Suvarnabhumi Saga Stories

[Guest wowpow]

Bangkok Post - Don Ross - 31st August 2006

 

Extract:

 

"Arriving passengers exit at level two of the passenger terminal where they can queue for a taxi. Unlike Don Muang, taxis are not allowed to park kerbside at the exit. They park three kilometres always at the remote parking area, next to the bus station.

 

Similar to most international airports, a taxi supervisor radios a batch of taxis from the remote taxi rank managing the queue from a pool of around 400 authorised taxis.

 

Limousine counters are located on both the fourth and second floors, but also park at the same location as the public taxis."

 

 

Full article:

 

In just 28 days, the doors will slam shut at Don Muang Airport ending its career as Asia's oldest operating commercial airport. Travellers will switch to what airport developers call a green field airport, built from scratch and by their nature subject to a host of ills that haunt projects that rise from swamps or reclaimed land.

 

Some Bangkok residents told me they were re-arranging their travel diaries to ensure they would not have to travel overseas September 28 or for at least a week afterwards to avoid the inevitable teething problems.

 

Here are a few tips that might help to reduce the pain when Suvarnabhumi Airport assumes the role of the nation's premier gateway.

 

It helps to know that common sense prevailed and the Airports of Thailand confirmed it will close Don Muang Airport 0100 September 28 to all commercial airline traffic. Don Muang will serve as an aircraft maintenance centre and handle VIP flights and charters. All the domestic airlines transfer after the last flights on September 27.

 

I measured the distance from the expressway entrance at Ploenchit to Suvarnabhumi Airport terminal at 31 km, about five kilometres more than the distance to Don Muang.

 

However, the taxi fares are likely to double to Suvarnabhumi from around 150 baht to 300 baht for a single trip. Limousine companies that pick up travellers from hotels and residences will probably double the one-way fare from around 600 to 1200 baht.

 

Despite the Airports of Thailand's claims that there are five routes to the new airport, the quickest for travellers in the hotel districts around Ploenchit and Sukhumvit is via the Rama IX expressway that drops down on Motorway 7, heading east.

 

Taxis are authorised to drop off passengers at the fourth floor entrance to the departures hall. AoT states in its operations manual that neither taxis nor private cars can park at kerbside. They must drop off passengers and leave immediately.

 

Private car owners follow the road signs to the passenger terminal on Motorway 7 and take the flyover to an eight-lane divided highway that leads directly to the 4th floor of the terminal building. There they drop off family and suitcases before taking a sharp right to the 5,000-car capacity short term parking building just in front of the airport's hotel.

 

If you are travelling with THAI, or on domestic flights, head for rows A through to C. The departure hall is 500 metres long so you do not want to stop your car too far from the entrance to your airline's row unless you like to trek. THAI and Star Alliance airlines are close to the first entrances as you approach the terminal. Oneworld airlines follow, somewhere in the middle of the terminal, with all the non-alliance airlines at rows beyond.

 

The escalators leading to the domestic departure concourses face rows A and B, close to where THAI has its check-in lounges for business and first class passengers. International passengers pass through immigration checkpoints near rows G and H.

 

AoT postponed its decision to raise the Passenger Service Charge from 500 baht to 700 baht until next February, after airlines and travel associations voiced objections at a meeting mid-August. By February, it is quite likely that the passenger fee will be included in the price of the air ticket to streamline the process.

 

Until then passengers will continue with the current system, buying a 500-baht coupon from the kiosk or self-service vending machines.

 

Due to additional security measures introduced by THAI, earlier this month, for all flights to the US, UK, Australia, Bali, Philippines and Sri Lanka, passengers will need to check-in three hours before flight departures. This will continue at Suvarnabhumi. However, the distance from the departure terminal to the airside gates through the concourses is considerably longer than passengers encounter at Don Muang.

 

Travel agents are recommending that their clients allow 30 minutes to walk from the check-in row to the gates on concourse A, B, and 40 minutes through concourses C to G. There are seven concourses leading off the passenger terminal building. Some airlines are reverting to some old fashioned measures to reduce strays such as providing passengers with bright lapel stickers, possibly with the concourse letter.

 

Miscalculating the time it takes to walk through the long concourses to international gates or a diversion for retail therapy at the duty-free shops will probably account for most of the passenger related hiccups.

 

On the bright side, both domestic and international flights are located in the same terminal, which ends the need for the long hike between terminal buildings at Don Muang.

 

Arriving passengers exit at level two of the passenger terminal where they can queue for a taxi. Unlike Don Muang, taxis are not allowed to park kerbside at the exit. They park three kilometres always at the remote parking area, next to the bus station.

