Passenger charges soar at six major Thai airports

[richard_smith237]

2 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

Another incredibly misleading article. A 700 baht fee being increased to 730 baht is slightly over a 4% increase. Though this is a sign of inflation it is certainly not a sign of soaring fees as the article falsely indicates. It is drama queen journalism.

 

We're not permitted to use the term klik-ba!t anymore.....     although this is exactly what a lot of articles are these days.

 

Its an insult to the reader - just place an accurate and informative headline rather than this inflammatory, attention seeking blurb designed to trigger a knee-jerk response. 

[ChaiyaTH]

30 baht increase, how is that even newsworthy, that is even below inflation average in percentage. Well yes on domestic it is quite a bit more, but still, 30 baht is really the last issue.

Edited April 2 by ChaiyaTH

[Ralf001]

8 hours ago, AhFarangJa said:

LOL.........CUTE.....CUSS........CUPS........Do I need to say more.......

Do I need to say more ?

 

 

[khunjeff]

11 hours ago, sandyf said:

Heathrow is about the only airport in the world that sets out to make a profit

 

AOT is a for-profit public company, and posted a net profit of 8.8 billion baht in fiscal year 2023.

[theblether]

12 hours ago, RandolphGB said:

I'm sure that the world's richest airport operator (according to Bloomberg)  will re-invest every single penny of that increase to improve facilities, like the Don Mueang Airport, which is basically a relic of the 1970s. 

 

The extra revenue (millions of baht a month) will definitely not disappear into the coffers of managers and executives. Pig's might fly!

 

Seriously though... there's something seriously flawed in the Thai national mindset at every level of society that they see foreigners as their cash cow. 

 

Nonsense - Thai domestic flyers have seen an increase of 30%. International passengers have seen an increase of 4%. It's the Thai domestic market that has been relatively hammered. 

[Deez]

Thai business 101. When business slows, raise prices.

[suspectdevice]

14 hours ago, sandyf said:

 

Heathrow is about the only airport in the world that sets out to make a profit, they do that through a separate tax called APD, about 4000 THB, that goes into general taxation.

APD is paid by the customer at ALL uk airports. It's another sneaky uk tax. The further the airport is from Heathrow the higher the APD cost. 

[Skipalongcassidy]

18 hours ago, NoshowJones said:

There is a big difference between being a greedy capitalist and giving customers a fair deal.

The market place... not the cheap charlies... determine that... what's a "fair deal"... rhetoric and democratic talking points 

[AhFarangJa]

11 hours ago, Ralf001 said:

Do I need to say more ?

 

 

Well Sir, you learn something every day, many thanks. I was so sure when I saw CUTE, and CUSS.........

[sandyf]

10 hours ago, suspectdevice said:

APD is paid by the customer at ALL uk airports. It's another sneaky uk tax. The further the airport is from Heathrow the higher the APD cost. 

APD is a fixed rate dependent on destination, distance and class of travel, the more seat spacing you have the more you pay. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/rates-and-allowances-for-air-passenger-duty

 

Heathrow is/was the most expensive airport in UK and one of the most expensive in the world. The regulator had to step in and force a cut in taxes.

"Luis Gallego, chief executive of British Airways' parent company IAG, said: “Heathrow already charges three times more per passenger than other major airports in Europe including Gatwick and Madrid, and five times more than Dublin."

https://www.thenationalnews.com/world/uk-news/2023/03/08/uk-regulator-tells-heathrow-to-cut-fees-in-win-for-airlines/

 

A few years back I switched from BA to Emirates to go into Gatwick, significantly cheaper.

[sandyf]

12 hours ago, khunjeff said:

 

AOT is a for-profit public company, and posted a net profit of 8.8 billion baht in fiscal year 2023.

Like every other country, the airport operator manages the rates on behalf of the appropriate Government Ministry. The PSC is a ring fenced tax while others can end up in general taxation.

 

   * The above rates are the actual rates charged by each airport under the 2017 announcement of the Ministry of Transport on Departure Passenger Service Charges at Licensed Airports that provide services to the public.

https://www.thailand.go.th/issue-focus-detail/002_021

[theblether]

17 hours ago, suspectdevice said:

APD is paid by the customer at ALL uk airports. It's another sneaky uk tax. The further the airport is from Heathrow the higher the APD cost. 

 

Nonsense again. The tax applies to UK airports, the "further you are from Heathrow the higher the APD cost" line is just laughable. Also, every single airline provider provides a breakdown of the fair and tax before you book the ticket. If you can't be bothered reading the "sneaky" tax which is in black and white and in front of your nose then that's up to you. 

[Aviatorhi]

On 4/1/2024 at 10:34 PM, khunjeff said:

 

Adding in small but irritating fees is, in fact, exactly what "nickel and diming" is.

 

And this particular increase has nothing whatsoever to do with "adjusting" the passenger service charge for inflation. As the article explains, it's to pay for check-in equipment that in almost every other country would be installed and paid for by airlines as a means of saving on labor costs, not put in by airport management at the expense of passengers. So yes, we will now pay AOT  for the privilege of doing the check-in ourselves instead of having professionals do it for us as part of our fare.

