Have You Had Enough Of Bangkok Airways?

[mark lamai]

so nice to see bangkok airways have a conscience.

they are so embarrassed by how much money they make from the samui cash cow that they give you free coffe and 5 star waiting room at suvar.

the mistake they made of course was not to buy the whole island.

a perfect island holiday is 100% five star only.

fly in comfort (haa haa, sardine planes),

be transported around without hassle,

pay 1000 baht for every meal,

all thai people smile at you and bow,

gee isn't is wonderful,

no dirty backpackers, no cheap dirty bungalows,

just people like us.

wasn't it wonderful Fred!

where were we again????????

=============================

what i find most amusing are all the free market entepeneur types who turn around and defend a monopoly.

a free market economy is supposed to be about competition and choice for consumers.

but a monopoly is fine because you are 'clever'.

5 star island holidays are silly fantasy, about as real as a Lamai bar girl,

i just wish these folks would stay inside their resorts and not come out to degrade the environment.

[mattias33]

Gatorade: You are right that also TG operates the airport, however, everytime i checked they were more expensive than both bkk air AND themselves on other similar distance flights. Kind of got the impression that it´s in their contract to never go under a certain price, or simply that bkk air charge so high landingfees that TG can´t compete. It don´t make it less monopoly.

Mark: I agree with your post. I remember being a tourist not that many years ago in BKK reading about how the government were unhappy with bkk airs monopoly on Samui. So unhappy that they considered opening a goverment airport if bkk air didnt start being resonable with their pricing. But here all the (or alot on this forum at least) pretend that it is not a monopoly. Just a "great buisness idea".

[Pilchard]

what i find most amusing are all the free market entepeneur types who turn around and defend a monopoly.

a free market economy is supposed to be about competition and choice for consumers.

but a monopoly is fine because you are 'clever'.

Cheap air travel is not some kind of constitutional right.

The Free market allowed a private company to build and operate the airport in Samui.

I know of no restriction stopping anyone else doing the same to make competition with them.

[ArtificialIntelligence]

5. BKA prices and we have shown this before are actually similar and even lower for the same distance flights in Europe and even in the states. an 50-60 minutes flight in a regular airline is about 150-200 USD.

yes there are those Cheap airlines that use low maintenance no service and pack you in like cattle for less.. BKA is not a cheap airline and it operates its own airport and the costs are then in the ticket..

I never for a second beleive that you wouldn´t come back with your "facts". .

However, your oppinion about more tourists than ever is not what anybody in the restaurant/hotel/bar busness would agree on. They are all saying the exact opposite. Let´s just wait and see what the highseason brings in, nobody is optimistic but we are all speculating. Even you. Allthough you like to present you speculations as facts, but we all know this already.

Comparing Bangkok airways prices with flights in the states or Europe is pointless. Have absolutely nothing to do with anything. A bag of potatoes cost me 300 baht more in Sweden than in Samui. Where the point in this argumentation? .

A year ago i booked a flight from Bangkok to Surathani and it cost me 700 baht. The cheapest option with BA at that time was 2700 baht. It´s the exact same distance. With your argumentation you can get anything to seem right.

No shit, they make money. That comes with having a monopoly. Imo that dosen´t make it right. You go ahead and admire them. I don´t.

High Diver and Mattias

Why not put it to the vote for members ?

Why? What difference would it make? It's obvious that there are two opposing views and it would seem that the majority of posts on this latest epic are firmly in favour of BKA. Furthermore, it's not as if there is no competition, as TG operate (when things were normal) twice a day to BKK.

You seem to assume that people posting are just in favour. Not forgetting that alot of people read and do not post but may vote. I would not be so quick to assume that BKA is well supported. It is a monopoly and no question of that. If you want to clal it a good business idea then maybe so, but it does not get away form the fact, that most people are stuck with these limited options and high fairs. TG is a recent development, but hardly open skies is it..

