Airports of Thailand (AOT) to push for departure tax rise

[webfact]

AOT to push for departure tax rise



BANGKOK: -- The Airports of Thailand (AOT) today insisted on the increase of departure tax on domestic and international flight passengers to cut loss.

AOT board chairman Sitha Tiwari said the increase of departure tax (also known as airport tax) or passenger service charge (PSC) was justified because it did not raise the tax for the past six years.

He said that AOT would seek to increase departure tax on domestic flight passenger from 100 baht to 200 baht, and international flight passenger from 700 baht to 800 baht.

He said that the increase would help to cut loss which now it is losing 236 baht on domestic flight but compensated with the international flight.

The increase would be explained to the Civil Aviation Board for decision in January next year, he said.

He also said that part of the revenues raised from the departure tax would be used to invest in the second phase expansion project of Suvarnabhumi airport to resolve the overcrowding problem which is now overused.

He said that if the increase was rejected by the board, expansion project at Suvarnabhumi airport might be affected, as well as the AOT financial position over the next two years and prompted it to seek loans to finance the expansion.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/aot-push-departure-tax-rise/

-- Thai PBS 2013-11-22

[laurentbkk]

Could be interested to know why such loss ? too much decoration in the airport or too much money falling in some greedy pockets .... and one more time passengers must pay for bad management...

[sjjmmi]

pay when you come and leave just greed and more greed

[Songhua]

Those new themed toilets must have gone over budget.

[Chrisswe]

That is 3.200 bht for a familys of 4 person's. !!??

[meand]

I notice flights are not that expensive at all, it is all the taxes and fees that are the expense. I love all the justifications.

[Ricardo]

They were turned-down recently, weren't they ?

But there is the expansion of both Phuket and Swampy, allegedly underway, right now. And current reserves aren't enough, to pay for it all, so it's a fair call IMO.

[bigbamboo]

That is 3.200 bht for a familys of 4 person's. !!??

Nothing gets past you does it, Chris?

[darrendsd]

Most of the posters on here that call it greed don't seem to understand that you pay departure tax in every airport in the world

Thailand is one of the cheapest

1 rise in 6 years is not greed at all, it is simple economics

No doubt we will get all the "this country is a rip off i'm leaving" comments Make it quick so you can save yourself a 100 Baht

Edited November 22, 2013 by darrendsd

[Loles]

pretty grabby

[sjjmmi]

Most of the posters on here that call it greed don't seem to understand that you pay departure tax in every airport in the world

Thailand is one of the cheapest

1 rise in 6 years is not greed at all, it is simple economics

No doubt we will get all the "this country is a rip off i'm leaving" comments Make it quick so you can save yourself a 100 Baht

It's normally in the ticket price

[SABloke]

That is 3.200 bht for a familys of 4 person's. !!??

And 4 000 THB for a family of 5! Wow! Who woulda thunk it?? Is today "Do basic maths on ThaiVisa day" - must've missed the memo

[Thait Spot]

But I thought there were millions of flights and trillions of passengers?

TAT says so

[pisico]

Not only the airport tax will go up but also the cost of taking a taxi at arrival. When one hears: "AOT will tighten rules for the taxis at Swampy" we know what that means. The taxi Mafia are chummy with Swampy management.

Their rational is this: "Anyway, Thailand is so special that Farangs will keep on coming, no matter what the price."

In the meantime, Burma is opening up and looking better for living and investment. Cambodia and Philippines have relaxed their immigration rules and one can get in Phils right off the bat 6 months and renew for 6 months and, 80% of the population is fluent in English!

Complacency is usually followed by doom. Thais will manage to strangle their goose and there will be fewer golden eggs to squander.

In the meantime... the shuttle boats that criss-cross Chao Praya and provide a time saving means of transportation, continue losing money because the companies that own the boats are not allowed to raise their 3 Baht fare to 5. The owners of those companies have been waiting for a promised fuel subsidy for the past 3 years and so far, NOTHING!

Business as usual in Thailand.

Edited November 22, 2013 by pisico

[impulse]

Looking at the mish-mash of domestic and international service facilities, I am in amazement that they would (or even could) calculate that they're losing 236 baht on each domestic passenger, but making it up on the international passengers.

Had they simply allocated the expenses a little differently, they could have claimed to be losing money on international passengers, and making it up with the domestic's. That could have created a nationalist fury of local people demanding that the international fees must be increased so the downtrodden locals aren't subsidizing the big bad (and rich) foreigners.