 

Similar to most international airports, a taxi supervisor radios a batch of taxis from the remote taxi rank managing the queue from a pool of around 400 authorised taxis.

 

Limousine counters are located on both the fourth and second floors, but also park at the same location as the public taxis.

 

Tour groups will exit through immigration and customs on level two, but unlike individual travellers, they will go down one floor to where tour buses will park. Tour companies, car rental and banks will have counters in the foyer of level two.

 

There is another option for passengers who want to avoid the level two taxi queue or want to travel by bus to the city. They can board a complimentary shuttle bus that takes 10 minutes to transfer from the terminal to the bus station. The taxi ranks and car rental pick-up and drop off areas are next door. Long-term parking lots for up to 10,000 cars are also located across the street from the bus station.

 

Private car drivers can pick up passengers at level two, but they will not be able to park at kerbside.

 

A passage from level two will lead to airport express train station located in the basement of the airport hotel. The train will begin services in late 2008 stopping at a terminal adjacent to the Phya Thai BTS station on Phaholyothin Road.

 

Until then, travellers will have to cope with expensive taxi and limousine fares or suffer the drawn out task of journeying home via one of six air-conditioned bus routes to Minburi, Happy Land, Victory Monument, Onnuj BTS station, Samut Prakan and Rangsit.

[Gaybutton]

We're getting conflicting stories about the taxis. In the article I posted in a thread below, also from the BANGKOK POST, it said:

_____

 

"Duangjai Kitisin, a state enterprise employee, said the airport was a cause of national pride although the shuttle service was still a problem. Passengers had to take shuttle buses from the arrival hall to a separate terminal to catch a bus and taxi."

_____

 

Let's hope the article you found is the one with the correct information. It certainly makes much more sense. It would seem that a brand new airport that would force incoming passengers to have to take shuttle buses to get a taxi would be beyond ridiculous. I've never been to an airport in my life at which it is necessary to take a shuttle bus to catch a taxi.

 

Another thing I noticed in te article you posted that I think is worth pointing out is:

_____

 

"Private car drivers can pick up passengers at level two, but they will not be able to park at kerbside."

_____

 

That makes sense too.

 

The one thing I have not yet seen is how private limo service will work. I'm talking about when arrangements have been made to have someone waiting for you upon arrival, holding a sign with your name on it. I haven't seen anything that addresses how they will get you from the point at which you are met to the limo. I suppose they will simply have you wait while the driver gets the limo and comes back to pick you up.

 

Well, we'll all know the answers soon enough.

 

The official final airport closing time at Don Muang will be 1:00 AM on September 28. The only glitch I can see is if an airline is still using Don Muang as its arrival airport that day and the flight is delayed beyond the closing time. I don't know if the flight will be diverted to Suvarnabhumi in that circumstance, but my guess is that it will. It wouldn't be a problem to have a delayed flight arrive at Don Muang, but it would present problems when that same plane now has to go from Don Munag to Suvarnabhumi to pick up outbound passengers.

 

If you happen to be arriving that night on a flight that may be delayed that length of time, then if you have someone meeting you at the airport it would be a good idea to have the person contact the airline to find out if your flight is going to arrive on time or make arrangements other than having someone meet you. If that problem occurs, it will be only that one night since Don Muang will close to all commercial flights after that.

 

Well, we've all seen delay after delay getting Suvanrabhumi open, but this time it looks like it will finally happen.

[Guest wowpow]

Bangkok Airport online

 

Yes Gaybutton I should have mentioned - but thought that everyone would know by now - that all the information on taxi services said that passengers needed to take the Express shuttle for 3 kilometers from Arrivals to The Transport Center, as do those wanting buses and hire cars and private car parking.

 

The above site has many great photos.

 

GB I would be oblidged if you can correct my awful typo in the heading and put rhe R in Suvarnabhumi for me. My edit button does not give me access to the title. Thanks.

[Gaybutton]

GB I would be oblidged if you can correct my awful typo in the heading and put rhe R in Suvarnabhumi for me. My edit button does not give me access to the title. Thanks.

 

I'd love to, TeePee, but I don't have an access level that makes it possible. Perhaps Stef or Gaythailand can do it.

[Up2u]

 

.....Another thing I noticed in te article you posted that I think is worth pointing out is:

_____

 

"Private car drivers can pick up passengers at level two, but they will not be able to park at kerbside."

_____

 

That makes sense too.

 

The one thing I have not yet seen is how private limo service will work. I'm talking about when arrangements have been made to have someone waiting for you upon arrival, holding a sign with your name on it. I haven't seen anything that addresses how they will get you from the point at which you are met to the limo. I suppose they will simply have you wait while the driver gets the limo and comes back to pick you up.