[mattias33]

what i find most amusing are all the free market entepeneur types who turn around and defend a monopoly.

a free market economy is supposed to be about competition and choice for consumers.

but a monopoly is fine because you are 'clever'.

Cheap air travel is not some kind of constitutional right.

The Free market allowed a private company to build and operate the airport in Samui.

I know of no restriction stopping anyone else doing the same to make competition with them.

Really? There are no restrictions against opening a second airport on Samui? .

Opening competetion. How would that be done? When Bkk air dont allow anybody to operate their routes with lower fare than them on the airport. And beleive me, building a second airport is not possible. There ARE infact restrictions against this even if you don´t know about them.

Pure monopoly. As clear as it can be.

Edited November 30, 2008 by mattias33

[Pilchard]

what i find most amusing are all the free market entepeneur types who turn around and defend a monopoly.

a free market economy is supposed to be about competition and choice for consumers.

but a monopoly is fine because you are 'clever'.

Cheap air travel is not some kind of constitutional right.

The Free market allowed a private company to build and operate the airport in Samui.

I know of no restriction stopping anyone else doing the same to make competition with them.

Really? There are no restrictions against opening a second airport on Samui? .

As I said,I don't know of any, does anybody ?

[Birdman]

what i find most amusing are all the free market entepeneur types who turn around and defend a monopoly.

a free market economy is supposed to be about competition and choice for consumers.

but a monopoly is fine because you are 'clever'.

Cheap air travel is not some kind of constitutional right.

The Free market allowed a private company to build and operate the airport in Samui.

I know of no restriction stopping anyone else doing the same to make competition with them.

Really? There are no restrictions against opening a second airport on Samui? .

As I said,I don't know of any, does anybody ?

The runways must be in a certain distance away from each other. Do not know exactly how many kms. A security landing and starting regulation.

[maccaroni man]

at the end of the day bkk air is like 7-11 it aint cheap but it is there when you need it. I would love to fly to bkk from samui for around 1,500 baht which is IHO a fair price

[Gatorade]

what i find most amusing are all the free market entepeneur types who turn around and defend a monopoly.

a free market economy is supposed to be about competition and choice for consumers.

but a monopoly is fine because you are 'clever'.

Cheap air travel is not some kind of constitutional right.

The Free market allowed a private company to build and operate the airport in Samui.

I know of no restriction stopping anyone else doing the same to make competition with them.

Really? There are no restrictions against opening a second airport on Samui? .

As I said,I don't know of any, does anybody ?

The runways must be in a certain distance away from each other. Do not know exactly how many kms. A security landing and starting regulation.

No they don't. It's just that there has to be safe Air traffic procedures designed to ensure that a safe traffic separation can be achieved.

I think that there were a lot of previous posts on this subject under the second airport/Phangan international discussions.

[2169]

bring an Easyjet or AirAsia service to Samui --- 99 THB One Way ! , will boast Tourism !

The 2 biggest tourism-killers on koh samui is still Bangkok airways monopoly situation and the crazy Taxi-maffia.

My oppinion

thats very right, but as u see the thai authority is useless as always, thats the thai way the land of smile, f..k that

[MSingh]

Here's some comparables from around the World with domestic Carriers & similar Mileage Routes :

Based on these, the BKA Flight isn't really that mega expensive..

Samui - Bkk = 170 GBP Return with BKA

London - Edingburgh = 73 GBP Return Easyjet

156 GBP Return Air France

191 GBP Return BMI

Chicago - St Louis = 148 GBP Return with Continental

152 GBP Return Delta

Stockholm - Gothenburg = 160 Return GBP SAS

Joburg - Durban = 176 GBP SAA

Brisbane - Sydney ( Double the distance of USM - BKK ) = 206 GBP Return Quantas

Singapore - KL ( a Third of the distance of USM - BKK ) = 186 GBP Return Malaysia Airline

234 GBP Return Singapore Airlines

Ho Chi Minh - Hanoi ( Double the distance of USM - BKK ) = 335 GBP Return Vietnam Airways..

