Auditor-General Pisit Leelavachiropas yesterday ruled out claims of irregularities in Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon's 20.9-million-baht chartered flight to Hawaii, and defended the serving of caviar saying it "is normal".
Mr Pisit said the inflight service adheres to Thai Airways International Plc (THAI) standards and that caviar is a standard dish for VIP passengers.
He said the Office of the Auditor-General (OAG) had looked into complaints about the costs of the three-day trip which was slammed for being exorbitant, and found the price to be acceptable.
Criticism was sparked after costs of the flight were shared and an unconfirmed list of 46 passengers on the flight was released online. It was questioned whether anyone who went on the trip was not involved in the defence meeting.
The government conceded the chartered flight was organised by THAI but insisted the number of passengers on the flight was only 38, including Gen Prawit, for an Asean-US defence ministers' meeting in Hawaii from Sept 29 to Oct 30.
According to Mr Pisit, flying a regular commercial flight is as expensive as flying a chartered flight on this trip as a first-class seat on a regular flight to Hawaii is estimated to cost 300,000-600,000 baht because there are no direct commercial flights from Bangkok to Hawaii.
The difference is the number of travel hours, he said. A scheduled flight takes between 16 to 33 hours depending on the flight routes while a chartered flight takes about 11 hours.
The auditor-general also questioned the appropriateness of flying on a foreign-owned airline.
Mr Pisit said actual costs of the trip were not yet concluded. THAI is still calculating expenses incurred throughout the trip and foreign exchange rates also needed to be factored in, he added.
The auditor-general said the services adhere to THAI standards and caviar is a standard dish for VIP passengers. There were only nine VIP seats on the flight.
He said it is impossible to ask the airline to take caviar off the menu in exchange for a fare reduction.
Mr Pisit was responding to a claim which circulated, along with criticism over alleged misspending, on social media that caviar was served on the flight.
According to images and information posted on a Facebook page calling itself CSI LA, the first meal served on the charter flight from Bangkok to Honolulu was a snack that included caviar and Italian smoked ham. The photo, described as being taken from the in-flight menu, has not been verified.
Gen Prawit earlier denied he ate caviar on the flight, insisting he only ate noodles and ordinary Thai foods.
On criticism that a Boeing 747-400 with a capacity of up to 416 passengers was arranged for the 38-member delegation, Mr Pisit said the airline explained the aircraft is suitable for an intercontinental flight.
According to Mr Pisit, as many as 38 people went on the trip because they were assigned to attend sideline meetings on several issues including human trafficking and illicit drugs.
He also said there were four civilians: One reporter, one photographer and two staff from the Prime Minister's Office.
He said the findings would be submitted to the State Audit Commission for consideration on Monday.
Meanwhile, Gen Prawit yesterday hit back at former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra who called on the government to clarify the issue, saying it had been explained already.
"[In case she didn't listen] I'm asking her to meet me so that I can explain it to her in person," he said.
The defence minister also rejected deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's remark calling on the regime not to "bully" his sister, saying the government did not do such a thing.
"How could we bully her? What does the government do? Every case is in court. The government has nothing to do with it. Everything goes through the justice system," he said.
Early yesterday Ms Yingluck criticised government spokespeople who defended the trip and also suggested foul play by political elements to discredit the government.