PeterRS

Tell that to someone who is a dedicated teacher, fireman, nurse or other lowly paid profession with just enough money to raise a family. I'm sure they will be pleased to receive your advice. If Ih ad spare cash, then I might take your advice about investing in Australia. But then I remember the time not so long ago when the Aussie dollar was under 50 to the US dollar. I think the difficulty for most people with cash to invest nowadays is how to create a balanced portfolio that is going to grow over time. If I remind you of someone, I assume it's someone you'e met. I suspect this is extremely unlikely. My crowd of friend don't make anything like $100 per hour, sad to say.

I am not sure how long the flight has to be for a second set of pilots to be used by airlines. Most overnight flights of 10 hours or more will have them. 8 hours or less - probably not, but that's a guess. I know there is an ongoing study by Boeing, Airbus and an International Flight Safety Committee on the most effective times for crew rest periods. All long range aircraft have bunk beds for pilots just behind the cockpit area.

And how do you propose most people do that? Sure it makes a lot of sense. But the majority of people, including probably the majority of posters, have limited means and are at least in their 40s if not older. I'd love to make a "truckload of money" but have no idea how to do that barring a good run at the tables in Las Vegas.

As most frequent flyers know, four pilots is standard for a long haul flight with 2 resting whilst the other 2 fly the plane. I presume the fifth was a passenger being flown to London where he'd then pilot a flight out. But thank goodness he was on board, as it seems clear they needed all five to get that plane down safely. I see Qantas will have at least some of its A380s back in the air by the end of the week.

Sadly, not on the three I mentioned. They all exploded mid-flight and all on board were killed instantly. The problem on the first Comets was the design of the square shaped windows. Great to look out of them, but they resulted in minute stress fractures at the corners. After a certain number of take-off and landing cycles, the fractures developed into full blown cracks. Thereafter RIP! I may be wrong but I know of no Comet disasters when any on board actually survived. Sorry kokpelli, the 747 looks to be on the way out. It will take some years, of course, but the long range airliner of preference is likely to be the 777, with the extended Airbus A340 also filling in until the A350 is ready in a few years time. The Dreamliner, whenever it finally makes it off the test bed and starts flying passengers, will be the medium-size point-to-point carrier. However, the longer it is delayed, the more the A350 is catching up. The 747 is basically a 1960s deign, although with a vast number of modifications and upgrades over the years. It does seem that Boeing has not received enough orders for the fourth version, the upgraded 747-800 series. The order book has less than 50 for passenger aircraft at present. SO the chances of that getting off the ground are not high. I also think it's a pity as I love the space on a 747. But then , I haven't tried the A380 yet. The Rolls Royce accident on the Qantas A380 is certainly worrying. As part of their engine testing programme, engine makers deliberately destroy an engine going at full throttle. It has to pass that test without bits flying out of the outer casing before it can be certified. As Bob rightly says, "it's not supposed to happen like that!"

I've reached the point where I'm happy to take an A380 flight. The Rolls Royce engine problems are worrying, but other airlines use different engines. I'l try an Emirates flight quite soon. Re the Dreamliner, my concern is that so much of that plane is new technology. There's no reason why it should not fly successfully after its full test schedule. On the other hand, not matter how much people enjoy flying it, I prefer to wait a couple of years

Back to the Dreamliner. Guess what? Hot on the heels of a Qantas A380 having an engine explode leading to the grounding of its fleet of six, and Singapore Airlines replacing the engines on three of its bigger A380 fleet, now the Dreamliner has been grounded. So this means yet another delay in delivery to airines. CNN is reporting that one of the Dreamliner test aircraft had to make an emergency landing in Texas after smoke was discovered in the cabin during a routine test flight on Tuesday. "Until we understand the event, we're not going to schedule any new flights," said Lori Gunter, a Boeing spokeswoman. Sorry, but I'm keeping well away from this aircraft until it has been in service for a few years. Perhaps I remember too well the story of the revolutionary de Havilland Comet, the first commercial jet passenger aircraft. No less than three exploded in mid-air, a problem eventually discovered to be a design fault. It was 4 years before the modified aircraft re-entered service as the Comet 4. But the damage has been done. The plane was never thereafter a commercial success, having been overtaken by the Boeing 707 and the Douglas DC8. http://www.cnn.com/2010/TRAVEL/11/10/boeing.dreamliner.test/index.html

I can't imagine anyone thinking this is anything but staged. The dialogue is stilted and there is almost no-one else in the bar. It may look nice - but when was the last time you saw any bar customer up on stage with his clothes being stripped off?

I have been reading reports of dreadful flooding in many parts of Thailand. This presumably means the water in the Chao Phraya is racing towards Bangkok. Anyone know if there has been flooding in Bangkok?

Never been to HCM but spent a week-end in Hanoi and really enjoyed it. Some lovely colonial architecture and people were friendly. Am told there is a small gay scene which comes alive at week-ends. Traffic much easier on Saturday and Sunday.