[samuibeachcomber]

There was talk about a 2nd airport down lamai way.can anyone confirm this?It would certainly help with samui tourism.with all the extra hotels/resorts being built need more people to come and fill the beds and the only way to do this is more planes full,and for that to happen a second airport.

[highdiver]

some answers to some of the questions.

1. for those who failed to understand ... they are a private business you don't like to buy.. very simple.

2. most of the foreigner on this forum came to live in Samui after the airport was opened as such they knew that Samui has only a private airport when they came so what has changed?

3. there are NO limitations on opening a second airport.. the Taksin Administration made some noises about putting in a second one but failed to approve the budget for it.

there have been a few interest in the past but the land prices in Samui now are so expansive that the overall cost of buying land and construction will be so high the feasibility is for a loosing project and that's why no one at this point is doing it.

for those of you are still intrested in building an airport an competing with BKA:

Department of Civil Aviation

71 Soi Ngarmduplee Rama 4 Road Thung Mahamek Sathorn Bangkok 10120, Thailand

Telephone: +66 (0) 2287-0320-9

4. thanks for Msingh for the price comparison with other routes that show that BKA is charging a reasonable and fair price. if you add to this the fact that they keep and maintain an airport by them selves then it a very good bargin. for those not wanting to take ferry and buses.

5. once again they are a very good company that serves passengers and is doing it while maintaining profit. on the contrary BMI the UK second largest airline company has reported last Friday a record breaking loss and is about to be taken over by Lufthansa. the take over will result in strong cuts and closing down of routes.

i can only speak for myself but i will be very happy that BKA will remain profitable and remain in operations so that I have the ability to fly in and out of Samui.

[OlRedEyes]

Get your fact right guys, four planes to Utapao yesterday from samui, more today. My beef is why have they put the price up 30% when fuel has dropped by 70%.

But anyway news just in Bangkok Airways are talking about 5500b all in return from BKK-SAM...that will help tourism on the island for sure!!

Because it is "A" Boutique airline... flying to... "A" Boutique Island...

With massive boutique stains on their uncleaned boutique carpets and seats in their boutique waiting room at Savannasomething airport......

Classy stuff.

Edited November 30, 2008 by OlRedEyes

[LaoPo]

......... I would love to fly to bkk from samui for around 1,500 baht which is IHO a fair price

....and would the esteemed gentleman like to have a cookie with his fresh brewed coffee ?

I'm sure everybody on this thread would like to fly for Baht 1.500 but it's not realistic, is it ?

LaoPo

[mattias33]

......... I would love to fly to bkk from samui for around 1,500 baht which is IHO a fair price

....and would the esteemed gentleman like to have a cookie with his fresh brewed coffee ?

I'm sure everybody on this thread would like to fly for Baht 1.500 but it's not realistic, is it ?

LaoPo

It´s very realisic. I fly surath- bkk for that money and less.

Highdiver, we know we dont have to use them and some of us dont. Secondly, when you say it is easy to open a second airport because taksin....blablabla..why dont you google "faa". You´ll get some answers there.

Msignh, thanks for the report that showed us the prices. Stockholm-Gothenbourg is 10 gbp cheaper than the same distance in Thailand Samui-Bkk. Is that showing fair pricing hd? To me it showes outragios pricing. 10 gbp is roughly 700 baht more expensive for the same product in Thailand than Sweden even. Do you realize there is hardly anything that cost more than a fifth of the Swedish price in Thailand? And when something is that more expensive you say it shows "fair pricing"??? You have to be joking hd. Really. How can it ever be fair pricing that it cost double the price to get from Bkk to samui, than it costs to surath? I was saying before that comparing prisec to the states and Europe is pointless, you should compare in Thailand. But Msinghs list showes that the same flights are cheaper even in Europe! And Hd call this "fair pricing". I guess you by now showed us who you work for?

