PeterRS

I think most of us realise that. What I for one totally fail to realise is why United in this case decided at just minutes notice after all the passengers were seated awaiting take off that suddenly they needed 4 crew seats? Crew movements are planned much further ahead of time and its common that some seats are deliberately blocked for that very reason. Theres a lot of talk about a business model on this thread. That is no way to run a business!

A nuanced view? I find that view utterly objectionable. You still idiotically maintain the 69 year old doctor was partly to blame. That is just nuts! "He knew the risks of such behavior!" How on earth do you know that. Have you evidence that he had experience of that before? Fact is you dont. Did the gate agent when offering the compensation for volunteers tell all the passengers some would forcibly be removed if four could not be found? I have no idea but I absolutely doubt it. At the very least it seems he was not provided with the mandatory written statement of instructions and that is against the law. At least you agree the way he was so forcibly removed was "a grievous error". But it happened and you cannot divorce the two situations. Where in any airline contract does it unequivocally state a peaceful passenger who is causing no disturbance in any way, no harm, who is buckled in his seat awaiting take-off, who is not even suspected of carrying illegal substances or whatever, may be removed by such violent means that he broke his nose, two teeth, sinus issues and concussion? Ill bet you cant find it because its not there. And my understanding is that airlines cannot bump passengers who have a specific urgent reason for arriving at the destination by a certain time. A doctor caring for patients would seem to be a lot more urgent than the reasons of at last some others on that flight. As I pointed out in an earlier post and as the lawyer stated unequivocally in the media conference last night, the legal arbiter of what went on on that plane was the captain. His word was law. Period. He had the legal right to order the bullies off his plane and/or to temper their behaviour. Where was he? Nowhere but locked in his cockpit it would seem. Why did the flight attendants not warn him what was happening as I assume they can not have done? Te end result is that high powered lawyer yesterday made it totally clear that the law suit which will definitely come (a point he finally agreed) will either have to be settled with a huge out of court settlement or to go to trial with the airline and the city of Chicago as the primary defenders. He must be loving every minute of this because as again stated he knows the flying public is totally pissed off with the way they are treated by airlines. Im prepared to put a few bucks on the table that if it does get to court, the defenders will be faced with with multi million dollar awards against them. My guess is the doctor will end up with a 7 figure sum for the actions on that aircraft and aggravated damages that could stretch as far as a 9 figure amount. And all because the airline would not offer a few hundred more in cash to find a volunteer. The fault is the airlines. No question.

I cannot believe that comment. You have paid for your ticket. You have checked in. You have been given your boarding pass. You have gone through security. You have boarded the plane and you are sitting in your seat. You see a gate agent board. You hear him asking for volunteers. You have no intention of volunteering because of your job. You stay seated. You are then treated like an escaped prisoner. And you consider this passenger had part of the blame? That is ridiculous! If it was me, I would have held my ground and done precisely the same. To suggest that the doctor bore some of the blame for throwing a tantrum in such circumstances is ... sorry, but ridiculous.

Had two flights in to Moscow in 2011. Long immigration queues but no problem whatever with customs. Just walked through.

And that jfarmer017 is pure bullshit! Ive flown Chicago to Louisville at least a couple of dozen times, sometimes on the earliest flight and sometimes on the last. If it is 10pm on a Sunday and you have appointments at 9am the next morning, do you seriously believe any passenger on that flight would agree to leave voluntarily, get off the plane, wait for his bag to get off (on these small planes carry on is kept at the back), get back to the terminal, hope you can find a car hire company that is open and has an available car for a one-way hire (how much does that cost at the last minute?), then drive through the night to get to Louisville at dawn and still be fully capable of carrying out your work that day? Come one! Remember that louisville is one hour ahead of Chicago. What if he had been a surgeon? Would you be happy to go under the knife knowing your surgeon had had no sleep the night before? Even if the airline offered to drive me in a chauffeured limousine Id have turned it down. The only reason 4 passengers were asked to leave was because the airline decided at the last minute it needed to get 4 flight attendants to Louisville. It must have been very last minute or it would have bumped the passengers at check in and probably been perfectly within its rights to do so. Airlines routinely have to fly crew to other ports. However such crew movements are always planned well ahead and seats held back for them. If passengers could be expected to drive through the night, why not those flight attendants? I know this was not technically United but it carried Uniteds brand name. And it was not United that ejected the passenger in such a criminal way. (I really wonder where the captain was as all this was happening. It was his flight and on board his word is law.) But it is United that is now in disastrous PR shit and no doubt facing a multi million dollar law suit to boot. And it could all have been solved without any fuss with just a few hundred extra dollars being offered.