Given that they're already claiming to make money on international passengers, they lose a little bit of the moral high ground when they're planning a bigger increase in those fees than the domestic fees where they seem to be losing money- and will still be losing money after the increase.

Still, Thailand is relatively cheap in terms of airport fees, and a tax increase, while regrettable, is probably going to happen anyway.

Edited November 22, 2013 by impulse

[gosompoi]

But wait they are operating at a profit "FY2013 net profit is projected at B16bn" source http://www.nationmultimedia.com/business/Airport-Thailand-30217454.html

[pisico]

Not only the airport tax will go up but also the cost of taking a taxi at arrival. When one hears: "AOT will tighten rules for the taxis at Swampy" we know what that means. The taxi Mafia are chummy with Swampy management.

Their rational is this: "Anyway, Thailand is so special that Farangs will keep on coming, no matter what the price."

In the meantime, Burma is opening up and looking better for living and investment. Cambodia and Philippines have relaxed their immigration rules and one can get in Phils right off the bat 6 months and renew for 6 months and, 80% of the population is fluent in English!

Complacency is usually followed by doom. Thais will manage to strangle their goose and there will be fewer golden eggs to squander.

In the meantime... the shuttle boats that criss-cross Chao Praya and provide a time saving means of transportation, continue losing money because the companies that own the boats are not allowed to raise their 3 Baht fare to 5. The owners of those companies have been waiting for a promised fuel subsidy for the past 3 years and so far, NOTHING!

Business as usual in Thailand.

Added info to previous post.

Chao Praya ferry and express boats lose 13 M Bahts.

http://www.khaosod.co.th/en/view_newsonline.php?newsid=TVRNNE5EZzFOalU1Tmc9PQ==&catid=04

[trevor4]

That is 3.200 baht for a family of 4 persons. !!??

You're forgetting to add the new 500 baht on arrival they are trying to pass, so, for a family of four, it would be

5,200 baht.

.

Edited November 22, 2013 by trevor4

[Thai at Heart]

But the numbers of tourists has been expanding and expanding. Why is the loss continuing? Where has all the extra revenue going? 100 baht a passenger? Does that really mean that for a plane of 300 people they lose 30,000 baht?

What have they done to increase the landed cost per plane by 30,000 baht? Salary or fixed cost for who or what?

[darrendsd]

Most of the posters on here that call it greed don't seem to understand that you pay departure tax in every airport in the world

Thailand is one of the cheapest

1 rise in 6 years is not greed at all, it is simple economics

No doubt we will get all the "this country is a rip off i'm leaving" comments Make it quick so you can save yourself a 100 Baht

It's normally in the ticket price

So is Thailand's, not sure if you are aware of that? 700 before, 800 after, not to difficult to understand

Edited November 22, 2013 by darrendsd

[PhilipCook]

raise only domestic to 300 and its settled.

[deecee10]

Taxed when you arrive,

scammed whilst you are here,

taxed when you leave.

Thailand the hub of fleecing tourists.

[Thai at Heart]

But wait they are operating at a profit "FY2013 net profit is projected at B16bn" source http://www.nationmultimedia.com/business/Airport-Thailand-30217454.html

Well exactly. Another quasi competitive monopoly gouging people.

[coma]

A rise of US$3 in six years is not much to pay at all. Some people should take a long hard look at themselves if they deem this to be unfair.

[h90]

Those new themed toilets must have gone over budget.

Chalerms son got the contract?

[jacko45k]

That is 3.200 bht for a familys of 4 person's. !!??

Yes, 800x4 is 3200.

Sounds a lot put that way, but 4 persons, 4 lots of searching and security etc etc.

Same same for the flight ticket.

Likely the single traveller doesn't want to subsidise the families.

Perhaps there should be a reduced infant charge.

[Nemesis7]

I have read about Dracula .....haven't seen one until LOS

[jackr]

Most of the posters on here that call it greed don't seem to understand that you pay departure tax in every airport in the world

Thailand is one of the cheapest

1 rise in 6 years is not greed at all, it is simple economics

No doubt we will get all the "this country is a rip off i'm leaving" comments Make it quick so you can save yourself a 100 Baht

Regardless of tax being included in the price of the ticket (they all do that), most airports in the world don't also have their hand out for cash.

[superdome]

Taxed when you arrive..tax when you leave multi scams while you are here...why not tax the air we breath in Thailand,why not tax tourists for walking about....do me a favour...this country is going down the shit hole...just wait..thai baht will collapse VERY soon..trust me

[laocowboy2]

Seems reasonable - especially compared to what is charged elsewhere. As such charges are mostly rolled into ticket prices, passengers are often not aware of what they are paying.