And another point of view, Bkk air did so much work for this island? No they didnt. If they didnt profitly buy cheap land and builded an airport, by now probably the government would have builded samui airport and prices would have been the same as every where else in Thailand. They are the first diggers of samui tourism grave.

[mark lamai]

geez i love this topic, lets keep it going.................

ok lets examine the service.

at Suva , wait, take a bus, walk up a gangplank, struggle down a narrow aisle,

stow bag, squeeze into tiny seat, enjoy!!

gosh free cake!! wonderful!!

arrive samui,

get bags, go to exit, stand and wait, where is bus? wait here, nothing happen, do 2 times,

where is bus? over there, ahh.. drag bags uphill to bus, 150 baht to lamai,

compare to Lompraya at 50 baht.

arrive.................

all in all. nothing special, its a short uncomfortable flight.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

politically...

there have been many 'explorations' from bangkok about a new airport or a share deal over the years.

only result is the thai airways joke.

cynical self suggests this is simply a way of extracting bribe money from bangkok airways.

bangkok airways just love a monopoly, after all it made them what they are,

so they buy the Trat airport to monopolise Koh Chang, maybe a bad move,

and did they buy all those other minor airports they mooted last year?

where there is competition , e.g. bkk-siem reap, they do compete on price.

dollars per mile is a lot less than bkk-samui

simply good business, you cant blame them.

one issue not discussed concerns ownership and control of important national infrastructure,

roads, rail, air etc.

generally governments maintain control over these things even if privately owned/operated (performance guarantees etc)

the whole thing is a very minor issue really,

but why it generates emotion i think is because it is symptomatic of thai in general.

power, money, influence rule.

for the good of the people (or the tourist) is a sad last.

nowadays i have decided to be not polite to thai people who lie/cheat/steal try to con me.

i give them my australian response which usually includes quite a lot of swearing (well its natural for us, my culture).

so when the roof leaks and the celing falls in and the ladlord says i pay for fix ceiling,

i say, ******************,

she says meet you tomorrow 10am, ok i agree,

10am i go to meet, she is shopping at Lotus, she lies to her staff that meeting was 8am.

this of course is normal practice for the more wealthy ******* thai,

why do i not respect them, why do i not respect many elements of this fictitious 'thai culture'

cause i been here too long too many times i guess.

ahhhhh the good old days, when the road to nathon was lonely, there were rice fields.

there was a funky wooden bridge to reggae pub,

there was a first time tourist to thailand who thought it was wonderful..

you gotta hate reality.......................................................................

[samui04]

Who cares after paying 1200E coming from Euroland if the ticket to Samui is 20E more than the average?

When i'll arrive usually late in BKK (ok, next week i will be very late, i could be rescheduled to next month ) i need a connections ready. And BKA is always there, you can change plane, go to the lounge and take the first avail flight.

So the cheapest BKA ticket is a business class ticket comparing it to usual low cost carrier ticket.

Please do not use BKA as an excuse for the slow death of the island.

Restaurants and resorts that increase price every year 20%, taxis mafia, killer roads, dirty beaches....etc...

Forgot, PAD and baht exchange rate....

[EllaPhangania]

matthias: i'm sure in 'real life' you are a decent chap. your posts here are rather poor, though. highdiver makes his points rather clear. in an online forum people tend to review opposing views and compare strenghts and weaknesses of arguments. whilst in general i agree with some of your comments, I feel that your sad rethoric kills the fun...

[LaoPo]

......... I would love to fly to bkk from samui for around 1,500 baht which is IHO a fair price

....and would the esteemed gentleman like to have a cookie with his fresh brewed coffee ?

I'm sure everybody on this thread would like to fly for Baht 1.500 but it's not realistic, is it ?

LaoPo

It´s very realisic. I fly surath- bkk for that money and less.

Surat Thani is mainland and not on Samui...so it's not realistic. We're talking Samui here.

