The management of Thailand’s national airline have formulated a plan to cut operating costs and reverse its spiralling annual losses. The cost-cutting measures will see Thai Airways’ 25,000-strong staff downsized and loss-making routes axed.
City officials in the Laos capital of Vientiane have signed a contract to restore one of its most beloved landmarks. Lao media sources say Vanpheng Keonakhone, the city’s Culture and Tourism Department director, has signed off on the first stage of the restoration.
AirAsia scrapped the fuel surcharge on all of its flights with effect from yesterday. The budget carrier’s CEO, Tony Fernandes, told media sources late last week that the decision had been made to do away with the fee in response to plummeting global oil prices.
An immigration police raid at on online English school in Chiang Mai last Friday resulted in the arrest of 17 teachers. Colonel Rutjapong Sarnwanangkul led a team of immigration police to the language centre at the northern Thai city’s Riverside Condo.
VietJet Air has announced it will start scheduled flights linking Hanoi and the seaside town of Qui Nhon in April. A spokesperson for the low-cost Vietnamese carrier told media sources that it would commence daily flights on 26 April 2015 with one service in each direction.
Temperatures on Thailand’s highest mountain have dropped below 0°C in the past few days. Rangers at Doi Inthanon National Park reported that the temperature had dropped to -3°C at the Kiew Lom viewpoint and is expected fall even more over the weekend.
A Thai charter carrier is set to launch its maiden flight to the Vietnamese mountain resort of Da Lat. The Skyview Airways service is scheduled to take off from Bangkok’s Don Muang Airport on Sunday and return the same day.
Media sources on Vietnam’s Phu Qouc Island say the national government has agreed in principle to the construction of casinos here. The report comes hot on the heels of a request submitted by officials in Kien Giang Province asking for permission to offer gaming on the island.
The Thai prime-minister was on hand yesterday for the opening ceremonies of Bangkok’s latest market. The Bangkok Orchid Market is housed under a temporary structure outside the national parliament buildings, but will move to a new home on Phadung Krung Kasem canal with effect from 1 February 2015.
Authorities in the Thai city of Chiang Mai have closed down a karaoke lounge for overcharging patrons. A group of Malaysian tourists complained to police in the northern city after they were presented with a bill close to US$3,000 for a few drinks and snacks at the Pink Lady.
The Thai national rail company has begun the demolition of a disused rail bridge to Cambodia. The removal of the 100-year-old bridge at Aranyaprathet will pave the way for the construction of a new one in the latter half of 2015.
Cambodia and Japan have reached agreement on allowing airlines to fly directly between the two countries. Mao Havannall, the secretary of the Cambodian Civil Aviation Bureau, and Yuji Kumamaru, the country’s Japanese ambassador, signed the accord giving the scheme the green light at the end of last week.
The director of Suvarnabhumi Airport has slapped a ban on a taxi-driver at the heart of a row over overcharging a passenger. Yesterday, Prapon Pattamakijsakul endorsed an order banning Chaiyan Charoensopha from picking up passengers at the principal international gateway to Thailand.
A union of Thai bus operators has stated it will battle budget airlines to win back passengers. The Interprovincial Bus Operators Association’s president says that members have worked out a plan that will see buses work on the same model as their rivals.
Thai authorities have released a statement saying they will send some ancient artefacts back to Cambodia. Thailand says the 16 artefacts were found in a secret hoard uncovered at the residence of disgraced police commander Pongpat Chayapan.
Thai AirAsia’s CEO has said the carrier might scrap passenger fuel surcharges on all of its routes. Tassapon Bijleveld said the plan is to cut the surcharges from the first of next month and that it is a direct reflection of the significantly lower cost of jet fuel.
The Thai cultural fair currently being staged in Bangkok’s Lumpini Park has been pulling in crowds of visitors. The organisers of the Discover Thainess Festival 2015 say that thousands of foreign tourists and Thais have visited on the two nights since the fair opened.
The number of international passengers arriving at Yangon Airport is continuing its upward spiral and has topped the one million mark. Myanmar’s Ministry of Immigration and Population has just released figures for 2014 which show 1,027,770 foreign visitors were processed at the country’s principal international airport.
Vietnam has slashed the fee that foreign cruise-ship passengers pay when they take trips ashore at the country’s ports. The national government has put into effect regulations that see passengers pay US$5 when they come ashore.
A leading global hotelier opened a new property in downtown Bangkok late last week. The InterContinental Hotels Group staged the official opening ceremonies for the Hotel Indigo last Friday and it is now welcoming its first guests.