Travel

Ava, the very cutesy baby tiger from Chiang Mai

If you haven’t heard of Ava the Tiger yet, you’re missing out on the newest internet sensation. This three-year-old Bengal tiger from the Chiang Mai Night Safari is stealing hearts with her playful antics and stunning golden coat, a rare trait caused by a recessive...

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  • Thousands of cruise ship crew stranded at sea

    Thousands of cruise ship crew stranded at sea

    Tens of thousands of cruise ship crew members remain stranded at sea, virtual prisoners on their ships with no clear end in sight as the Covid-19 coronavirus drags on around the globe. The cruise industry has been shuttered and shattered by the crisis, with onboard outbreaks, denial of port access and no clear idea of …

  • Thousands of Thais to return by the end of May

    Thousands of Thais to return by the end of May

    The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration has announced that all Thai nationals, stranded abroad during the peak of the outbreak, will be repatriated. The government is preparing to welcome around 7,000 returnees who will arrive by the end of the month. Taweesilp Visanuyothin, spokesman for the CCSA says that the centre is working closely with …

  • Thai Embassy in Japan advises citizens to register for repatriation flights

    Thai Embassy in Japan advises citizens to register for repatriation flights

    The Thai Embassy in Tokyo is advising citizens who wish to return home to register for two repatriation flights in May. Thai PBS World reports that with the ban on international flights extended until the end of May, the embassy is laying on two special flights for citizens who wish to return to Thailand. Posting on …

  • Air Asia publishes fit-to-fly guidelines when they take to Asia’s skies again

    Air Asia publishes fit-to-fly guidelines when they take to Asia’s skies again

    Captain Ling Liong Tien, the Chief Safety Officer @ AirAsia, has sent out an email to customers laying down a detailed list of new requirements for early-adopters in the post-covid regional travel world. It doesn’t look like a lot of fun, but there will at least be a means for airlines, airline staff, and passengers, to …

  • Taiwan considers rebranding its flag carrier, China Airlines

    Taiwan considers rebranding its flag carrier, China Airlines

    Taipei is considering changing the name of its flag carrier: China Airlines. Perhaps an opportunistic excuse to distance itself from any anti-Chinese ‘Covid’ fallout or just a political ploy whilst China has, well, other things to worry about at the moment. It seems the Covid-19 pandemic has reignited calls to change the name after the …

  • AoT, already struggling, deny investing in faltering Thai Airways

    AoT, already struggling, deny investing in faltering Thai Airways

    “We’ve got enough problems of our own.” Airports of Thailand is denying claims that it is interested in acquiring a stake in the financially floundering flag carrier Thai Airways, saying that they too are struggling with the sharp drop in revenue after airlines and airport shutdowns related to the Covid-19 pandemic. Thai Airways, once considered …

  • Airports of Thailand approves Don Mueang expansion

    Airports of Thailand approves Don Mueang expansion

    Yesterday, the Airports of Thailand (AoT) board gave tacit approval of a master plan for the third-phase development of Don Mueang International airport costing an estimated of 39 billion baht. The expansion arrangements includes, increase of the airport’s capacity to 40 million passengers a year (currently 30 million a year), a 3.4 kilometre automated people …

  • Thailand cancels visas-on-arrival and some visa exemptions for 21 countries

    Thailand cancels visas-on-arrival and some visa exemptions for 21 countries

    On top of all the changes announced in the past few days for passengers arriving in Thailand, today the government has announced an additional measure. The Thai government has now cancelled the automatic granting of the visa-on-arrival for 18 countries as well as cancelling visa exemption for three other countries in additional efforts to contain …

  • Thai Airways considers leasing planes and outsourcing cabin staff

    Thai Airways considers leasing planes and outsourcing cabin staff

    In its attempts to restructure the legacy national airline, senior staff of Thai Airways may lease aircraft and cabin staff. The plans are part of fleet and service improvement options as demanded by the Thai Government who had to find 11.1 billion baht over the first 9 months of 2019 to keep the national airline …

  • The rise of the e-bicycle in Thailand, a bit of motorised assistance

    The rise of the e-bicycle in Thailand, a bit of motorised assistance

    by Nicole Kash Cycling tours offer a unique way to explore Thailand. Faster than walking but slower than driving, cycling tours cover plenty of ground while allowing cyclists to immerse themselves in the sights, smells, and culture of Thailand without the boundary of a car window. Cycling tours can cover up to a heart-pumping 150 …

