A daily wrap of Thailand news, with a Phuket perspective.

nytimes.com Cathay Pacific returned to profit during the first half of the year, but the news from one of Asia's leading airlines did not represent an all-clear for an industry that continues to suffer from depressed passenger and cargo volumes. Cathay's result was mainly due to an unrealised gain of 2.1 billion dollars on fuel hedging contracts, which are used by many carriers to stabilise their fuel costs in the face of often-volatile markets. Stripping out hedging and tax, Cathay actually had an operating loss of 765 million Hong Kong dollars during the six-month period, the airline said. Revenue plummeted 27.1 percent.

scmp.com The downshift from business and first class to economy is a heavy blow to carriers such as Cathay, British Airways and Singapore Airlines, which all rely heavily on the income from the front-end cabin. Investment bankers and analysts are told to fly economy for trips of less than eight hours. Passengers travelling on premium tickets globally were down 23.6 percent in May, 22 percent in April and 19.2 per cent in the first quarter. This is in sharp contrast to a stabilisation in the decline in overall passenger numbers.Asian carriers were the worst hit. In the Far East, premium travel was down 31.6 per cent year on year in May.

Associated Press Panicked passengers scrambled and pushed to the exits of an Airbus 320 preparing to carry 165 passengers from Paris to Spain after an engine suddenly caught fire on Wednesday, witnesses said. Eight passengers were chafed from using the emergency exit slides and were treated by airport personnel after the incident at Orly airport, Vueling airline and French police said. Some other passengers were treated for shock.

The Nation Thailand has announced announced 16 more fatalities of new strain of influenza, bringing the national death toll to 81, Deputy Permanent Secretary for Public Health Dr Paijit Warachit says. The figure was lower than the previous week's toll of 21, which the Public Health Ministry attributed to the public's more awareness of the virus.

theaustralian.news.com.au Shackled at the ankles, with his head bowed, Sydney man Andrew Hood barely flinched when a panel of judges in Bangkok sentenced him to life in prison for an attempt to smuggle 3kg of heroin from Thailand into Australia. Hood said he had been promised $15,000 for the smuggling run by someone he knew in Sydney; and it was tempting because he had lost his job and his car had been repossessed. A former heroin addict, Hood had never left Australia before, and he was only in Thailand for a few days before he was arrested at the airport.


Bangkok Post Farmers from Nakhon Pathom will submit evidence to the Department of Special Investigation today to support claims foreign investors are illegally acquiring paddy fields through Thai nominees. The move comes as the Department of Special Investigations looks into a report that foreigners are buying and leasing land for rice farming with the help of nominee companies. The law allows only joint ventures between foreigners and Thais to operate farm businesses.

TNA Coastal erosion has been worsening and is a special concern on Phuket, where the Andaman coastline counts as one of its primary tourist attractions. On Lepang Beach in Thalang district, some three kilometres of the western shoreline have suffered heavily due to erosion. Another spot affected by erosion on Phuket's west coast is the shoreline close to Phuket International Airport. The problem in both areas is due to the ebb tide and to mangrove deforestation clearing the way to build homes and businesses.

news24.com Initial reports suggest a sudden wind may have caused a passenger plane to skid and crash as it landed on Samui, killing its pilot and injuring passengers, the Thai PM says. The transport minister briefed the cabinet on early investigations after visiting the site where a 70-seater plane ploughed off the runway into an old control tower. Officials from the airline and the aircraft manufacturer were both flying out to inspect the site.

mirror.co.uk Police chief Major Colonel Sayan Sartsri said: ''The heavy damage was at the front of the plane where the pilot was. It looks like he suffered from the impact.'' Kanikka Kemawutanond, director-general of Thailand's Department of Civil Aviation, said: ''We do not know what the pilot did or did not do that led to the incident at this point.'' In 1990 a Bangkok Airways turboprop crashed into a coconut grove short of the airport during heavy rain, killing all 37 people on board.

voa,co US President Barack Obama is welcoming the release of two American journalists who were detained in North Korea, but US officials say the move will not necessarily result in a warming of relations between the two countries. Euna Lee and Laura Ling returned home to the United States after being pardoned by the North Korean government, during a visit to Pyongyang by former President Bill Clinton.

australianetworknews.com Malaysians are dealing with the worst haze levels recorded in the country this year. Environment Department director general Rosnani Ibarahim says hundreds of forest fires are burning in the Indonesian provinces of Kalimantan and Sumatra, and in Malaysia's Sarawak state on Borneo. The smoke is causing unhealthy levels of pollution in six areas, including a district of the capital Kuala Lumpur, two in surrounding Selangor state, and three in Sarawak. The Meteorological Services Department says the heavy haze has reduced visibility to two kilometres in Selangor and Malacca.

Associated Press An American facing up to five years in jail for entering the house of the democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has been hospitalised after suffering seizures. Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi, who is charged with violating the terms of her house arrest for allowing him to spend two nights at her home, could also be sentenced to five years in the case. The American, John Yettaw, 53, who has epilepsy, was admitted to Yangon's main hospital on Monday, and his condition is improving, hospital employees said.

wsj.com Seagate Technology will close its Singapore hard-disk-drive manufacturing plant by the end of next year and lay off 2000 workers as a result. Seagate expects to save roughly $40 million a year through the plant closure when the restructuring is complete, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.It will maintain its Asian international headquarters in Singapore.


Phuket Economy: Flight Numbers Looking UP
Economy Phuket flight numbers are UP for the first time since July last year, an indication that the economic bottom has been scraped. There is only one way to go now . . .
Phuket Economy: Flight Numbers Looking UP

'Gun Island' Claims Two More Needless Notches
Latest Guns take two more lives on Phuket, a holiday island where weapons remain too easy to access. An American expat and a young Thai man are the latest victims.
'Gun Island' Claims Two More Needless Notches

Pilot Killed as Samui Flight Hits Tower: Seven Injured
Latest Questions about air safety in Thailand will follow the crash of a Bangkok Airways flight that hit a control tower on Samui, killing the captain and injuring seven passengers, five seriously.
Pilot Killed as Samui Flight Hits Tower: Seven Injured

Phuket Protest Traps Thaksin's Sister in Hotel
Photo Album Having a famous brother and sharing the family name brought trouble for Yinglak Shinawatra on Phuket. Protesters outside a hotel forced her to flee out the back way.
Phuket Protest Traps Thaksin's Sister in Hotel

Karon Pair Accused of Ripping Off Vendors
Latest Two men have been accused of extortion and standover tactics in pretending to be representative of the Phuket Governor. But the Governor had other ideas.
Karon Pair Accused of Ripping Off Vendors

Dear PM, Please Make Phuket Corruption-Free
Latest Happy Birthday, Mr Prime Minister. Here's a gift to you, an idea that could make Phuket and perhaps Thailand better places. Start your fight against corruption here, on one small island.
Dear PM, Please Make Phuket Corruption-Free

Will Asean Plus Six Sacrifice Meat, Drink and Sex?
Photo Album Is there room for 16 more people prepared to make sacrifices on Phuket during the annual Vegetarian festival? Visiting at that time are the leaders of the Asean Plus Six nations.
Will Asean Plus Six Sacrifice Meat, Drink and Sex?