CheshireTom

The 747-800 has only one customer for the passenger version (Lufthansa). The frieght version has sold well and together it amounts to around 100 orders, however, there is less than 50 options for the aircraft. The bottom line is that even after the A380 delays were announced Boeing failed to secure even one order for the passenger version of the 747-800. They aren't new orders, just putting a name to orders already made.

Jack, The RG doesn't plug you into Walking St any more than Skytop plugs you into Soi 6 or the Sabais plug you into Soi 2/3. Third Road is only a few metres down the hill from the RG and takes you quickly into just about any part of central Pattaya in minutes. Head in the other direction and you have Jomtien and Pratamnak area at your fingertips. I'll concede that there may be better German restaurants in Naklua but if that was top of my holiday wish list I'd be heading to Nuremburg, not Pattaya. As for the place in Krabi; it has as much relevance to what is being discussed as me saying that you can get a 3 bed house in Songkhla or Satun for 10k a month.. That said, if you can recommend somewhere in Pattaya where you will get a 1 bed apartment for 1,400 Baht in high-season with comparable facilities to the RG then I'm sure there are loads of boardies who'd love to hear about it. Don't get me wrong; I'm not a big fan of the RG but for different reasons (small bedroom and bed, noisy corridors) but for many guys it offers great value for money.

It depends on where you are meeting the guy. If you are meeting on Walking Street at, say 7 p.m. it can take 15 mins to get from the Royal Garden to Walking Street on a baht bus. That's after you've risked life and limb to cross 2nd Road and hiked your way down to Beach Road to get a Baht bus going in the right direction. The guy from RG would probably be on his third drink by the time you get there.

Two of the best restaurants in Pattaya (Manhattans and Mata Hari) are less than five minutes from the RG. The hotel itself has a decent restaurant as does Mr Mac's next door and the mini-golf place opposite. I would agree though that at certain times (between 6 and 8 pm in high season) it is quicker to get a moto-sai into town than sit on a stationary baht-bus for 20 minutes. The road construction will go on for some considerable time yet. The pipe laying/road widening has only got as far as Soi 14/15 going up Thappraya Road and once that is complete the new road will still have to be built.

Unfortunately, neither the markets nor airlines believe him.

You have to chuckle when they are making such a big noise about EADS tanker bid and what it means to American jobs when, at the same time, they are farming out their commercial aircraft production to any country that will subsidise accept the development costs.

There was/is (?) a branch of Cash Converters in Carrefour.

Was willing to invest more than the 18 bn USD that Boeing had already taken. How's the relocation going this week?

In other words, you don't have a clue whether it represents good value or not.

BigD, Is that the best you can do. The story is over a month old and has moved on somewhat. How about Boeing (we deliver on time and to spec) and its 18 bn USD waste of US taxpayers money ... Boeing accused over contractor role in failed US spy satellite programme Tom Bawden in New York The man who spearheaded a failed American spy satellite programme that lost an estimated $4 billion has described it as “technically flawed and unexecutable the day it was signed”. In an interview that will damage further the credibility of America’s surveillance capabilities, Robert J. Herman told The New York Times that the project had been doomed to failure because the US Government was unwilling to invest the necessary capital. At the same time, he alleged, Boeing, the contractor, made promises that it could not keep relating to the price and feasibility of the project, known as Future Imagery Architecture (FIA). From 1979 to 1981, Mr Herman ran the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), the government agency that oversaw the plan to create a new generation of spy satellites to keep better tabs on terrorist training camps, nuclear weapons plants and enemy military manoeuvres. Mr Herman, who in 1996 led the panel that first recommended the establishment of a new satellite system, told The New York Times: “The FIA contract was technically flawed and unexecutable the day it was signed. Some top official should have thrown his badge on the table and screamed: ‘We can’t do this system at this price.’ No one did.” Thomas Young, a former aerospace executive who led a panel that later examined the project, agreed with Mr Herman, saying that “the train wreck was predetermined on Day 1”. The projected cost of the programme, given a budget of $5 billion, was increased to between $7 billion and $8 billion in 2002 as the difficulties of execution became increasingly apparent. By the time that it was finally killed off in September 2005, nowhere near completion and already a year after the first satellite was to have been delivered, the estimated cost had jumped to $18 billion.

