31 Flights To And From U-tapao Available Sunday: Thai Airways

[atomluck]

Hello All,

Tried to arrange for my mother to leave with Thai airways today. After waiting from 10:00 am at the Silom office until 14:30 pm, we were told her flight is confirmed for Tuesday(original flight) and therefore they were unable to offer any other travel arrangements. We are to watch the news/ThaiAir website for further details regarding flight operations for Tuesday.

After expressing the "pessimistic" view that the airport would not resume operations on Tuesday. I was once again informed that I must watch news/ThaiAir website for further details.

I tried to follow this up with the supervisor; however, another gentleman stepped in front of me asking about a flight to Dubai. The supervisor said they may be able to arrange a flight for him to India then he would be "on his own" from there. At this point she answered her cell phone and walked away.

I do believe Thai is making best efforts; however, foresight is not presently on the agenda.

[tlsdk]

Foreign tourists in Thailand and Thai tourists stranded overseas will receive compensation of Bt2,000 per head per night for accommodation, food and travel. According to Olarn, if the number reaches 500,000, the government will need to spend Bt1 billion on such allowances.

Has anyone received any reports of any stranded tourists actually receiving this compensation payment? Or even reports of how to claim it?

You can't get compensation in cash.

You can however check into a TAT (Tourist authority of Thailand) approved and licensed hotel and rack up a bill up to 2000 Baht/day for accommodation and 3 meals a day. Anything over that budget has to be footed bu the tourist. The Hotel does not charge you, but will send the bill to TAT.

Whatever part of the 2,000 Baht which remains unused cannot be converted/redeemed in cash.

what about the ST or LT for the girls in pattaya do they pay also

[silentnine]

What I don't quite understand is, why they are not providing a specific "pro forma" schedule, which flights are departing from U-Tapao (doesn't matter which airline) to get a complete overview. For example a simple spreadsheet on the U-Tapao-Homepage or on the TAT-Homepage summarizing each incoming and outgoing flight an every Thai Airports theey are trying to open now for international traffic.

Moreover, I think, that each airline is just concentrating on their own passengers instead of filling the available seats completely with stranded passengers (again: doesn't matter which airline).

I was booked on Emirates this evening to depart BKK heading towards Dubai and then to Frankfurt.

Emirates still only provides flights from KL, Singapur & Hong Kong. After getting in touch with them (German office and Bangkok office), they told me, they are NOT supposed to takeover the costs for the transfer there.

You really don't know whom to get in touch with additionally (Airline? Embassy? TAT? ...?)

Anyway, hope everyone of you is ok out there. Take care and get a safe flight home!

Khun R.

Check out there website

http://www.emirates.com/english/sitetools/...al_updates.aspx

<h3 class="sIFR-replaced">Bangkok</h3>Emirates flights to Bangkok continue to be affected due to the closure of Suvarnabhumi Airport.

30th November / 1st December / 2nd December:

Emirates flights EK384/385 Dubai-Bangkok-Hong Kong-Bangkok-Dubai are cancelled.

Emirates flights EK372/373 Dubai-Bangkok-Dubai are cancelled.

Emirates flight EK418 Dubai-Bangkok-Sydney is operating non-stop to Sydney.

Emirates flight EK419 Sydney-Bangkok-Dubai is operating non-stop to Dubai.

Passengers can choose to travel into or out of another airport that Emirates operates in the vicinity of Bangkok, such as Kuala Lumpur, Singapore or Hong Kong. Re-booking or re-issue charges will be waived, and the fare paid to/from Bangkok will be honoured for travel to/from the alternative airports. This re-routing is subject to seat availability and will be permitted until Emirates’ normal operations resume at Suvarnabhumi Airport.

Passengers to/from Bangkok who do not wish to re-route will be re-booked on the first available flight when the airport re-opens.

Emirates Airport Services is ensuring that passengers are well cared for.

The safety of our passengers and crew is of utmost importance.

[SeaVisionBurma]

what about the ST or LT for the girls in pattaya do they pay also

It seems that someone has actually bothered to read and understand the Forum Rules. Good to see. Completely on topic as well...

8. Relate every thread to prostitution.

[Martin]

""Tourist arrivals this year will fall from the 15.4-million target to 13.5 million. Next year it could be only 6-7 million. This would have a serious impact on tourism and related industries such as restaurants and spas, and over one million workers could lose their jobs," he said. Olarn said it would take a month to clear all stranded tourists, who now exceeded 100,000."

One million workers out of a total population (kids, workers. and oldies) of 63 million is a lot.

PAD have probably wrecked the Democrats prospects for the next election by this.

Don't expect the baht to fall, though.

Thailand's fundamentals are sounder than those of the USA or the UK.

Thailand can feed its populace and house them adequately without any imports whatsoever of food or fuel.

Very soon the export price of rice will go up big way, as decreasing availability of chemical fertiliser (for which the feedstock is natural gas) start to hit the output of the big agri-busness farms worldwide.