 

It's clear to me you don't know how airports fund themselves (particularly their common use areas) or, for that matter, have every looked at an itemized breakdown of what is actually in your fare. My username might clue you in to the fact that I've done this for a few decades. All western countries do the exact same thing and their most recent increases (between 2021 and today) are an order of magnitude higher than what AOT is instituting.

 

  

8 hours ago, theblether said:

 

Nonsense again. The tax applies to UK airports, the "further you are from Heathrow the higher the APD cost" line is just laughable. Also, every single airline provider provides a breakdown of the fair and tax before you book the ticket. If you can't be bothered reading the "sneaky" tax which is in black and white and in front of your nose then that's up to you. 

 

Precisely, and "the further you are from Heathrow" line? Why is it lower in Inverness then? As mentioned above, it's apparent hundreds of people have been paying these fees for years and not realizing it.

Edited April 3 by Aviatorhi

[kiwikeith]

On 4/2/2024 at 10:33 AM, ezzra said:

Could it be an  April fools day announcement? and if not, it means that ' we need more

tourists/passengers' equals more revenue/income...

 

They have to pay for the train installation at Suvarnabhum

[Aviatorhi]

On 4/2/2024 at 1:32 AM, RandolphGB said:

I'm sure that the world's richest airport operator (according to Bloomberg)  will re-invest every single penny of that increase to improve facilities, like the Don Mueang Airport, which is basically a relic of the 1970s. 

 

Since you're such an avid reader of the news did you see the 36 billion baht they're investing (announced 2023) for phase 3 development of DMK from 2025 to 2029? 

[RandolphGB]

On 4/2/2024 at 8:46 PM, theblether said:

 

Nonsense - Thai domestic flyers have seen an increase of 30%. International passengers have seen an increase of 4%. It's the Thai domestic market that has been relatively hammered. 

 

Do you understand percentages?

[RandolphGB]

6 hours ago, Aviatorhi said:

 

Since you're such an avid reader of the news did you see the 36 billion baht they're investing (announced 2023) for phase 3 development of DMK from 2025 to 2029? 

 

After a woman's leg was chopped off by the shoddy machinery at the airport. 

 

If you think that all of the 36 billion baht is going to the airport, or that it will be finished by 2029, I have magic beans to sell you for a million baht each.

 

[Aviatorhi]

26 minutes ago, RandolphGB said:

 

After a woman's leg was chopped off by the shoddy machinery at the airport. 

 

If you think that all of the 36 billion baht is going to the airport, or that it will be finished by 2029, I have magic beans to sell you for a million baht each.

 

 

I wonder if the shoddy machinery will be replaced or upgraded - probably one would imagine. 

And nobody thinks it's going to be finished by 2029 because not even "first world countries" can keep to a schedule. Though I don't think it'll take as long as BER took to finish (even with famous German efficiency). It's just what's announced - and I'm not here to speculate on "what ifs" of a construction project's timeline just the fact that they've authorized further development and that the money for that has to come from somewhere.

Edited April 4 by Aviatorhi

[suspectdevice]

On 4/3/2024 at 3:02 AM, sandyf said:

APD is a fixed rate dependent on destination, distance and class of travel, the more seat spacing you have the more you pay. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/rates-and-allowances-for-air-passenger-duty

 

Heathrow is/was the most expensive airport in UK and one of the most expensive in the world. The regulator had to step in and force a cut in taxes.

"Luis Gallego, chief executive of British Airways' parent company IAG, said: “Heathrow already charges three times more per passenger than other major airports in Europe including Gatwick and Madrid, and five times more than Dublin."

https://www.thenationalnews.com/world/uk-news/2023/03/08/uk-regulator-tells-heathrow-to-cut-fees-in-win-for-airlines/

 

A few years back I switched from BA to Emirates to go into Gatwick, significantly cheaper.

Looks like my source material (few years ago) was incorrect. Now devolved the SNP under Alex Salmond was going to cut APD. However by the time we had the power to cut it, Nicola Sturgeon decided not to. 

[Robert Paulson]

We need a t shirt that says “tax this” and a guy holding his erect member

[sandyf]

10 hours ago, suspectdevice said:

Looks like my source material (few years ago) was incorrect. Now devolved the SNP under Alex Salmond was going to cut APD. However by the time we had the power to cut it, Nicola Sturgeon decided not to. 

I  read the white paper prior to the referendum in 2014 and AS made a lot of claims that were quite impractical.

The way airline taxes are collected it is difficult to be selective, we saw that with the Thai proposal. I suspect NS realised the difficulty.

[CDG931]

Let's do the math with the number of passenger arrivals. This is huge. 
Is this pure greed? I don't know.
But I hope these funds will enable proper maintenance of the walkways. 
I wonder what the amount of compensation was that the poor woman who had to have her leg amputated at Don Muang a few months ago received.

Do the math.

[Rampant Rabbit]

why dont they just put a  big  bucket at the  exit  doors as passengers disembark so thy can just throw  cash in, then they could also be kicked in the nuts for good measure.........well half of them I guess!

[hwas]

Those who are complaining about a 30 baht increase obviously do not have the financial means to travel by air anyway.  Time would be better spent complaining about the price of Chiang beer.