Flyer fee: International passengers must pay extra THB15 fee

[webfact]

Flyer fee: International passengers must pay extra THB15 fee
By Coconuts Bangkok


File photo of Suvarnabhumi International Airport. Photo: Lurson Nateepitak

BANGKOK: -- On top of the THB35 background check fee that went into effect this month, international flyers now face paying another THB15 fee to subsidize the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand.

Director Chula Sukkamanop said the organization needed to collect this new fee from airlines after its funding from the government stopped in October. It will go towards management and training, he said.

"The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand has become a private organization and does not accept funds from the government, so it has to increase revenue to support itself," Chula said on Saturday.

"The THB15 fee is not expensive and will not have a big impact on citizens, compared to the price of an international plane ticket which usually exceeds THB10,000."

Full story: http://bangkok.coconuts.co/2015/12/15/flyer-fee-international-passengers-must-pay-extra-thb15-fee

-- Coconuts Bangkok 2015-12-15

[LostTourist]

Woah!! 15 baht?

I am not sure if that will fit into my budget

[steve187]

loose change container for all to use at security.

[Katipo]

As long as it is being used for the intended purpose I don't think anyone will mind. If it's solely so a few senior officials can become even more unusually wealthy than usual, then people should have a problem.

[KonKorat]

Happy to pay it,i see it as a tip,i'm always tipping so what's an extra 15 baht!

[Familyaffairs]

The AOT has made massive, record profits from increased flights, is paying all its staff 5 months or so bonuses, is it really necessary to add another THB 15 to cover extra security when there aren't really any ???

[shirtless]

Its only the beginning of a long list of increases, thy know how to get every nickel., why not make it 100 bt and we dont see another increase for 12 months.

[h90]

Woah!! 15 baht?

I am not sure if that will fit into my budget

Look how many fees you pay already. This is 15 Baht more, next year another fee, than another fee. I never heard that a fee was ever canceled.

[phitsanulokjohn]

Won't break the bank.

[gp2002]

"The THB15 fee is not expensive and will not have a big impact on citizens, compared to the price of an international plane ticket which usually exceeds THB10,000"

It's a good thing he justified the fee with that statement.

[torpedo1970]

The law of nature in Thailand

think they call it Thainess....

Number of pax is down, so AOT still need to make same or more money not to loose face.....

so lets "dream" up some new charges....

[biplanebluey]

loose change container for all to use at security.

Yea,so you said

[biplanebluey]

"The THB15 fee is not expensive and will not have a big impact on citizens, compared to the price of an international plane ticket which usually exceeds THB10,000."

It's a good thing he justified the fee with that statement.

WOW GP ,had to take my glasses off with that one

Edited December 15, 2015 by metisdead
2. Please do not modify someone else's post in your quoted reply, either with font or color changes or wording.

[Gillyflower]

It's 15 on top of the 35b check fee.

[scorecard]

As long as it is being used for the intended purpose I don't think anyone will mind. If it's solely so a few senior officials can become even more unusually wealthy than usual, then people should have a problem.

Agree, as said - if it/s used for the intended purpose.

Let's hope there are proper records but let's hope the cost of accounting for the collection of the 15Baht fee is not more than the revenue.

[flyDelight]

This must be part of the juntas UNHAPPYNESS FOR FARANG campaign.

[jalansanitwong]

The Thai government has discovered that there is a very neat and tidy way of topping up the ailing treasury. Introduce some stupid fee of 30 or 10 baht and nobody will notice expecially if its built into the airline ticket price. They'll make hundreds of millions of baht doing this everytime.

They will do it again next year. Its easy money. 35 baht for security checks. On who ? Pattaya and Phuket are full of criminals.

They screwed up a while ago trying to introduce a 500 b medical fee for every person entering Thailand but that backfired as its not incorporated into the ticket price.

The Thais also know that farangs will pay anything without complaining. White Buffalo !

Edited December 15, 2015 by jalansanitwong

[LukKrueng]

The AOT has made massive, record profits from increased flights, is paying all its staff 5 months or so bonuses, is it really necessary to add another THB 15 to cover extra security when there aren't really any ???

