Govt refuses to discuss Bt21m bill for charter flight to security meet in Hawaii

[mtls2005]

5 minutes ago, ExpatOilWorker said:

 

Cost of jet fuel is $1.32 per gal, so they are buying 867,000 l of fuel. 

A 100 seat plane burns about 3,000 l/hour, so they should be able to circumvent the Earth at equator about 5.5 time.

 

Maybe the fuel supplier is someone's nephew?

[waldroj]

3 hours ago, PatOngo said:

Could they not have flown for free on the national carrier?

No, no Thai carrier flies to the US anymore!

[mtls2005]

The RTAF did buy one A340-500 from Thai Airways a few months ago. It's got the new livery as of a few weeks ago.

 

The article does mention that a TG aircraft was chartered for this boondogle trip.

 

Not sure if that's the aircraft which was used?

[debate101]

Cool. Now our tax money is not only going to suppressing free speech at gunpoint but paying unnecessary travel expenses for these paragons of humanity as well.

[ExpatOilWorker]

24 minutes ago, mtls2005 said:

 

Maybe the fuel supplier is someone's nephew?

 

Silly me, how could I have missed that. 10,000,000 baht for the outbound fuel and 776,000 baht for the home-bound fuel purchased in Hawaii. It all adds up now.

[robblok]

32 minutes ago, ExpatOilWorker said:

 

Cost of jet fuel is $1.32 per gal, so they are buying 867,000 l of fuel. 

A 100 seat plane burns about 3,000 l/hour, so they should be able to circumvent the Earth at equator about 5.5 time.

If what you say is right.. then someone should really investigate this. Seems there is a lot of scamming going around. Someone is getting rich from graft. 

[jabis]

16 minutes ago, robblok said:

If what you say is right.. then someone should really investigate this. Seems there is a lot of scamming going around. Someone is getting rich from graft. 

 You can't be serious now can you? 

[jabis]

53 minutes ago, ExpatOilWorker said:

 

Cost of jet fuel is $1.32 per gal, so they are buying 867,000 l of fuel. 

A 100 seat plane burns about 3,000 l/hour, so they should be able to circumvent the Earth at equator about 5.5 time.

Yaaah - tried wrapping my brain around that myself - only it made my head hurt so I let it be :D

Chartering a flight at ~100000$ sounds quite on par with all costs included - wonder how many got into mile high club on the entourage 

[mike324]

If you use the site http://www.usskylink.com/ to get an estimate, it is actually within the higher range of the charter costs.

 

So yes, they could have just got on a flight with all the other folks and it would save the country millions, it was unnecessary to charter the entire plane. Heck they could have all flown business and it would have still been cheaper.

 

But this has been going for decades, many of the governments "education trip" are just paid vacation for civil servants. My ex office lady, her sister use to work for the Social Department, her sister was pretty high up the rank, they go on trips yearly for bs "education" purposes.

[BlindMagician]

3 hours ago, NongKhaiKid said:

Suit empty.

Wallet not so much.

Suit looks pretty full, or fool, to me. He's quite round, with that permanent compressed and slightly pushed forward head position of a paradoxically subservient yet egotistical Thai civil servant type.

[mercman24]

will be able to go by submarine soon, what an entrence that would be, 

[Eric Loh]

I think Prawit just want to show off that Thailand is a economic powerhouse to all the other ASEAN defense minister who flew in by commercial airlines. Junta leaders are different from elected leaders.   

[UniqueWord]

3 hours ago, NongKhaiKid said:

Not confident about using THAI or something to hide, maybe the composition of ' his team ' so start with ?

According to the article in the Nation, they did use THAI, they were the only eligible bidder for the charter, under the Gov't rules.  Of course, composition of 'the team' wouldn't come under maybe quite as much scrutiny in a private charter as on a scheduled flight.  There again a scheduled flight might possibly not have 38, yes 38, first class seats available for 'the team' members....  BTW,  Bt 600K for food & drink on the charter, that comes out at Bt 7,894 per seat in each direction:  That's one he!! of a lot of Mama noodles & green tea!

Cheers, UW

[natway09]

TG  do not fly to  Hawaii but there are 3 or 4 perfectly good A340,s available for Thai Airways to lease or charter

[AlQaholic]

"and Bt3.1 million was spent on management costs."

I could have managed that......
 

[dbrenn]

This was Prayuth's plan all along and like so many of his corrupt predecessors:

 

1) seize power on an anti-corruption lie 

 

2) silence all opposition through intimidation 

 

3) surround himself with cronies and family members 

 

4) pillage the country for all they can get 

[webfact]

Ministry defenses Prawit’s Hawaii trip for regional security meeting appropriate

 

 

BANGKOK: -- The spokesman of the Ministry of Defense says the almost 21 million baht expenditures for the trip to Hawaii for an informal meeting on regional security by the defense minister and his team during September 29-October 2 was appropriate.

 

Comment from the spokesman Maj Gen Kongcheep Tantravanich came as the disclosure of the expenditures went viral on the social world, criticising the high travel cost and expenses for the trip of Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Gen Prawit Wongsuwan.