On a residential move you are allowed one consignment of household goods exempt from duty. You will need to declare it or the penalties can be significant and arbitrary. If you don't declare it and get pulled then you are unlikely just to be allowed to pay up there and then. You will be taken to the Customs Department and it will ruin your day completely. 1.3 A certain amount of used household effects accompanying a passenger because of residential movement will be exempted from Customs duties. Used household effects such as television, radio, video, etc., will be exempted from Customs duties; however, passengers are required to declare these types of items to the Customs officer at the red channel by submitting a passenger declaration form (Form No. 211).

And the up-to-date pricing from the website now is ............................ No additional room charge for “overnight friend” and prices start at only 450 baht per day up to 800 baht per day.All Room Includes All rooms are fully air-conditioned with attached bathroom hot & cold water : Refrigerator : Air Conditioned : Cable TV : Large Bed : Toilet and Shower. Large and Medium rooms have DVD Player. No mention of any discounts for length of stay, seasonal supplements or anything else.

I had no problem at all ..................... and got a price of 101,000 Baht. I would think that perhaps you were inserting the airport codes wrongly or something. That said, I have just booked biz class to MAN with Qatar (through their website) to nip home this weekend for the Italy game. Cost incl taxes came out at 82,000 Baht.

Double post

I was there a couple of nights ago. Four girls on stage and about the same number of punters. The place was certainly a pretty poor imitation of what it was a couple of years ago. The customer has no responsibility to seek out management and tell them where they are going wrong. It's simply a case a check bin, strike the place of your list of places to do and head on out to one of the many decent bars/gogos in town.

That's really only half the story. In most cases it's up to the airlines when the announcements are made, not the manufacturer. Because a large chunk of Airbus business comes from private or state-owned businesses the announcements can be timed to maximise the "news". However, in the case of listed companies they have no option but to make the announcements as they come because of stock market rules on disclosure, particularly in the case of significant orders such as British Airways.

touristman, Ignore him. It's only a couple of weeks ago that he was posting that the Pattaya Bay Resort was in the middle of nowhere rather than just a short stroll through The Avenue to Second Road.

You might want to give this lot a try .......... http://www.plusibe.com/BlueAndWhite/FlightSearch.aspx One of the few places that offer a secure online payment facility and issue e-tickets.

The superior room appears to be identical to the standard room (and deluxe room) ........ or maybe it's the other way around. http://www.secretspattaya.com/hotel/rooms_and_rates.php

hugh .......... is that somewhere between high and huge?

Your article doesn't mention any delay to the 748F ......... Anyway, since MM locked your Boeing is Kicking Euro Butt thread (you know the one where Boeing was going to overtake Airbus as th No1 commercial aircraft producer) I thought it might be nice to highlight that you have probably managed to retain your consistency to get your all predictions hopelessly wrong ... Airbus Still The Biggest Aircraft Manufacturer In 2007, Beating Boeing For The Fifth Straight Year November 12, 2007 8:49 a.m. EST Dubai, United Arab Emirates (AHN) - European aircraft manufacturer Airbus SAS said it will remain the biggest jetliner maker in 2007, beating American archrival Boeing for the fifth straight year. Airbus Chief Executive Officer Tom Enders said it could clinch more than 1,111 orders this year, topping the record it set in 2005. But more importantly, it would have delivered more than 450 airplanes by yearend, compared with Boeing's 445 planes. Boeing was already 60 orders behind Airbus at the end of October. The Toulouse-based company even widened the lead over the U.S. competitor when it secured a whopping $46 billion worth of commitments at the Dubai Air Show which opened on Sunday. Boeing only managed to corner at least $25 billion worth of orders from Emirates, recognized as the world's fastest-growing airline, Dubai Aerospace Enterprise, and Qatar Airways. The U.S. company remains hopeful it will give Airbus a good fight for the No. 1 spot next year when North American airlines replace older planes. No wonder the EU taxpayer is laughing all the way to the bank

Gabor, Why don't you post some pics showing the view from the second floor where the condo is located rather than from an upper floor. At best it is misleading, others would call it misrepresentation ............

Nobody has made any criticism of the owner other than that he is a board member here (magpie) and has recommended his hotel on the pretext of being a satisfied customer. Nothing more, nothing less.

The way the yield management system works on the reservations systems your problem is going to be getting a return seat in the cheapest booking class rather than the outbound flight. Have you flown Emirates from London before?

I've no idea what happened other than its on the back burner ................... again.