Seems you did't read the whole OP (such a short one and still...)

in the OP: It will go towards management and training, he said.

The security extra fee is 35 THB, and apparently started already this month......

[IAMHERE]

Last I read was 28 million tourist per year. Is that going to be 15 baht coming in and another 15 going out ?

[Kasset Tak]

They know how to charge the tourists here in Thailand!!!
My sister and her husband just came down here as first time Thailand tourists, they wanted the beach first of all so they went south from BKK. My sister needed some allergy medicine and went to BKK hospital in Hua Hin (without calling me first) and she had to pay 500 Baht + involve the health insurance for seeing the doctor and get 20 pills. I eat the same medicine daily and at the local government hospital (in Sukhothai) I pay 150 Baht for seeing the doctor and getting 30 pills or I can go to a pharmacy and get 30 pills for 75 Baht and that's without using my health insurance!

[bwpage3]

More racketeering on the backs of tourists who Thailand doesn't really want anyways. Training? Really? Management = money in the pockets for Mercedes, golf and other management type things.

[gandalf12]

The sum is trivial no one would argue with that. The point is the Thailand CAA was always required to do their job, that is what they were paid for. Evidently my assumption on this is wrong. They have ben getting paid not to do their job. It is about time the so called workers in the Aviation industry started to work instead of seeing their salary as a bonus for doing nothing.

[ajarnmarc]

The whole idea is to make the fee so small,

that people will be embarrassed if they complain about it.

From the responses I've read,

it appears they jumped right under the radar of Care on this issue.

Though it's sure to not be the last fee/ surcharge they will access.

As long as we the traveler don't think much about it, the charges will continue.

At the end of the day,

Thailand is all about how much can we get out of their tourism,

before the travelers start to care?

While offering little next to nothing in return.

Security- only possible when they are not sleeping,

and even then the question is what are they willing to do?

Service- only if you're dressed to impress will you receive any reasonable service,

and that's only because they figure you'll be a tipper,

which most of the Thai's are not in any way, at any time, no matter how the service is.

So they see us silly travelers as a walking tip jar,

while they try to tell us what to do,

the entire time we are before them.

Had a lady today @ 7-11 yell out "You come here" meaning the cash register I was standing before me, wasn't the one she wanted to use.

I responded back in Thai, that it wasn't polite to call out to a man as You, instead she might try Sir or Mr. or perhaps put up a cash register sign stating the register was closed.

She looked at me, and rang me up on the register I was standing before, without having to do anything special.

Yet there was the tip jar next to the register.

I was waiting for the cashier to cut me short on the .50 satang in my change, but she didn't.

Another nice trick most cashier try to do.

Which according to my friends girlfriend, it can add up to be between 300 & 500 bht in a ten hour shift.

For some reason the management at the place she works lets her have anything that is over what her till is supposed to have,

based on sales through the register.

The point is, Thailand is looking more & more unlike the place I thought of as paradise back in 2000,

and more about how we can control the foreigner while they're here,

so we can get the most out of each one during their stay.

So no 15 bht won't break anyones pocket, it's not designed to.

Just like when I was a GM at a Resort in Hua Hin,

and we were told to charge 150 bht to save the Elephants.

Guests didn't mind paying it, but they didn't understand why it needed to be mandatory,

and why we couldn't just ask for a donation to save the Elephants?

Reasonable question, yes?

The real question still remains...how much of that money/proceeds really got to any of the Elephants?

Did it save any of them?

[nong38]

Is it not more likely that this extra fee will go some way to make up for the declining number of tourists arriving and if they try adding more in the future those tourists will find new destinations. They dont have to come to Thailand, someone needs to make them want to come rather than go somewhere else.

[tigermonkey]

Whoa there !!! I know about the AOT who make a fortune running the international airports although not always to ICAO standards.

I know about the DCA ( Department of Civil Aviation) which is a fully funded part of the Ministry of Transport and is responsible For administration, and oversight of all civil aviation in the Kingdom, complete with 18 inspectors and almost 600 office staff.