Thai farmers can grow rice with little or no fertiliser, so Thailand can feed itself and export a lot. Even when the price of rice was low, the exports of rice contributed more to GDP than tourism.

Expect the pound and dollar to fall more than the baht relative to whatever basket makes up the new reserve currency. (Read "The Long Emergency" by James Howard Kunstler for predictions of circumstances that will crash the dollar and, similarly, the pound and euro.)

[jamesjdaly]

Where are these 10 airports that might be used for international flights?

I still haven't been able to call Qatar Airways. The missus and I are due to fly to the UK tomorrow. I haven't heard anything about Qatar flying from U-Tapao or any other Thai airport though.

Check it out, they fly today U Tapao

http://www.qatarairways.com/global/en/bangkok-alert.html

Well it is Sunday now and Qatar Airways have helpfully shut their offices as per normal (UK) ...well done Qatar!

For a so-called 5 star airline, Qatar Air is the worst I have ever had the displeasure to deal with. OK, I understand the situation and frustration of the passengers (I was due to fly out last Wednesday with them). Just try and phone their offices in Exchange Tower. I know the lines are jammed. This is perfectly normal and understandable. But since Wednesday (26th), I have tried to call them more than 30 times, and have been cut off by an answering machine 30 times. You go thru all the fukcing rigmarole, press this number, press that number etc only to be finally cut off at the end.

My wife had to go down to the office today to see what they were doing. We live way out in the burbs.

I phoned their HQ in Doha and they gave me their e-mail complaints address. Of course, nothing happened.

So, dear readers, I urge you NOT to have anything to do with these bunch of clowns. You'll end up opening your wrists with frustration!!

[alex_aka_P]

Any news regarding Korean Air flights? I cant find ANY info, and it is impossible to reach them by phone.

Scheduled departure was KE654 BKK-Inchon (Seoul) at 01:30 (afair)....failed, of course. Daytime all of their phone lines were totally busy, morning\evening - noone has picking the phone, and the ONLY "office" - is the desk inside the airport (where of course nobody exist till now). The main KE office in Seoul keeps me on hold by robotic voice on Korean (I guess I must make a selection - but I do not understand Korean).......

Any clue??

[fudoshinanzan]

Where are these 10 airports that might be used for international flights?

I still haven't been able to call Qatar Airways. The missus and I are due to fly to the UK tomorrow. I haven't heard anything about Qatar flying from U-Tapao or any other Thai airport though.

Check it out, they fly today U Tapao

(url was here)

Well it is Sunday now and Qatar Airways have helpfully shut their offices as per normal (UK) ...well done Qatar!

We got through here in Bangkok earlier today (finally!). Didn't work using the number on their website, but my wife called the Thai Tourism number and got it from them.

We're in for the 6th from U-Tapao or Chiang Mai, but the girl said they're hoping to get hold of 2 more planes and that we may be able to go sooner.

At least we kinda know what's going on now.

[splodger]

Yes, "ASKING PERMISSION", ITS LIKE ASKING Al Quada not to fly planes into buildings.... who is actually running this country now? Have i missed something? god help this place....

please don't forget we are guests in LOS,just like the jap's were GUESTS in ww2(never been conquered in 1000 years)not LOS more like LOBJ (land of big joke.)

[splodger]

50:1 BHT to USD is the only proper outcome from this nonsense.

self interest i guess,if you yankees weren't so tight you would have changed money when the rate was good.i changed £40,000 at 71 bht =28400000,to-day i would get 21200000,guess i'll order another martini and book a flight to tahiti(pad permitting!

[ironhut]

" Even when the price of rice was low, the exports of rice contributed more to GDP than tourism."

WHAT?

So 70,000 tourists coming in per day. Each stays nearly 20 days on average equating to roughly 1.4 million tourists in Thailand every single day staying in hotels, eating in restaurants, etc....while spending a gross amount of money (not to mention the cost to get here and fly/move within the country also contributing to the Thai economy).

Let's just say that each tourists spends a mere $100 per day (which is a conservative estimate considering lodging, food, travel, goods, services, etc.), then we're then talking about 140 million dollars spent daily by tourists into the Thai economy.

So do you want to rephrase the statement above? How about rethinking the effect that the PAD demo is having on the Thai economy?

This latest round of issues will have lasting effects on tourism and the Thai economy. We're not talking about some new flavor of the month club. This intimidating behavior by anti and pro government mercenaries is severe and something that's going to keep on giving...

[hkt83100]

U-TAPAO, Thailand (AFP)

as they tried to flee protest-hit Thailand through this Vietnam-era airbase.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/artic...2U0qHzcV2aOV2lA

This is a fine example of trying to put a map in an article. But it is complete bullsh*t, because a "Ban U Tapao School" near Chumphon got nothing to do with U-Tapao near Rayong/Pattaya. (To AFP: Si tacuisses philosophus mansisses)