  • 100s of pages of damaging documents about the 737 Max released by Boeing

    100s of pages of damaging documents about the 737 Max released by Boeing

    Boeing has released more than 100 pages of internal company documents to the House and Senate committee, and media, further casting doubt about the company’s goodwill around the troubled 737 Max jet. The latest incarnation of the Boeing 737 was grounded last year after two fatal crashes which exposed weaknesses in the design development process …

  • Nearly 2 million Thai travellers head overseas for new year break

    Nearly 2 million Thai travellers head overseas for new year break

    Nearly 2 million Thais travelled internationally for this year’s New Year celebrations. That’s a 3.9% increase over the previous year. Thai overseas travellers totalled 1,944,220 people. And although up 3.9% on outbound traffic the year before, it was 2.2% below estimates. Domestic travel between provinces totalled 4,298,626 people. That was down 6.4% from last year and …

  • AOT sets up checkpoints to check passengers from Wuhan, China for virus

    AOT sets up checkpoints to check passengers from Wuhan, China for virus

    “Passengers with any suspicious symptoms detected during the initial screenings after landing will be quarantined for medical examinations.” Airports of Thailand says they are monitoring a the detection of some cases of viral pneumonia from Wuhan flights coming out of China. They say that six airports are now ready to cope with the situation by …

  • Thailand set to launch two more budget airlines in 2020

    Thailand set to launch two more budget airlines in 2020

    While Thailand’s flagship Thai Airways struggles, two new budget airlines are preparing to take off in 2020. The past decade has been challenging for Thailand’s legacy airline whilst newer, more nimble and cashed-up players enter the market. As reported in The Thaiger last week, both Thai Summer Airways and Thai Eastar Jet have gained Air …

  • Indian visitors to Thailand help break tourist arrival record

    Indian visitors to Thailand help break tourist arrival record

    With a few days left to go in 2019, Thailand has already stepped over last year’s record arrivals of 38,260,000. The 38,260,000th visitor to Thailand in 2019 arrived on December 20, a tourist from India, Devanshi Deepak Kesaria. Thailand has exceeded last year’s record for foreign tourist arrivals. This final result for tourist arrivals into the …

  • Two new airlines to hit Thai skies in 2020

    Two new airlines to hit Thai skies in 2020

    PHOTO: Eastar Airlines Two new Thai low-cost carriers are set to take to the skies early 2020. The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand made the announcement yesterday. They are the first new Thai airlines being launched since the lifting of the ‘red flag’ by the International Civil Aviation Organisation in 2017. Thai Eastar Jet and …

  • Thai Airways presents new recovery plan for board approval

    Thai Airways presents new recovery plan for board approval

    Thai Airways president Sumeth Damrongchaitham says the national carrier will submit a 2020-2025 rehabilitation plan to the Board of Directors in January, with a separate purchasing plan for new aircraft also being put forward. The Nation reports that the rehabilitation plan will consist of twenty projects and four key measures. One of these will be …

  • Competition amongst discount airlines concerns Thai CAA

    Competition amongst discount airlines concerns Thai CAA

    PHOTO: Travel Daily (the photo is for display only and does not reflect on the airlines depicted) Thailand’s airlines are strapped for cash, facing serious competition and discounted airfares, and the Thai Civil Aviation Authority is closely watching their safety standards. This from the CAAT director-general Chula Sukmanop. Sukmanop says he’s worried because many airlines, …

  • Hotel association wants rules on short-term rentals, home sharing

    Hotel association wants rules on short-term rentals, home sharing

    PHOTO: Airbnb and other accommodation-share businesses, plus a glut of newly opened hotels rooms across the country, is putting pressure on the traditional hotel model The Thai Hotels Association has again asked for a meeting with the Minister of the Interior to discuss the impact of short-term rentals and home sharing services like Airbnb on …

  • Suvarnabhumi authorities passing the blame for long queues yesterday

    Suvarnabhumi authorities passing the blame for long queues yesterday

    PHOTO: Immigration Police A post about long waits and airport queues at Suvarnabhumi yesterday has sparked an immediate response from an immigration spokesperson today. Hundreds of people were queued up for hours in the departure areas, as they waited to be processed after checking in. The spokesman responded to reporters after claims on the Facebook …

