Thailand News Today | Air Canada launching direct North America – Thailand flight

 

Air Canada is launching the only available direct service between North America and Thailand by the end of this year. It is the first nonstop service between North America and Thailand in 10 years.

Between December and April, Air Canada Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft will fly direct between Vancouver and Bangkok four days per week. It will also provide a new option for American passengers. Before they would have to transit through Hong Kong, Seoul, Taipei, Tokyo or, in the other direction, the middle eastern hubs.

Canada’s flag carrier will fly between Vancouver International Airport and Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. The flight route is seasonal and will run between December 4, 2023 and April 14, 2023. The Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner features 3 cabins – Signature Class, Premium Economy and Economy Class. I always opt for a private cabin, hogging the toilet.

The westbound flight leaves Vancouver at 11pm and arrives in Bangkok at 5:55am. The eastbound flight will leave Bangkok and 8:30am and arrive in Vancouver at 6:35am, technically going back in time. Both flights are designed to arrive early in the morning to give passengers the maximum choice of same-day connecting flights.

The service is the first nonstop service between North America and Thailand since Thai Airways discontinued its direct service between Los Angeles and Bangkok in 2012. Thai Airways also ran a direct service between New York City’s John F. Kennedy Airport and Bangkok between 2005 and 2008.

Tickets are already available to buy on Air Canada’s website, via the Air Canada mobile application and through travel agents.

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Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha yesterday dismissed accusations that the nation’s emergency decree is in place to control the anti-government protests, despite officials always citeding it when trying to disperse crowds.

The emergency decree was introduced on March 26, 2020 to control the spike in Covid cases, and gave the PM full control of anti-virus measures as head of the CCSA.

However, Move Forward Party MP Rangsiman Rome on Sunday claims it’s now being used to take legal action against protesters rather than curbing the spread of Covid-19 and demanded that the decree be lifted.

Rangsiman says the government had eased a number of pandemic restrictions, including allowing people to take off their face masks in open-air spaces (from July 1), so there was no need to maintain the decree.

The government has extended the decree 18 times over the past 2 years despite the current dramatic drop in coronavirus cases and the easing of pandemic restrictions since the start of this year.

But PM Prayut hit back at the Move Forward MP’s attack and said the emergency decree is still needed, but added the cabinet will reassess the situation when the time is right. He said overcrowding at immigration checkpoints is a worry and some Covid restrictions need to be kept in place so there is no resurgence of cases.

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A new regulation has given power to the Royal Thai Police to arrest people who fail to pay their driving penalties on time.

If a motorist receives a ticket, either in person or by mail, they generally have to pay the fine within 15 days. If a driver fails to pay the fee before that deadline they will receive a reminder from the police after 15 days. Motorists then get another 15 days to pay the charges. They can pay online through the Krungthai Bank, at convenience store registers, by mail, or at police stations across Thailand.

If the fine is not paid after that notice, drivers could be served with up to 2 summonses by authorities. After that the police will ask a court to issue an arrest warrant if drivers do not comply with the two summons.

The step was introduced when it was discovered that many drivers were refusing to pay their charges and continued to break traffic laws.

Offenders can now be arrested anywhere in Thailand once an arrest warrant is issued, even if they are booked on a flight to leave the country.

An arrest will give the motorist a criminal record, which could affect their credit score and future job opportunities. It would also make certain legal procedures more difficult for them.

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The Royal Thai Army has lifted a boycott of e-commerce platform Lazada. I know, I also forgot that they were boycotting it.

The company, owned by the Alibaba Group, was banned from delivering parcels to military premises all over the country for a total of 42 days because of an offensive advert which insulted the Thai Royal Family. The Thai military warned soldiers of penalties if they ordered goods from Lazada.

Commander-in-Chief Narongphan Jitkaewtae, yesterday informed the media that the Royal Thai Army had withdrawn the boycott of Lazada because the advert had been brought to the process of judgement.

Narongphan added that the Royal Thai Army would lift the ban on Lazada from July 1 as a good will gesture and to boost the nation’s economy. Oh I’m so touched, I hope the camera is catching my tears.

The Royal Thai Navy and Airforce also backed the Lazada boycott, and officers and their families all avoided using their e-commerce platform. These 2 military branches have yet to make an announcement on whether they will lift the ban on Lazada yet.

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The Airport of Thailand announced that the new passenger terminal at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok will be ready for use by April 2023.

The Automated People Mover train, which will be the nation’s first driverless electric train used in Thai airports, will be available for passengers to travel between each terminal at the same time as well.

The President of the AOT, Nitinai Sirisatthakarn, informed media that the construction of the new passenger terminal, Satellite 1 had finished, and it would be ready for use in April next year. He also added that the airport capacity would be increased to welcome 60 million passengers per year, up from 45 million passengers. And, with 28 aircraft taxi planes, the airport will be able to support up to 68 flights per hour.

The new SAT 1 terminal is a 4-story building giving way to 216,ooo square metres. The B2 floor is for the APM trains, the B1 floor is for the airport office, the G floor is for a conveyor belt, the 2nd floor is for arrivals, the 3rd floor is for departures, and the 4th floor is for restaurants.

The APM will be ready for use at the same time too. The nation’s first driverless electric train in an airport will be shuttling trains that connect the former terminal with the new terminal.

Nitinai explained that AOT imported the 6 APM trains from Austria. Each train has 2 compartments available to welcome 210 passengers per trip or 5,900 passengers per hour. Each train will be tested until they are officially ready for service to ensure its safety, stability, and punctuality. Nitinai says no problems have been reported since the AOT started its trials.

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