And....because of such low fares many price fighters in the airline industry go bust. Let's see how long you will be able to fly for such prices.

No airline in the world can survive and be healthy with such low prices as it showed this year with many small carriers go under. Next year will show even more airlines go bankrupt.

Just watch the news.

LaoPo

[mattias33]

Highdiver said a few days ago:

3. Koh Samui has an increas of more tourists coming in since the new terminal has opened and for those who wish to argue please see the TAT office for statistics as well as the Samui Tourist association. there are more tourist this year then the year before... that is a fact.

The lates issue of samui express, nov 28-dec 11 says on the front page: Tourist arrival on koh samui down 50 %. The article itself qoute Mr Phanu Voramit, director of the tourism authority of Thailand in Surathani. For this highseason bookings are only 60-70 % of the hotelrooms availible compared to almost 100% this time last year he says.

Further on in the article it says that Bangkok airways disclosed recently that the numbers of passengers arriving on the island has dropped with 40-50 %. (Magazine released in nov 28 so this statement is not based on the recent crisis situation in Bangkok, it is saying on the first line of the article that EVEN before the airports shut down in Bkktourism on Samui has been in the doldrums.)

I am begining to think that hd dont know the meaning of the word "fact". Could it be that simple?

Edited December 2, 2008 by mattias33

[LaoPo]

Highdiver said a few days ago:

3. Koh Samui has an increas of more tourists coming in since the new terminal has opened and for those who wish to argue please see the TAT office for statistics as well as the Samui Tourist association. there are more tourist this year then the year before... that is a fact.

The lates issue of samui express, nov 28-dec 11 says on the front page: Tourist arrival on koh samui down 50 %. The article itself qoute Mr Phanu Voramit, director of the tourism authority of Thailand in Surathani. For this highseason bookings are only 60-70 % of the hotelrooms availible compared to almost 100% this time last year he says.

Further on in the article it says that Bangkok airways disclosed recently that the numbers of passengers arriving on the island has dropped with 40-50 %. (Magazine released in nov 28 so this statement is not based on the recent crisis situation in Bangkok, it is saying on the first line of the article that EVEN before the airports shut down in Bkktourism on Samui has been in the doldrums.)

I am begining to think that hd dont know the meaning of the word "fact". Could it be that simple?

I searched and found:

Tourist arrivals on Samui down 50%

Written by Administrator

Tuesday, 02 December 2008 11:02

EVEN before Bangkok airports were shut down by anti-government protesters, tourism on Samui has been in the doldrums.

Room bookings for the high tourist season that starts December have gone down drastically, according to Mr. Phanu Voramit, director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand in Suratthani.

For this high season, bookings are only 60-70 percent of the hotel rooms available, compared to almost 100 percent during this time last year, Mr. Phanu said. Tourist arrivals in Thailand, as in other countries, have dipped due to the current global economic crisis. The country’s ongoing political crisis has further aggravated the already dire situation.

Bangkok Airways disclosed recently that the number of passengers arriving on the island has dropped 40-50 percent.

Mr. Sirichai Charoenrat, director of the Samui Airport, said most planes that land on Samui now are half empty. During this time last year, according to him, most Bangkok Airways flights to Samui were fully booked.

In a bid to encourage more people to travel, the airline has trimmed to 10 percent its fuel surcharge. Mr. Sirichai said he hoped more people would travel to Samui for the coming New Year celebration.

Mr. Phanu, on the other hand, said his would soon launch a tourism promotion campaign in neighboring countries like Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore to boost tourism arrivals on the island.

He hoped tourist from neighboring countries would fill in for the dearth of European tourists arriving on the island.

-Samui Express

LaoPo

Note:

I'm afraid Mr. Phanu won't have much success in trying to boost Samui's tourism from neighboring countries since tourism (to Suvarnabhumi *) from those countries already dropped more severe than from European countries, in 2008; this according to the statistics.

