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Pinnacle Resort and Spa shows social responsibility

Discounted travel for weekend voters

Battle between Thai budget carriers heats up

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Pinnacle Resort and Spa shows social responsibility

Dr. Vongbhum Vanasin (right) with Pattaya Mail TV’s Dr. Iain Corness (center) and Pinnacle Resort and Spa General Manager Ingo Raeuber.

Dr. Vongbhum Vanasin, the Managing Director and Chairman of the Pinnacle Hotels and Resorts group, was in Pattaya recently to attend meetings of the recently formed Pattaya Hotel Owners Club. This group has as its mission, the promotion of Pattaya as a tourist destination. Dr. Vongbhum explained in an exclusive interview with Pattaya Mail TV that rather than pursue individual agendas, the hotel owners believed that as a combined force, they would be able to accomplish more for Pattaya tourism.
Dr. Vongbhum has long been a supporter of Pattaya and has overseen the expansion and refurbishment of the Pinnacle Resort and Spa at Na Jomtien.
In addition he has set up a foundation to assist young underprivileged school children, called the Youth Leadership Development Foundation, which will target needy children in public schools in the proximity of the resort.

Discounted travel for weekend voters

Eligible Thai voters are being offered discounted tickets to travel to their polling places this weekend as part of the government’s policy to encourage voters to exercise their right during the constitutional referendum, according to Transport Minister Thira Haocharoen.
Admiral Thira said his ministry had instructed the agencies concerned to facilitate the voting public in casting their ballots in the August 19 constitutional referendum, and the agencies came up with varied discounts.
Inter-provincial bus and train services will offer 50 per cent discounts for all routes nationwide during the August 17-20 weekend and the voters only need show their government identification cards to qualify for the privilege, he said.
The minister said that the Bangkok Mass Transport Authority (BMTA) which provides bus services to commuters in Bangkok and adjacent provinces will cut its fares 50 per cent on August 19 from 7am until 5pm.
And Bangkok’s Mass Rapid Transit Authority (MRTA), which operates the capital’s subway system, will offer free rides from 6am until 5pm on polling day, he said.
Meanwhile, the Marine Department has coordinated with boat services operators and the Chao Phraya Express Boat Co. which agreed to cut fares to Bt10 for all routes and distance while ferry boats would charge only two baht on that day, Adm. Thira said.
As for air transportation, the minister said, the domestic airlines were offering special promotions August 17-20, so that passengers could enjoy reduced cost airfares. (TNA)

Battle between Thai budget carriers heats up

Thai airlines are gearing up for the upcoming high season by announcing a host of new routes and aircraft acquisitions. The battle between low-cost carriers is especially intense.
Nok Air plans to unveil its second international route by the end of the year with the launch of a Bangkok-Hanoi service. Chennai and Hyderabad are likely to be added to the airline’s schedule next year, as well as a Bangkok-Macao service.
The carrier plans to introduce new domestic routes by end 2007, including Bangkok-Chiang Rai and Bangkok-Surat Thani. It hopes to take delivery of four new B737-400 aircraft before the year is out, bringing its total fleet to 10.
One-Two-Go plans to launch its first overseas services over the coming months. The expansion strategy includes sister carrier Orient Thai Airlines - a conventional airline with a low-cost pricing policy.
One-Two-Go is due to start daily flights from Bangkok to Macao this month; daily services from Bangkok to Kuala Lumpur in September; and daily services between the Thai capital and Phnom Penh in October. The airline is also eyeing a Phuket-Kuala Lumpur service, and flights to Siem Reap, Singapore, Bali and Bangladesh.
Orient Thai is due to launch daily flights from Bangkok to Guangzhou and Bangkok to Chengdu in August and September, respectively. The carrier plans to introduce a thrice-weekly Bangkok-Kathmandu service next month.
One-Two-Go has increased its fleet of McDonnell Douglas MD-80 jets to eight and has signed a deal to acquire 14 MD-80 jets from Japan Airlines, brining its total fleet size to 22 by next year.
From October 29, Bangkok Airways is resuming its Bangkok-Krabi service with six flights a week; introducing a thrice-weekly Krabi-Samui service; flying five times a week Bangkok-Vientiane; and launching twice-weekly flights to Chiang Rai-Siem Reap.
Bangkok Airways recently took delivery of the first of seven brand new Airbus 319s, with the remaining planes due to arrive between next year and 2009.
Thai AirAsia has also unveiled aggressive route and fleet expansion plans. The first three Airbus A320s in an operating-lease order of forty are due to arrive this year and the rest are expected over the next five years. From October, Thai AirAsia has slated a Bangkok-Kunming service, and next year, it plans to service another three or four Chinese cities, before the focus shifts to India in 2009. (TTG)

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