Guest Posted September 10, 2004 Report Share Posted September 10, 2004 No bad for a small county. He's is an upwardly mobile leader and I hope not too many Thais go hungry tonight! Guess who's got his own 'stealth jet BANGKOK: -- It arrived in Thailand undetected. No-one in the government has breathed a word about it. And although the media have dubbed it 'Air Force One', opposition MPs feel the newly-acquired Airbus for Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his Cabinet should be named 'Stealth'. The plane - specially equipped with extra interior features - cost taxpayers more than 1 billion baht. It arrived on Aug 25, but the government has not publicised it - highly unusual for such a high-profile and expensive state acquisition, reported The Nation. Mr Thaksin will use the Airbus for the first time during the Asia-Europe Meeting in Vietnam, from Oct 6 to 8. 'The quiet arrival of the Airbus is easy to explain,' said Mr Piraphan Salirattavipak, a Democrat MP for Bangkok. 'The prime minister wants the plane, but he doesn't want to get scolded. 'He must have known there's nothing appropriate about this aircraft.' Already, the purchase of the plane has caused a major controversy. Critics have questioned the need for Mr Thaksin to join what they call a small, elitist group of world leaders who have a personal plane. The secrecy surrounding the plane's arrival coincided with the home stretch of the Bangkok Governor's election. The last two weeks of the race saw government-backed candidate Pavena Hongsakul' popularity fall drastically. Political analysts said this was due to her association with Mr Thaksin, whose support among voters in the capital appears to be falling fast. The opposition MPs plan to raise questions in parliament next week about the purchase of the plane. They insist he and his Cabinet could easily use a commercial plane for foreign trips. --Asia1.com, Agencies 2004-09-09 http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/top/story/0,4...4399940,00.html ---- I have seen no reports on this either in this Forum or in the Bangkok Post The Nation had the story for a few days but it did not do any follw up. Amazing Thailand Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lazyphil Posted September 10, 2004 Report Share Posted September 10, 2004 Failed with LFC, he simply had to find an alternative way to waste public funds, tosser. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 10, 2004 Report Share Posted September 10, 2004 fillipo....seen any pics.... Possibly he'll invite the members up for a little ride in the Sky....How about that K. Sanuk? When is the party, since we are AKA "Deserving Irving" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pattaya127 Posted September 10, 2004 Report Share Posted September 10, 2004 The plane - specially equipped with extra interior features - cost taxpayers more than 1 billion baht. -------------------------- Very improper. he should have used the savings his daughter made, working at Mc Do's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neo Posted September 10, 2004 Report Share Posted September 10, 2004 Here is a pic of the new toy being delivered. In case anyone is wondering, the Thai characters don't say "hail to the chief", but simply "Thailand" just like the English characters after. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 10, 2004 Report Share Posted September 10, 2004 A little more info on Thaksins "New Ride" Seems very interesting but appears that Air Bus, in this page http://www.airbus.com/product/a319_introduction.asp seems to have confused Km with Naut Miles with land miles . I don't think, even in the lighter corporate config that the metal will do 7800 land miles! Am I wrong in thinking that the New Ride will need to stop for gas often as it is not a "Long Haul" craft. Next Question...will The Royal Family be using that plane? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buffalo_bill Posted September 11, 2004 Report Share Posted September 11, 2004 soislut, this is certainly the A319 corporate version which does longrange as it's competitor B737 Business Jet. Range only depending on how much fuel it takes. BuBi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 11, 2004 Report Share Posted September 11, 2004 A little more info..Seem Air Bus says the Royal Thai Air force "took delivery" > JULY 09, 2004 Royal Thai Air Force takes delivery of its Airbus Corporate Jetliner The Royal Thai Air Force has taken delivery of its Airbus Corporate Jetliner becoming a new customer for the type. Dedicated to the transport of senior government officials, the governmental aircraft will have the range to fly one-stop from Bangkok to both Europe and North America with some 30 passengers and their baggage on board. The Royal Thai Air Force isn?t only a new customer for the type but also the first client for it in the Asia-Pacific region. This 24th delivery is one more success for the Airbus Corporate Jetliner Family. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Singhaman Posted September 13, 2004 Report Share Posted September 13, 2004 Gentlemen, since I work in this business and Don Muang is my home I would like to qualify a couple of things. The Royal Thai Air Force is in process to change their fleet from rather old horses like the 737-4Z6 and A310-324. The first A-319, reg.HS-TYR, was already delivered in March 2003 (cn 1908) and went in to modifaction at Germany Finkerwerder's EADS Airbus base to become a CJ Model ( Business Model) and was then delivered to the Thai Air Force as 60221/HS-TYR in Aug'04. Fortunate enough Dr. Thaksin will have the benefit of using this aircraft, but in no way he is related to it or having pushed for it. Also the Royal Family or other associates will make use of this aircraft. The plan on buying such a nicely fited plane have been on the list since many years, however budget cuts (1997-2001) didnt make it happen. Considering that RTAF is still using several DC-3, shows that they are on a short budget. There is nothing wrong with using DC-3s and of course they are so beautiful to look at.Cheers, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shit-Spattered Dog Posted September 13, 2004 Report Share Posted September 13, 2004 SoiSlut said: A little more info..Seem Air Bus says the Royal Thai Air force "took delivery" > JULY 09, 2004 Royal Thai Air Force takes delivery of its Airbus Corporate Jetliner The Royal Thai Air Force has taken delivery of its Airbus Corporate Jetliner becoming a new customer for the type. Dedicated to the transport of senior government officials, the governmental aircraft will have the range to fly one-stop from Bangkok to both Europe and North America with some 30 passengers and their baggage on board. Some 30 passagers....and their baggage...here are a group of people that don't travel light! The Royal Thai Air Force isn?t only a new customer for the type but also the first client for it in the Asia-Pacific region. This 24th delivery is one more success for the Airbus Corporate Jetliner Family. And full marks for being the first on the block to own your own corporate jet, well done gents. Geewizz you even got (going to have ) a brand spanky new airport to park it at. S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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