* October 2008 numbers to Suvarnabhumi versus 2007:

Malaysia: -6,66%

Indonesia: -21,41%

Singapore: -12,60%

and:

Hong Kong: -34,05%

Of course it doesn't say anything yet for the numbers to Samui, but if BKK Airways say they have a drop of 40-50% we shouldn't expect the numbers to be higher instead lower.

LaoPo

[dotcom]

Get your fact right guys, four planes to Utapao yesterday from samui, more today. My beef is why have they put the price up 30% when fuel has dropped by 70%.

But anyway news just in Bangkok Airways are talking about 5500b all in return from BKK-SAM...that will help tourism on the island for sure!!

Best I recall Bangkok Airways built & paid for the airport in Samui.

Then Thai wanted to muscle in for free. But the runways were too short for Thai 737 & A320.

You don't know how good you have it.

[mattias33]

Highdiver:

Once again i beg to differ. i am very involved in Samui tourist association as well as being invested in tourist related business.. it is a fact that there are more tourist this year then last year. if you care to dispute this please do provide facts.. not hear say from bar owners..

in the meeting held 2 months ago which was attended by most hoteliers on the island BKA marketing manager has presented the facts (you know numbers) and the facts are that BKA is bringing in more tourist then last year. As for speculations... i am sure there are some of the other members who regard my posts with a bit more credibility then yours.

Samui airport director:

Mr. Sirichai Charoenrat, director of the Samui Airport, said most planes that land on Samui now are half empty. During this time last year, according to him, most Bangkok Airways flights to Samui were fully booked.

There might be people thinking you have credability, but i am certanly not one of them. .

[sbk]

Mattias, those numbers are down from last year. So, in the long run, if one chooses to view the long term, wouldn't you say that Bangkok Air has actually increased tourist arrivals to the island?

[mattias33]

Mattias, those numbers are down from last year. So, in the long run, if one chooses to view the long term, wouldn't you say that Bangkok Air has actually increased tourist arrivals to the island?

Yes, off course they have, as the only air-option for 15 years. No question about it. However Hd said the numbers where up since last year and claimed it as a fact.

To answer your question, viewing long term, i would say if you view the last 20 years all the people that flew here is the increase. But in the future im not so sure they increase or scare people off to other places. You know i have a hangup with overcharging tourists and simply dont beleive in it.

[LaoPo]

Mattias, those numbers are down from last year. So, in the long run, if one chooses to view the long term, wouldn't you say that Bangkok Air has actually increased tourist arrivals to the island?

Yes, off course they have, as the only air-option for 15 years. No question about it. However Hd said the numbers where up since last year and claimed it as a fact.

To answer your question, viewing long term, i would say if you view the last 20 years all the people that flew here is the increase. But in the future im not so sure they increase or scare people off to other places. You know i have a hangup with overcharging tourists and simply dont beleive in it.

You're acting a bit stubborn here Mattias33....

I don't know if you have a bit of knowledge about bookkeeping, but a huge investment like building and maintaining an airport is not something which is paid off within 5 or 10 years; it needs much longer than that, apart from the heavy investments in airplanes, infrastructure, staff hiring etc.

Also...NOBODY could foresee more than 20 years ago IF the investment was going to be a clever investment, yes or no.

The same as nobody could foresee the immense damage which has been done through the blockade of the BKK airports AND the upcoming decrease in tourism to Thailand (and rest of the world) which started in the second half of 2008 and will continue for at least 24 months from now.

In these bad periods BKK Airways still has to try and run an airline...there are good years and bad years; in the good years a company has to grow FAT on it's bones and it can't do so by flying around with seats, sold for bottom prices.

LaoPo

[OnTheSnap]

Obviously Bangkok Airways gouges on the Samui routes (all you have to do is compare their fares on routes of similar distance to other points from Bangkok and elsewhere- where there is competition, their rates are much lower)- as a company, they built themselves on Samui (and Samui built itself on the airline to a huge degree).