I agree that most airlines have improved the business class product to the point where there is little difference with first class, apart from first having more space and slightly better F&B. Hardly surprising since it is business class that produces the most revenue for the legacy carriers. I recently flew long distance in premium economy and was not impressed. It seemed much more like the economy of the old days (25+ years ago). The only major difference was seating being 8 abreast rather than 10. I find it quite interesting that most long-haul airlines have gone from 2 classes, to 3, now to 4, and back to 3 again for those where first disappears. But as airlines continue attempts to maximize revenues, I can see 4 classes becoming the norm. Business will be the new First. Premium Economy will be upgraded, and there will be yet another enhanced Economy section. That's because there

In that case, i'm sorry. I had assumed when content is freely available, then it's quotable even without attribution. In future I'll be more specific. I'm glad you would not have been bothered by the noise . My reaction would have been like travelerjim and those who posted on gaybuttonthai. But then I was not there! Your posts were not in the slightest offensive. I appreciate the give and take that goes on on this Board without all the backstabbing common on some others.

I am not worked up about it. Anyway I was not there. The site I quoted from was gaybuttonthai.com and the poster was named Doug. Since that site can be accessed and read by anyone, I'm not sure that anyone can claim the poster might be upset. When I post here, I know that the world can read my contribution. Do I expect to be credited if anyone finds my words remotely worth quoting? Not at all. If Doug reads this Board and is upset, then I'll say sorry to him. I have no idea how many farang were at the party. I don't even know if there were any Thai there. The issue, as far as I can see, is that one gay establishment took absolutely no account of what was happening just a few yards away. That happening was supported by 36 other gay venues. If the owner is so insensitive, then I want no part of his business. Do I care about that? Not in the slightest. Does he? I doubt it. Of course other bars play muusic. But the whole point is that this was not just another bar playing music. It was an "excruciating loud noise all evening". That is not what I call a normal evening in Sunee. I wonder how you and the other GT members would have felt if it had happened during your party? I think that was held very near at Yaya's. I did notice that you left in the bar name. But why would you edit it out, when it is all over other Boards? It's no secret. "If it is a gay owned business, I'd still go there and support them. If it is not gay owned, then if they have sexy guys I'd still go and support them." That's perfectly fine. I decided I will not. WE agree to differ.

I found the name quite openly on another site. It was a host bar named What Else. A lot of posters have echoed travelerjim's comments. The bar decided to have its opening night on the same day as the fund raiser. They were apparently well aware that the fund raiser had been planned for a long time. This was one comment - "They placed a very, very loud karaoke stage right next to Corner Bar and blasted Issan music at deafening levels throughout Sunee Plaza." I will now ensure that I never visit it.

Why not? If I read correctly, you were not there. travelerjim was and he describes the music as "excruciatingly loud". I read somewhere else that the bar was asked to turn down the music, but did not do so - or did in such an infinitessimal way that it was not noticeable. 36 venues participated. Why should one bad apple get away with creating such a disturbance and annoying those attending such a major community function? I don't want ever to go to that bar and would like to know its name please. I think others would also like to know it.

You're right. It's NOT true! After 5 trouble-free years with my Mac desktop, the battery inside finally gave up the ghost. Steve Jobs - you have a lot to answer for

Can someone please NAME AND SHAME the bar who chose to play such excruciating loud music? I hope everyone will make a note of the name and ensure they never patronise that bar.

Yes, there was a 747 forward cargo door failure as you point out. Most people tend to associate such a failure with the DC10 Paris crash because it resulted in 345 deaths and was definitely a design fault in the aft cargo door. I believe it also featured in that Air Crash programme, which I do watch when I can.

Not sure what security is like there now, but it certainly used to be quite easy to grab one that had just dropped off it passengers.

Not inconvenient. The hotel has a shuttle boat that links it with River City and the Skytrain at Saphan Thaksin. When it stops around midnight, you can always get a taxi back as the traffic is very light.

It sure was a fatal crash. Outside Paris in the mid 1970s. But it was the McDonnell Douglas DC10, not a Boeing! The DC10 did not have a very distinguished record. In early 1979 an engine flew off an American AIrlines flight on take off at Chicago's O'Hare airport. The aircraft banked steeply and crashed with all passengers killed. All DC10s were then grounded for a while. In the same year, though, another flew into an iceberg off New Zealand. Its successor, the MD11, corrected a lot of the design faults, but it always seemed tainted by its association with the DC10.

There is a lot of choice, it depends on when you will be in Bangkok and your definition of "upper class". The Hilton is offering great rates for weekends next month. I agree you'll have no problem with a younger friend. agoda has rates there around US$120 for weekend nights next month. Lebua State Tower has rates $150 - 170. The Mandarin Oriental is over double that.

Interesting discussion. I

I stayed at the Crowne Plaza. Great hotel and had a great time. No problem at all with joiners. It's just a short walk up the hill to Blue Boy. If that's too much, the monorail has a stop right at the hotel and gets you there in one stop. It's good because you also get the monorail from the airport train.

Hundreds of gay guys from many ASian countries attend the full moon parties. Not sure if there are any dedicated gay areas, but since many guys go in groups, they tend to gravitate towards each other during the night. Don't worry. You'll have a blast.