Economy
More trouble for ailing Thai Airways as Airbus calls in its debts

Even as struggling national flag carrier Thai Airways strives to come up with blueprint for financial recovery, Airbus is calling in its debts on 30 aircraft rented by the airline. Thailand’s deputy transport minister says the company’s debts were checked on May 15, when documents showed that Airbus is trying to collect debts for rental of 30 airplanes as the due date draws near.
He says that PM Prayut Chan-o-cha ordered the airline’s rehabilitation via the bankruptcy law rather than pursuing the State Enterprise Policy Office’s plan of a 54.7 billion baht loan guaranteed by the government.
Had the government supported its rehabilitation, it would have violated the new State Fiscal and Financial Disciplines Act.
The government has supported the beleaguered carrier for 5 years, but failed to solve the its financial issues, so the bankruptcy procedure is now the best option, according to the deputy minister, who says after the Finance Ministry sells its majority stake, the company will no longer be a state enterprise and will be easier to handle.
The recovery plan must also be filed with the US bankruptcy court to prevent American creditors from seizing all the planes or collecting the airline’s assets.
The 53 Airbus aircraft on loaned to Thai Airways comprise six Airbus A380-800s, 12 A350-900s, 15 A330-300s and 20 A320-200s.
SOURCE: Nation Thailand
Keep in contact with The Thaiger by following our Facebook page.
Never miss out on future posts by following The Thaiger.
Thailand
Thai senior and disabled citizens will receive 2,000 baht handouts

While the government’s economic stimulus packages continue to roll out, there is also a concern for the disabled and senior citizens who are excluded from the criteria to get benefits from the government’s major aids at this stage. The Ministry of Social Development and Human Security plans to distribute 2,000 baht handouts to that demographic of the Thai population.
According to the MSDHS Permanent Secretary, the ministry has allocated the budget to help those underprivileged groups who are excluded from the main national relief measures. However, at the initial stage, the handouts will be distributed on a case-by-case basis with the help of reports from the community development volunteers about the actual situation of each affected household.
SOURCE: NNT
Keep in contact with The Thaiger by following our Facebook page.
Never miss out on future posts by following The Thaiger.
Thailand
210 billion baht stimulus confirmed for “Rao Chana”

A budget of 210 billion baht of stimulus handouts to help financially-affected people from the Covid-19 outbreak, has been confirmed and ready to be distributed to 31 million people. Each applicant in the project will get 7,000 over 2 months, but not in cash. They will only get money transferred via the “Pao Tang” app once subscribing to the website “เราชนะ.com”, an app ‘e-wallet’.
Registration is scheduled for January 29 to February 12. Applicants will be screened for their annual income and how much they have in their bank accounts. Those with an annual income exceeding 300,000 baht and with savings of more than 500,000 baht as of December 31 last year will not qualify, according to Deputy PM Supattanapong Punmeechaow. People under the social security scheme, government officials, and state enterprise employees are not eligible for this campaign. Neither are foreigners.
The subsidy covers people’s food, drink, and essential items. They can also pay for public transport service providers who register in the project including motorcycle taxis, taxis, and passenger vans. The amount of money can be topped up each week if not spent, and there is no limit of how much to spend per day.
However, comments and responses are raised among the netizens who say “they prefer cash”. Finance Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith says, “Financial relief is not being given in a form of cash. The money will be disbursed in phases to stimulate steady spending on essential goods. We want to inject cash into small businesses like the co-payment scheme.”
Also, questions have been raised for some people who can’t afford smartphones to get access to the app. Replying to this concern, he said… “The government will see what it can do to help them buy cheap phones”.
According to the Finance Minister, the government has approved several campaigns to help relieve people’s cost of living, including the “Let’s Go Halves” co-payment scheme that starts today as well as discounts on household electricity and water.
SOURCE: Bangkok Post
Keep in contact with The Thaiger by following our Facebook page.
Never miss out on future posts by following The Thaiger.
Economy
Shoppers disgruntled as registration for co-payment scheme fills up in 10 minutes

Social media users are up in arms after registration for the government’s Kon La Khreung (“Let’s Go Halves”) co-payment scheme filled up within 10 minutes. The scheme, first introduced as an economic stimulus measure in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis, gives shoppers 50% off the purchase of everyday items, up to 150 baht a day and capped at 3,500 baht for the duration of the scheme.
The third phase of registration had a quota of 1.34 million users, but interested parties had to be quick. Having lost their chance to register, many disgruntled people took to social media to complain, with the hashtag #คนละครึ่งเฟส3 (#Let’s Go Halves3) trending on Twitter.
Several netizens say they filled out the online registration form at exactly 6.01am but were then forced to wait for the one-time password to be delivered to their phones before they could complete the process. In many instances, by the time they received the OTP code, registration was full. Some say they had to wait over 5 minutes to receive the password, which caused them to miss the small window for registration.
According to a Nation Thailand report, one person has described the scheme as nothing more than a government PR stunt, pointing out that, despite being funded by taxpayers’ money, only some people can avail of it.
SOURCE: Nation Thailand
Keep in contact with The Thaiger by following our Facebook page.
Never miss out on future posts by following The Thaiger.
- Crime4 days ago
Australian man wanted for allegedly sexually abusing children in Thailand
- Bangkok4 days ago
Police raid Bangkok restaurant, more than 80 people face charges for violating Emergency Decree
- Phuket2 days ago
UPDATE: Confusion over Covid-19 tests for visa extensions
- Coronavirus (Covid-19)3 days ago
Record number of tourism firms quitting Covid-ravaged sector for good
- Coronavirus (Covid-19)3 days ago
Thailand’s tourism in the Covid 2021 era
- Coronavirus (Covid-19)2 days ago
Covid-19 test NOT required for visa extensions (at least not today)
- Coronavirus (Covid-19)4 days ago
Disease control measures ease up in Samut Sakhon
- Protests2 days ago
Security guard slaps student for displaying protest sign at Bangkok mall – VIDEO
malcolm hughes
Wednesday, May 20, 2020 at 5:42 pm
This is what happens when you have a board of director who have little or no knowledge of aviation and running an airline. This has been sited many times over the last 5 yrs. How has this government let it get this far? I’m not going to peculate but the writing is on the wall!!
Michael Farrington
Thursday, May 21, 2020 at 3:18 am
Airbus is not a USA organization. Something fishy in this story
Stephen Breslin
Thursday, May 21, 2020 at 8:51 pm
Your last messenger hit it on the nail the Board of directors of Thai airways should all be sacked.the dont even reply to people trying to help.they are a bunch who havent got a clue how to run a good airline like Thai Airways.