Business
Phuket Business: Fill “er up with gasohol please

PHUKET: Due to the discontinuation of the supply of pure Benzine (91-octane) petrol nationwide, the consumption of gasohol in Phuket this year is expected to increase by at least 50%.
Rattakorn Klinchan, head of research at the Phuket Energy Office, affirmed that supplies of pure Benzine 91 were discontinued nationwide on January 1, with most Phuket stocks already drying out this month.
While Benzine 91-octane – known commonly as ‘Regular Unleaded Gasoline’ – has been phased out, Mr Rattakorn confirmed that Benzine 95-octane will still be in circulation.
“There are at least two pumps in Phuket where you can get pure Benzine 95-octane. One of them is the Susco pump in Thalang. The other, I’ve been told, is in Chalong, but I’m not sure exactly which pump.”
The Gazette has confirmed that the Chalong station selling pure Benzine 95 is the PTT on Chao Fa West Road, differentiated there by use of a yellow label.
Mr Rattakorn went on to share fuel consumption data with the PhuketGazette, noting that Gasohol (both 91 and 95-octane) consumption was about twice as high as that of pure Benzine 91-octane in 2012.
“Last year, the average daily consumption rate of Gasohol in Phuket was about 234,000 liters, while that of pure Benzine was about 124,000 liters per day.”
Since Benzine 91-octane will be unavailable and 95-octane is available in limited quantities, Gasohol consumption in the province will likely increase by at least 50%.
“Our statistics show that a total of 45.1mn liters of Benzine 91 were sold [legally] on the island in 2012, or an average of about 3.75mn liters per month,” he said.
“Meanwhile, petrol pumps in Phuket reported [to the Revenue Department] selling about 34.59mn liters of Gasohol 91-octane, an average of about 2.8mn liters per month. As for Gasohol 95-octane, 50.6mn liters were sold, or about 4.2mn liters per day.”
Mr Rattanakorn said that from now until April 25, the Phuket Technical College will be providing free conversion tune-ups for older cars that were not designed to handle Gasohol – a blend of unleaded gasoline (pure benzine) and the organic byproduct-turned-additive ethanol.
“In conjunction with the energy department, students will do the conversions on older cars free of charge, but car owners will have to pay for any additional parts.”
Specific inquiries about gasohol tune-ups can be made by calling 076 210 179.
— Steven Layne
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Business
The social media giants in battle with ‘old’ media and world governments | VIDEO

“The rules signal greater willingness by countries around the world to rein in big tech firms such as Google, Facebook and Twitter that the governments fear have become too powerful with little accountability.”
India has issued strict new rules for Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms just weeks after the Indian government attempted to pressure Twitter to take down social media accounts it deemed, well, anti social.
The rules require any social media company to create three roles within India… a “compliance officer” who ensures they follow local laws; a “grievance officer” who addresses complaints from Indian social media users; and a “contact person” who can actually be contacted by lawyers and other aggrieved Indian parties… 24/7.
The companies are also being made to publish a compliance report each month with details about how many complaints they’ve received and the action they took.
They’ll also be required to remove ‘some’ types of content including “full or partial nudity,” any “sexual act” or “impersonations including morphed images”
The democratisation of the news model, with social media as its catalyst, will continue to baffle traditional media and governments who used to enjoy a level of control over what stories get told.
The battles of Google and Facebook, with the governments of India and Australia will be followed in plenty of other countries as well.
At the root of all discussions will be the difference between what governments THINK social media is all about and the reality about how quickly the media landscape has changed. You’ll get to read about it first, on a social media platform… probably on the screen you’re watching this news story right now.
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Business
Turbulence ahead for Thailand’s aviation industry | VIDEO

When the airlines, in particular, were asking the government to put their hands in their pockets for some relief funding in August last year, it was genuinely thought that international tourists would be coming back for the high season in December and January. At the very least local tourists and expats would head back to the skies over the traditional holiday break. And surely the Chinese would be back for Chinese New Year?
As we know now, none of that happened. A resurge in cases started just south of Bangkok on December 20 last year, just before Christmas, kicking off another round of restrictions, pretty much killing off any possibility of a high season ‘bump’ for the tourist industry. Airlines slashed flights from their schedule, and hotels, which had dusted off their reception desks for the surge of tourists, shut their doors again.
Domestically, the hotel business saw 6 million room nights in the government’s latest stimulus campaign fully redeemed. But the air ticket quota of 2 million seats still has over 1.3 million seats unused. Local tourists mostly skipped flights and opted for destinations within driving distance of their homes.
As for international tourism… well that still seems months or years away, even now.
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Business
Domestic air passenger numbers double those of January

Passenger numbers on domestic flights within Thailand have doubled within a month, rising from 4,000 in January to over 10,000 this month. Having nearly recovered to pre-pandemic levels, domestic travel plummeted once more when Covid-19 resurfaced late last year.
Apirat Chaiwongnoi from the Department of Airports says 15 of Thailand’s 29 airports are now operating domestic flights, with more expected to follow. He believes the aviation sector will continue to recover further in the coming 6 months, bolstered by the national vaccine rollout.
Around 120 domestic flights a day are now operating, which is twice the number that were operating at the lowest point in the crisis. Prior to the resurgence of the virus in December, domestic passenger numbers had recovered to 30,000 – 40,000 a day, around 80% of pre-pandemic numbers.
The DoA says airports must continue to adhere to the Covid-19 hygiene measures put in place by the Health Ministry and the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand.
SOURCE: Bangkok Post
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