From reading other posts on some of the forums, its clear that Taipei may not be to everyones taste and expectations. But some posters really seem to like it a lot and find plenty of sex there. I dont read Chinese but when in China I find a decent map and a little time just looking at the characters means I can usually locate a building as long as I am in the right area. If in the wrong area then I am totally screwed LOL I find it strange that because you assumed there was a lot of barebacking going on in Kuala Lumpur where gay sex is illegal you just assumed that this is also true in Taipei where there isn such law. You may be right but surely you should have checked before making the assumption? Obviously it was a pity that you could not access the smartphone apps. Im actually surprised anyone travels without them nowadays. Again reading from the other reports, these seem to be particularly active in Taiwan and it would be nice to have had more confirmation. I wonder if you also tried the male only hot springs?

Holy brother Abidismaili on the march

How can your life be wrecked by not having a naked massage with a 17 year old clothed youth? I dont like the sound of that.

Agree with traveller123 on both recommendations. Vertigo at the Banyan Tree is definitely expensive but worth it for the view. Your only problem is the time of year. If it starts to rain just after your drinks have arrived you have to move down a floor. Have also eaten several times at Table de Tee. The cuisine is French nouvel cuisine type fusion with some Thai flavourings. Last time I was there the cost was around 1,350 Baht per head plus service. Its a fixed price menu with 5 courses. Three courses have a choice of two dishes. The other two have no choice. Chef Tee trained at a top restaurant in London. Its in a little dead end sub soi about half way along Saladaeng. http://www.latabledetee.com With a similar fusion theme, even better is Le Du very close to Chongnonsi BTS station. The two Thai chefs here trained in New York and then worked in top US restaurants. Its more expensive than Tabble de Tee but the quality is higher. The flavours in each dish just explode in your mouth. There is a tasting menu but be careful for some of the dishes require an extra supplement. http://www.ledubkk.com

You think life is fair? You think we live in a free society? Waken up! All societies have rules. They form the backbone of all societies and communities. If you dont like those rules, break them and then you take the consequences. But dont keep moaning on about them.

Seems to me that Thailand Elite is doing its best to rip off UK pensioners in a big way. I reckon the only reason anyone would think of paying $60,000 plus $600 a year is if they dont know about the annual retirement visa procedure. After all the perks are extremely limited. I bet Thailand Elite is doing its best to ensure that state of ignorance is maintained!

Thanks for the line up photo Travellerdave. I think its great that someone has had the courage not just to open a bar there but to keep prices at a level which definitely should encourage more customers. I hope everyone visiting Pattaya will make sure to visit and show their support.

I have several friends who have married their Thai partners. The marriages took place in London and one couple lives there. Even with a 25 year age difference, they have never noticed any homophobia, strange looks etc. either in the west or on their regular trips back to Thailand. Another couple also has a big age difference and have lived together in Bangkok and once in Chiang Mai for 15 years. I have spent quite a bit of time with them. Again Ive never seen any signs of homophobia, open or repressed.

For years its been common to have the belt but no buckles on the back seats. That is definitely changing fast. In the last few days I have been amazed. All but one of the taxis I have taken has had working seat belts in the back.

You surely cannot believe that therefore all retirees wait till official retirement age. Talking with a good friend today between us we know of 5 living here in Bangkok and 1 in Jomtien who all retired in their early 50s. My friend and I retired in our late 50s. So its totally incorrect to make assumptions that because the majority wait till mid 60s, therefore everyone does.

There you go again. So often you take your own beliefs based on your own very limited experience and morph them into a generalisation that is often simply not true! A lot of people I know retired long before 65. They saved and invested well precisely to do that. And how is it you know - because you always seem to know - that the farang you see in the bars are guys who retired here? Theyre more likely tourists. The retirees are more likely to be out dining in nice restaurants and having a great time with friends and boyfriends. But then thats just not how you think. Loosen up!

No I certainly dont understand! Yet again you show your negative thoughts and feelings. Being a pensioner in no way implies being close to death. Not at all. I know of people in Thailand who retired on a pension at age 50. He probably has 35 plus years to live! Another who still works and enjoys a full social life and a lot of travel in his 60s. Your only actual fact is that those who retire tend to be closer to death than you are - in terms purely of years. Im sure the medical profession has studies to prove that those with a positive outlook on life and who enjoy their lives live far longer and far more actively than those who always view life with their minds filled with negative thoughts.