So what pray tell is the Civil Aviation Authority? What do they do ? Who do they report to ? Google the name -- they do not exist other than some vague reference in connection with EASA from December 6. No mention of who they are and who is in charge .

!5 Baht from every passenger should build another pretty good park in Hua Hin.

Edited December 15, 2015 by tigermonkey

[Michael8511]

You have these extra fees all over the world but they are incorporated with the ticket price so you don't see them, not all countries advertise their new higher fees, they are just added to the ticket price.

[BSJ]

Considering half of what I pay to fly somewhere is tax and charges their got a bl00dy cheek asking for even 1 satang more!

[tigermonkey]

The sum is trivial no one would argue with that. The point is the Thailand CAA was always required to do their job, that is what they were paid for. Evidently my assumption on this is wrong. They have ben getting paid not to do their job. It is about time the so called workers in the Aviation industry started to work instead of seeing their salary as a bonus for doing nothing.

When you say "Thailand CAA", I'm sure you mean Thailand DCA ( Department of Civil Aviation) whoa re well funde ( 18 inspectors and almost 600 office staff). Aa far as I know, there is no Thailand CAA -- so where is the money going ?

[vaughnyb]

The whole idea is to make the fee so small,

that people will be embarrassed if they complain about it.

From the responses I've read,

it appears they jumped right under the radar of Care on this issue.

Though it's sure to not be the last fee/ surcharge they will access.

As long as we the traveler don't think much about it, the charges will continue.

At the end of the day,

Thailand is all about how much can we get out of their tourism,

before the travelers start to care?

While offering little next to nothing in return.

Security- only possible when they are not sleeping,

and even then the question is what are they willing to do?

Service- only if you're dressed to impress will you receive any reasonable service,

and that's only because they figure you'll be a tipper,

which most of the Thai's are not in any way, at any time, no matter how the service is.

So they see us silly travelers as a walking tip jar,

while they try to tell us what to do,

the entire time we are before them.

Had a lady today @ 7-11 yell out "You come here" meaning the cash register I was standing before me, wasn't the one she wanted to use.

I responded back in Thai, that it wasn't polite to call out to a man as You, instead she might try Sir or Mr. or perhaps put up a cash register sign stating the register was closed.

She looked at me, and rang me up on the register I was standing before, without having to do anything special.

Yet there was the tip jar next to the register.

I was waiting for the cashier to cut me short on the .50 satang in my change, but she didn't.

Another nice trick most cashier try to do.

Which according to my friends girlfriend, it can add up to be between 300 & 500 bht in a ten hour shift.

For some reason the management at the place she works lets her have anything that is over what her till is supposed to have,

based on sales through the register.

The point is, Thailand is looking more & more unlike the place I thought of as paradise back in 2000,

and more about how we can control the foreigner while they're here,

so we can get the most out of each one during their stay.

So no 15 bht won't break anyones pocket, it's not designed to.

Just like when I was a GM at a Resort in Hua Hin,

and we were told to charge 150 bht to save the Elephants.

Guests didn't mind paying it, but they didn't understand why it needed to be mandatory,

and why we couldn't just ask for a donation to save the Elephants?

Reasonable question, yes?

The real question still remains...how much of that money/proceeds really got to any of the Elephants?

Did it save any of them?

Bravo. I have lived here for five years and I have seen the change and agree to this statement 150% On the money!! Haha

Im looking at Vietnam

[guru]

The sum is trivial no one would argue with that. The point is the Thailand CAA was always required to do their job, that is what they were paid for. Evidently my assumption on this is wrong. They have ben getting paid not to do their job. It is about time the so called workers in the Aviation industry started to work instead of seeing their salary as a bonus for doing nothing.

When you say "Thailand CAA", I'm sure you mean Thailand DCA ( Department of Civil Aviation) whoa re well funde ( 18 inspectors and almost 600 office staff). Aa far as I know, there is no Thailand CAA -- so where is the money going ?

There was a news article on thaivisa the other day which included something about dca being revamped into the caa