (and I assume paid the same) the service had slowed and he was forced to stay the night as the hotel partnered up with a different (cheaper) hospital which took longer to issue the results. 

 

I think the op has a valid point to be dissatisfied with the shifting goal posts. 

 

Ultimately - a lot of the issue with the T&G hotel stems from the fact that communication from all of them is extremely poor - they could give a clearer time frame for tests. 

 

 

[KhaoYai]

2 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

You pick from that poster what you want to see, the 6 hours. I like to point out to you what is right on top of that: "stay at least one night". If you want to ignore that, that is up to you. But it's still written there and personally I think it is not a wise idea to ignore that information. 

So how long is one night? 6, 8, 10 hours? Or the 13 hours I waited? The flyer says the 'Hospital Partner must report the result within 6 hours' - am I to ignore that? I don't how long a night is at your house but in mine it certainly isn't 13 hours. 

 

Travellers are required to book one night in a hotel and they must wait in their room for the result. What if you arrive after midnight? Does that mean you have to book the next night?

 

Test & Go has been running since November and its become widely accepted that you are free to go as soon as your results are in. Last time I stayed at that hotel, I arrived in the afternoon and was in a bar having a drink with a mate by 8.30pm.  The only difference was that the hotel has changed the 'Hospital Partner' and I suspect they did that in order to make more profit.

 

The Thai government issues rules, puts them in the Royal Gazette but it seems, forgets to instruct the hotels on the content of such rules - the hotel had never seen the 6 hour stipulation. Likewise on my previous visit, nobody told me where I could get my Day 7 PCR and on this trip I was simply handed an ATK with no instructions whatsoever.  Does the Thailand Pass approval give instructions on what to do next? Is there a list of testing sites on the MorChana App? That is, assuming you can get the damned thing to work in the first place.

 

Having connections to Thailand and reading this forum throughout the pandemic, I had a rough idea where to find a hospital that could accommodate the Day 7 PCR and I knew what to to with the ATK this time.............how many tourists would know those things? The whole Test & Go thing is a cock up and has been from the start. The only thing the Thai government is good at is turning what should be a quite simple process into a minefield.

 

People on holiday don't want to be spending hours trying to get information and they should be able to rely on the times given for their test results.  Remember, a great many tourists don't stay in Bangkok, they head off for other provinces or the islands. Are they not enitled to rely on the information given and book any onward travel accordingly?

 

Should they, possibly never having been to Thailand before, know that its likley their PCR test will take double the time stipulated?  My hotel told me when I arrived that it would be 12 hours - I showed them the flyer that stipulated 6 hours and they had some form of discussion about it - I don't know the outcome as I had to go for my test. I did tell them though, that I expected my results within 6 hours and I checked with them every hour after that.

 

Just try putting yourself in a tourist's shoes for a moment and forget what you have gleaned from this site. Most genuine tourists will never have heard of Asean Now.

 

The whole of Asia is slowly re-opening - if Thailand wants to regain its share of the tourist market, its going to have to get its ducks in a row.  I suspect that as with so many things - everything will change now and any forward thinking country will find it fairly easy to deprive Thailand of a fair proportion of the market.

 

They talk of attracting wealthy tourists - they couldn't even run a school trip.

[KhaoYai]

2 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

Ultimately - a lot of the issue with the T&G hotel stems from the fact that communication from all of them is extremely poor - they could give a clearer time frame for tests. 

I agree but if the government states 6 hours then 6 hours it should be. I would allow a little lee-way but not 13 hours. The current rules do not allow for the hotels to stipulate the waiting period, if they did, guests could choose accordingly - people need to plan ahead.  They are trying to present a slick, streamlined system 'Test & Go' which it certainly is not.