However, Khun Prasert showed prescience and fortitude by gambling on Samui nearly twenty years ago- he continues to reap the rewards, which is his right- nobody wanted to share the risk when the airport was just a wild idea.

Yeah, it would be great if the fares were cheaper, but it's not the fares that are keeping people away (it's the deterioration of the island in general)- if you're local, there are always deals and early-bird specials to take advantage of.

Bottom line for me is Bangkok Airlines beats the heck out of the bus, even at twice the price.

Edited December 3, 2008 by OnTheSnap

[Gatorade]

Mattias, those numbers are down from last year. So, in the long run, if one chooses to view the long term, wouldn't you say that Bangkok Air has actually increased tourist arrivals to the island?

Yes, off course they have, as the only air-option for 15 years. No question about it. However Hd said the numbers where up since last year and claimed it as a fact.

To answer your question, viewing long term, i would say if you view the last 20 years all the people that flew here is the increase. But in the future im not so sure they increase or scare people off to other places. You know i have a hangup with overcharging tourists and simply dont beleive in it.

Mattias, It is obvious that you have a hang-up with BKA, you obviously don't like them as you are constantly bleating about their prices etc. However It may not have escaped your notice that many of us (maybe the majority) accept ,not always happily the pricing structure, and that their are other options if necessary. Many of us feel that the fares are comparable on a global scale and much has been posted here regarding these. I think that by now everyone knows your views so it seems rather pointless to keep on and on and on.

You think that BKA are overcharging then prove them wrong! Simply do the same as BKA! Buy some land, build an airport, buy a few aircraft, employ a few hundred people, obtain all Government approvals and Presto! you can charge what you like! (I think Mr. T. has some land on the South side of the island going cheap).

This is your opportunity you may find many investors agreeing with your views. Then again......

[farang62]

Mattias, those numbers are down from last year. So, in the long run, if one chooses to view the long term, wouldn't you say that Bangkok Air has actually increased tourist arrivals to the island?

Yes, off course they have, as the only air-option for 15 years. No question about it. However Hd said the numbers where up since last year and claimed it as a fact.

To answer your question, viewing long term, i would say if you view the last 20 years all the people that flew here is the increase. But in the future im not so sure they increase or scare people off to other places. You know i have a hangup with overcharging tourists and simply dont beleive in it.

Mattias, It is obvious that you have a hang-up with BKA, you obviously don't like them as you are constantly bleating about their prices etc. However It may not have escaped your notice that many of us (maybe the majority) accept ,not always happily the pricing structure, and that their are other options if necessary. Many of us feel that the fares are comparable on a global scale and much has been posted here regarding these. I think that by now everyone knows your views so it seems rather pointless to keep on and on and on.

You think that BKA are overcharging then prove them wrong! Simply do the same as BKA! Buy some land, build an airport, buy a few aircraft, employ a few hundred people, obtain all Government approvals and Presto! you can charge what you like! (I think Mr. T. has some land on the South side of the island going cheap).

This is your opportunity you may find many investors agreeing with your views. Then again......

I am not a Travel Agent, but my friend in the U.S. tells me that 90% of travelers to Thailand are on a package and the fares are no where near the published price on the airlines site.

Also not many less than 15% of the package tourists change their itinerary once they begin there travel.

So I don't see how the Bangkok Airways prices effect tourists arrivals due to ticket prices to Samui they have no idea what the price is and in most cases don't care, it is all inclusive.

In my many, many trips to the Bangkok Airways ticket office, the whiners seem to be local resident who have not applied for a residents card or don't qualify so pay full fare, those who want to take their new girlfriend on a trip to Bangkok and visitors with no plan or direction/itinerary just spur of the moment decision to go some where else NOW.

As in most countries NOW is very expensive, planning save you money.

I have not seen or heard complaints from any of the 90% who have planned in advance and have had the forethought to purchase a package in their home country.