 

The US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter invited defence ministers from ASEAN countries for “informal” meeting in Hawaii to discuss regional security matters.

 

As the disclosure of the breakdown expenditures emerged, government spokesman Maj Gen Sansern Kaewkamnerd declined comment.

 

“Please ask the Defence Ministry’s spokesperson [about the trip],” Sansern told reporters yesterday after a document released on Friday detailed a breakdown of costs of the trip.

 

Maj Gen Sansern said he was not in a position to speak on behalf of the deputy premier, who is also defence minister.

The document released last Friday showed the deputy prime minister and his team travelled on a THAI’s chartered  flight.

 

According to the document, of the 20.9 million baht budget, 3.8 million baht was for the cost of the chartered flight, 10.7 million baht for fuel, 600,000 baht for food and beverage, 2.6 million baht for ground operations and 3.1 million baht for management cost.

 

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/ministry-defenses-prawits-hawaii-trip-regional-security-meeting-appropriate/

 

-- © Copyright Thai PBS 2016-10-03

[Eric Loh]

These highly busy junta ministers can't even spare 1 hour transist time in Narita like other ASEAN ministers. No direct flight must be one of the most pathetic excuse I have heard among many other pathetic excuses. 

[HoboKay]

Quote

Ministry defenses Prawit’s Hawaii trip for regional security meeting appropriate

 

I guess that's case closed and matter disavowed from further discussions or audit? 

 

Tropico much eh?

[Prbkk]

JAL ( via Tokyo), PAL ( via Manila), CI ( via Taipei), business class is 90-100,000B pp: so under 4 million all up for 38. Under 1/5th.

[metisdead]

Off topic trolling posts have been removed as well as the replies. 

[jabis]

1 hour ago, mike324 said:

If you use the site http://www.usskylink.com/ to get an estimate, it is actually within the higher range of the charter costs.

 

So yes, they could have just got on a flight with all the other folks and it would save the country millions, it was unnecessary to charter the entire plane. Heck they could have all flown business and it would have still been cheaper.

 

But this has been going for decades, many of the governments "education trip" are just paid vacation for civil servants. My ex office lady, her sister use to work for the Social Department, her sister was pretty high up the rank, they go on trips yearly for bs "education" purposes.

Yeah if you want to link one of the high costing private charter planes to the mix - hell you can even _buy_ a reasonably fresh plane with capacity to house the 38 people, with the costs incurred here :D 

 

EDIT: just to note - we aren't in Kansas dorothy

[tominbkk]

4 hours ago, NongKhaiKid said:

Wouldn't it be nice to see footage of one of the boys having a ' Chalerm Moment ' as in the time in Hong Kong when he was pulled back from being hit by a car due to an excess of ear medicine ?

Of course whoever posted it would find themselves No. 1 on Thailand's Most Wanted List.

Ah I kind of miss the old guy.  Him and his ear medicine, lol.

[JAG]

4 hours ago, Ricardo said:

 

It only has a range of 2k miles, the Sukhoi jet  ...

Haven't they got an Airbus as well?

 

Or maybe it was being used for an urgent humanitarian mission....

[Baerboxer]

5 hours ago, NongKhaiKid said:

Not confident about using THAI or something to hide, maybe the composition of ' his team ' so start with ?

 

I understood, maybe wrongly, from the article, that they chartered the plane and crew from Thai. And kept it on the ground ready to bring them back.

 

The costs look "interesting" especially the food & drink (how many went and did they eat all meals on the plane while they were there?) and the catchall "management costs.

 

Same same  but different. Deja vu.

[elgordo38]

6 hours ago, PatOngo said:

Could they not have flown for free on the national carrier?

Chubby cheeks may have found the seats to narrow. Then there is the security problem. Heaven forbid that someone should opt this important (well in his mind anyways) government figure. Maybe some of the freedoms of Hawaii will rub off on him and he will come home a changed man. It that happens Prayuth would have to article 44 him for a cleansing. Why does he have to go to a security meeting we are all safe here in the arms (guns) of Mr. Prayuth our fearless leader. 

[Eric Loh]

Pretty damning comments on social media by the general public citing the use of Boeing 747-400 with a capacity for 416 passengers for flying just 38 in the entourage. Even the neutrals compare Yingluck visit to 3 European countries with Prawit and 81 passengers only cost 21.8 M Baht. Tide is slowly turning against these bunch of "good" people. 

[elgordo38]

Refusing to discuss is called "Stonewalling" Stonewall Prayuth rules. No relation to Stonewall Jackson. 

[Baerboxer]

2 hours ago, Eric Loh said:

I think Prawit just want to show off that Thailand is a economic powerhouse to all the other ASEAN defense minister who flew in by commercial airlines. Junta leaders are different from elected leaders.   

 

Not in this they ain't, much anyway.

 

Ms Yingluck was trying to buy several planes "for exclusive government use" whilst in post. The Junta need to get more ambitious than just chartering.

[ddavidovsky]

Into the grooves they fall. It's not even luridly fascinating anymore, only tediously banal.