Taxi fares going up in Bangkok

The Transport Ministry and taxi drivers have agreed on new fare rates for #Bangkok and its vicinity that will see passengers paying about 7% more for a ride.
It will be the first fare hike in eight years and is expected to be approved by the transport minister before the end of the month.

Wirat Pimpanit, an adviser to the minister, said on Thursday that taxi drivers’ representatives had agreed to a new fare schedule proposed after a study by the Thailand Development and Research Institute.

The flagfall for ordinary taxis would remain at 35 baht, but rise to 40 baht for large cabs, for the first kilometre.

Fares would increase for all taxies from the current 5.50 baht per kilometre to 6.50 baht for the next 1-10km. The next 10-20km would be 7 baht/km; 20-40km, 8 baht; 40-60km, 8.50 baht; 60-80km, 9 baht; and for distances beyond 80km, 10.50 baht per kilometre.

The waiting time metre charge for traffic jams would rise from two to three baht per minute.

The changes would cost passengers 7.34% more on average. The last increase was eight years ago.

Mr Wirat said the new fares would be applied only to taxis operating in Bangkok and its vicinity.

Large taxis are mainly converted sport utility vehicles and normally operate at Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang airports.

Jirut Wisanjit, the director-general of the Land Transport Department, said the agency would work on the fine details and then forward the fare rate to Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob for approval.

The entire process would take about two weeks The new fare structure would be announced as a ministry regulation.

Mr Jirut said the new fares had been calculated to reflect core inflation in Greater Bangkok.

The country’s core inflation, which excludes oil and raw food prices, was 3.17% in October, according to the Commerce Ministry. The ministry did not release a breakdown of inflation statistics for the provinces

Source - Bangkok Jack

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Finnair to resume long-haul flights to Asia in July

Finland's national airline will restart routes between Europe and Asia in July once countries begin to lift coronavirus restrictions on travel, the company announced on Monday.

Beijing and Shanghai will be the first long-haul destinations to reopen, alongside Hong Kong, Seoul, Singapore, Bangkok and three Japanese routes, Finnair said in a statement.

Flights to Delhi and New York will follow in August.

The move makes Finnair one of the first European carriers to restart intercontinental flights, after the Lufthansa Group announced on Friday it would resume 19 long-haul routes by early June.

"We expect aviation to recover gradually, starting in July," Finnair chief commercial officer Ole Orver said in a statement, adding that the company intends to bring its operations back to one-third of normal capacity.

Finnair cut 90 percent of its flights on April 1 and issued a profit warning as coronavirus restrictions brought international passenger travel almost to a standstill. 

Facemasks will be mandatory on all Finnair flights "until at least the end of August," Finnair spokeswoman Paivyt Tallqvist told AFP. 

"We have also taken a number of steps to avoid unnecessary movement on board," Tallqvist said, including having passengers disembark in smaller groups, and limiting capacity of shuttle bus transport between aircraft and the terminal to 50 percent.

Flights along the so-called "shorter northern route" between Helsinki and Asia, bypassing the Middle East, have been a key part of the Finnish carrier's growth strategy in recent years, with passenger numbers on its Asian routes doubling between 2010 and 2018.

On Monday, Finnair also announced it would restart 26 European routes in July, including to Brussels, Moscow, Prague and Paris.

Destinations including Rome, Madrid and Warsaw would be added in August, the firm said. 

Finnair said it would open further routes on a monthly basis depending on demand and how travel restrictions change over the summer.

Source - TheJakartaPost