phuketrichard wrote: ↑Wed Dec 15, 2021 10:43 am hong kong is still 21 days quarantine:: YIKES

One of my friends is a pilot for a HK-based airline who has spent the last two years of his life either in a tiny quarantine hotel room or in the cockpit. It’s like serving a two year jail term.

A very quick update, I'm now %99 sure the phone call about quarantine is/was an attempted scam. To be on the safe side I'm isolating for today and getting a home test organised for tomorrow, I'm also contacting the local tourist police and airport and airline to be on the safe side, will let you know the outcome.
To be honest staying a few days indoors and then doing a lateral flow test would be a good proventative measure. That first packed flight libraly sprinkled with screaming children had a 2 hour plus scrum of hundreds of people (mainly wearing masks) not practicing any form of distancing while waiting for ceck in, is definitely a likely transmission point.

I had 7 cancelled flights either side of mine on the information board at bkk, unsure how to add photos here. I expect different ways into the country to open and close often in tandem with the insecurities of the various governments involved. My return flight is via Singapore rather than BKK ( I didn't specify any particular way in or out), unsure if it's a coincidence.

Laos Confirms 1 January Reopening for Tourists
By Latsamy Phonevilay -
December 16, 2021
Laos has confirmed 1 January 2022 as its official reopening date, according to a notice issued by the Prime Minister’s Office.

The notice was issued late last night, signed off by Head of the Office of the Prime Minister’s Office, Khamchen Vongphosy.

According to the notice, the government has approved the Lao Travel Green Zone Plan that would allow tourists to visit provinces and cities designated as “green zones” once the country reopens.

The government has set out seven major tasks and 34 other items it must complete before the reopening can commence.

The notice states that an official announcement will be made on 17 December outlining the official reopening plan, and has set 1 January 2022 as the date the country will reopen to tourism.
https://laotiantimes.com/2021/12/16/lao ... -tourists/

Bongmab69 wrote: ↑Fri Dec 17, 2021 9:09 am anyone travelled lately in BKK transit ?? I did myself, but came from Phuket, and thats domestic flight: if i book a flight PNH-BKK and afterwards an connection to europe, i will have to check out and in again my luggage but cant remember how that works in BKK, should i go through immigration and/or PCR-testing, or is that al "internal" in the airport-terminal ?? Did book yet as i have cam-visa until 21 january, still loads of time, and time to change the rules 6 times again in BKK !! ??

First, if you're not travelling until mid-January, the Thailand inbound travel rules will almost certainly be revised after New Year's. But here it is anyway, a link to Richard Barrow's fresh post of revised travel rules, effective Dec. 16, from the Thai tourist authority. Contains three TAT links to Test and Go, Blue Zone Sandbox and Alt Quarantine:

https://twitter.com/RichardBarrow/statu ... 67364?s=20

More flights to and from Cambodia:

Flights to Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Other Destinations Restarting
2 min read
Michael Dickison
| Thu Dec 16, 2021 6:11 pm
Flights to Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and other destinations face imminent reopening as flight passengers gradually increase, but the recovery of travel is expected to be subdued till late last year.

AirAsia on Thursday announced it would restart two round-trip flights a week between Phnom Penh and Kuala Lumpur from January 26.

“After Thailand and Singapore, we are excited to announce Cambodia as the third country for international quarantine-free travel that we are resuming operations to. We are fully ready to welcome the resumption of flights to Phnom Penh which has been a very popular leisure destination for AirAsia in the past,” said AirAsia Malaysia CEO Riad Asmat, noting a strong rebound to the earlier two destinations.

Tourism Minister Thong Khon welcomed the announcement. “We are looking forward to welcoming all fully vaccinated international tourists and travelers,” he said in the AirAsia statement.

According to Cambodia Airports, Bangkok Airways, Cambodia Airways, Thai AirAsia and Thai Smile are also set to reopen Bangkok-Phnom Penh flights, some from this month.

Other destinations available from Phnom Penh include Manila and Shanghai, joining already open flights to Incheon, Taipei and several Chinese and Vietnamese locations.

Siem Reap-Bangkok and Siem Reap-Singapore flights, from Lanmei and Singapore airlines, respectively, are set to restart from Friday.
https://vodenglish.news/flights-to-bang ... estarting/

An interesting piece on the history, and the outlook, for cheap airfares

Why COVID-19 means the era of ever cheaper air travel could be over
After its worst two years since the second world war, 2022 is looking brighter for the global airline industry. For passengers, though, the chance to travel at low cost again may prove short-lived.

In 2020 international passenger demand was less than 25 per cent that of 2019, according to the International Air Transport Association. This year's data isn't yet available, but the hiccups of the Delta and Omicron variants make the association's forecasts of 50 per cent of 2019 levels look optimistic.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-12-30/ ... /100728620

...Higher margins with lower passenger volumes looks the more probable model.