What a foul and disgraceful statement - and so totally untrue in so many cases. If you are so happy, why is it that you always sound as though you had just taken a dose of arsenic?

Why this obsession with elderly men? It becomes crashingly boring! Like many posters I am no longer young and considerably older than the early 40s you say you are. Like many of my age, I have no problem with sex in the afternoon and again in the evening - and probably the morning as well. For years I used to visit Albury before it made its ill fated move to Suk 26. I always had the same cute masseur, got a great massage and always ended up with a f--k session. Always! Same at Aqua off Sathorn Soi 9. Both sadly closed now.

I do not mean to be or sound mean spirited but from reading your posts it seems to me that you probably have an overlarge inferiority complex. My impression from your posts is that you feel you have a humdrum sort of job where you live in Europe, a humdrum sort of life where you can never find the sort of sex and love you really seek. So you eventually found Thailand and discovered it is easy to buy love and sex, if only for a short time. And after that short time is over, not only have the boys left, you are back at BKK to say a temporary goodby to the pleasures of Thailand. Back to boring routine with only memories left. But perhaps also a grudging envy for those who actually live in Thailand and for whom those pleasures are available every day if they so wish. The problem with those who have such a mass of negative thoughts about themselves is that those negative thoughts have a habit of taking over the personality of such a person. They become timid, almost fearful of breaking out of the accepted ways of doing things back home. And believe it or not such negativity often transfers itself to those they come into contact with. The opposite is a guy who is full of confidence. Somehow he radiates a very positive charisma. Others certainly react to that sort of guy. Hes the one who enters a room and most there automatically turn to look at him. When he meets a cute guy in DJ Station he has no hesitation in going up to him, smiling a killer smile (Thais love smiles!), engaging in conversation, buying him a drink and quite possibly ending up with a night of passion. Such positive thinking guys can sometimes be a pain if they are overconfident. But generally most arent. So I seriously suggest you work hard on getting rid of all the negativity in your life. For if you dont make a start soon, you will almost certainly find yourself pretty miserable by the time you get to your 60s.

Surely you are now being rather dramatic? Neither the locker room nor operating theatre analogies really apply to the OP. What worries me far more tho is the fixation this particular poster seems to betray in many of his posts about the implications of under age sex, real or implied. I do not think they are proper for a forum like this one.

Years ago I was at a show somewhere the US where there was an excellent stand up comedian who used to open for some of the best known acts. He told a tale of a little old lady flying from San Francisco to Miami who was very concerned about her small dog in its little cage. She tried her best to persuade the check in clerk to let her take the dog on board. "Madam, Im so sorry but that is just against our airline regulations. We will have to put it in a special section of the aircraft hold where your dog will be perfectly fine." "But Im so worried about him. Cant he just go under my seat?" "Please dont worry. Hell be just fine and youll see him again as soon as you get to Miami." So the old lady had no choice. After the flight landed, the baggage handlers were horrified to see that the dog was no longer alive. Panic! A local staffer was quickly despatched to a nearby pet shop to get a smail dog of a similar breed. When the luggage came up on the carousel, the lady became concerned when there was no sign of her dog. She waited a full 45 minutes until all the bags had been taken but still no dog. So she went over to the airlines baggage supervisor. "Wheres my dog? I'm so worried about him." Playing for time, the supervisor told her, "Please dont worry. Your dog will be delivered to you very soon." Another 20 minutes and finally the dog in the cage was brought out for her. She was so pleased - until she looked inside the cage. Her demeanour quickly changed. "But this isnt my dog!" "Madam thats your dog cage and I can assure you that is what we took off the plane with the greatest of care.And cant you see how happy he is to see you?" "But that isnt my dog!" "Madam, you're just a bit distraught." "Distraught my ass! Its not my dog! My dog was dead!"

Just out of curiosity why an Olympic size pool? Cant he do turns at each end?

The present quarantine regulations give a quarantine officer the right to detain a pet at the airport quarantine station for up to a month. This from one embassy website The animals are subjected to quarantine at approved premises for a period of at least 30 (thirty) days upon arrival during which they shall be submitted to tests and/or treatments deemed necessary. The importer/owner shall be fully charged for the incurred expenses.

If dogs are permitted in the cabin I hope they are given a strong tranquilliser first. Screaming kids are bad enough, but a yelping small dog would drive many passengers crazy on a transPacific flight. Even with a muzzle they can make annoying moans.