  • Bangkok is #1 in travel index for fourth year in a row

    Bangkok is #1 in travel index for fourth year in a row

    PHOTO: TakeMeTour Bangkok, despite some recent tourist number woes, continues to be ranked near the top in most world travel indices. Now Bangkok has been ranked first in the Mastercard Global Destination Cities Index (GDCI) for international overnight visitors for the fourth straight year. And the sixth time in the past decade. Thailand is the …

  • Thai Airways absent from new Top 10 list of world airlines

    Thai Airways absent from new Top 10 list of world airlines

    PHOTO: airlineratings.com The airline review website AirlineRatings has just announced its list of the Best Airlines 2020 and Thailand’s national carrier is absent. In fact Thai Airways isn’t even in the top 20 airlines, as compiled by the website. The Nation reports that the list was drawn up by seven editors with a combined 200 …

  • Over 500 complaints lodged against fake Thai tour agent

    Over 500 complaints lodged against fake Thai tour agent

    …who scammed victims out of 31 million baht. A fake package tour agency who used social media to scam customers out of a total of 31 million baht now has 514 complaints lodged against it, with 100 complaints lodged with the Vice Minister of Justice yesterday. The complaints were lodged at the ministry’s offices in …

  • Drop your excise tax on jet fuel, or we’ll pull out – Airlines

    Drop your excise tax on jet fuel, or we’ll pull out – Airlines

    The Thai Excise Department is proposing local airlines increase the number of flights to the Kingdom’s second-tier provincial airports in return for a reduction in the excise tax on jet fuel. The Department’s aim is to increase tourism into Thailand’s lesser-known tourist areas and attractions. Nok Air, Bangkok Airways, Thai AirAsia, Thai Smile Airways, Thai …

  • Thailand’s high speed rail future “not the right fit”

    Thailand’s high speed rail future “not the right fit”

    After years of delays, negotiations and more negotiations, bullet trains (high-speed trans) are coming to Thailand. But with one project underway, another already approved and others being considered, many speculate if high speed rail is the right fit for the Kingdom. Critics say the existing contracts with the Chinese are more about a political jibe at …

  • Thai Airways says it won’t get into a price-war with other airlines

    Thai Airways says it won’t get into a price-war with other airlines

    PHOTO: YouTube National carrier Thai Airways says it won’t head down the ‘price-cutting’ route to be competitive in 2020. The struggling airline says, instead, they will focus on building a solid customer base and tap specific route segments. Airline president Sumeth Damrongchaitham says the carrier will continue to recruit stronger marketing partners and estimated that …

  • Thai Airways offers One Pass One Price Value Card

    Thai Airways offers One Pass One Price Value Card

    In a first of what will surely be a prolonged period of promotions, Thai Airways is offering a One Pass One Price Value Card Package which will cover four economy class fares from Bangkok to some destinations in Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Myanmar. Tickets start at 8,060 baht and are valid for trips from Bangkok …

  • TAT opens 100 baht tourism scheme

    TAT opens 100 baht tourism scheme

    TAT’s ambitious ‘฿100 Travel Around’ scheme opened yesterday. The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has opened registration for its “100 Baht Travel Around” campaign. According to the TAT website, the project is to promote domestic tourism by providing 100 baht packages for domestic tours and rooms. Registration will only be open on the four “catchy …

  • Absurdities of modern flying, and do we really need to be shown how to fasten a seat belt?

    Absurdities of modern flying, and do we really need to be shown how to fasten a seat belt?

    PHOTO: Groovy air-hostesses from the late 1960s when flying was more glamourous. “Now everyone can fly” and that’s brought us to where we are now. There used to be a time when flying was a pleasure, an expensive pleasure. The passengers were part of the ‘jet-set’, and they could smoke cigarettes and sit in wide, …

  • Thai passengers warned not to write on passports if they wish to travel

    Thai passengers warned not to write on passports if they wish to travel

    Thai-language news outlet Sanook reports that a Thai citizen, travelling as part of a group tour to South Korea, has been refused permission to fly as a result of writing found in the passenger’s passport. The story, covered by ThaiVisa, says that one of the pages in the passport had a ‘mystical’ symbol drawn on …