 

 

Currently, my private limo driver (Pon & Gems) waits for my arrival and wheels my cart with luggage to the parking garage and then it's off to Pattaya. After reading this it looks like this will be possible at the new airport. None of the maps I've seen so far shows the new short-term parking garage. I know long-term parking is available near the new Transit Center.

[Guest wowpow]

http://www.bangkokairportonline.com/node/41

 

There seems little information on short term parking. In the Gallery under Departures there is a photo of an open car park and a multi story close by the airport. In the Arrivals Gallery there is a photo of a sign which includes 'car park".

 

Presumably the system will be the same as previously - in the arrivals hall there will be space for Chauffeurs and taxis to display cards with customers names. Then they escort you to the vehicle in the car park or you wait curbside while they get the vehicle.

 

Hopefully, the throng in the Arrivals Hall will enjoy more space and control than was the case at Dom Muang.

[Guest Boxer]

All is now revealed in Boxers definative Guide to the New Airport following his visit last Friday.

Boxers web site

Taxis and Limo's will be at Arrivals but only if you queue waiting for them to be called from the Public Transportation Centre 5 minutes away. Others are at Bus Station and Taxi area there.

See the page on prices and Transport Centre also.

Short term parking follow the signs to Car Park Two or nearest it's Domestic and Three farthest away as you arrive is International. Both Bridge linked to Departures Hall. Its a huge place.

Any questions i will try to help.

[Guest wowpow]

WOW what a fabulous coverage by Boxer. Do have a look and see the photos of the new airport. It is beautiful.

 

 

 

"To get a taxi take a shuttle bus (Express route) 2nd or 4th Floor to the Transport Centre or join

a Dispatcher Queue and wait at Terminal Road side. Fares are stated below and will be metered to City approx 300 baht to Silom plus Tolls 70 baht City and 60 baht Pattaya."

 

No mention of Taxi airport surcharge?

[Gaybutton]

I certainly can't complain about the taxi fare. The last time I took a taxi to Pattaya from Don Muang to Pattaya, the fare was 1400 baht. I think 1050 baht is quite reasonable. Considering the price of fuel and road tolls, unless the driver can pick up a fare in Pattaya returning to the airport (and since so many flights arrive in the dead of night, chances are the driver will have to return to Bangkok without a fare), he isn't going to end up making very much.

[Guest Boxer]

Taxis 20 of them will be at level 2 pick up but i suspect still with despatcher queue.

updated as news comes in.

Boxers New Airport web site.

[Guest wowpow]

SUVARNABHUMI

 

Call centre to field queries on changeover A call centre has been set up to answer people's queries regarding Suvarnabhumi airport and a switchover from Don Muang airport, said the Airports of Thailand (AoT) yesterday. Raweewan Nettarakavessana, AoT public relations director, said calls can be made to the centre at 0 2132 1888 between 8am-5pm on weekdays. However, from Friday, the service will be available around the clock.

 

 

 

Some airlines will start flying into Suvarnabhumi from Sept 15. During the transition, passengers should be informed by their respective airlines as to which airport the flight will take off from, she said.

 

 

 

Ms Raweewan said passengers should look for an airport code on their tickets. If it says NBK, it denotes a flight departure from Suvarnabhumi or BKK for Don Muang. All tickets with flights leaving from Sept 28 onward will be coded NBK, she added.

 

 

 

From Friday, some scheduled domestic flights will operate out of Suvarnabhumi. A number of Thai Airways flights from Bangkok to Phitsanulok, Ubon Ratchathani and Chiang Mai will originate from the new airport.

 

 

 

Jetstar Asia of Singapore will make three daily landings at Suvarnabhumi from Friday, Ms Raweewan said.

 

 

Bangkok Post today

 

[Guest Boxer]

'Ms Raweewan said passengers should look for an airport code on their tickets. If it says NBK, it denotes a flight departure from Suvarnabhumi or BKK for Don Muang. All tickets with flights leaving from Sept 28 onward will be coded NBK, she added.'

 

Someone got that wrong as the airport web site say Don Muang will be MBK and Suvarnabhumi will take over BKK. Opps!

 

[Guest Boxer]

Can pick up, drop off, surcharge to be levied

 

AMORNRAT MAHITTHIROOK

 

The number of taxis operating out of Suvarnabhumi airport will be increased from 2,500 to 10,000 and those dropping passengers off will be allowed to take passengers on return trips, said Deputy Transport Minister Chainant Charoensiri yesterday. He said the measures were meant to provide more service choices for passengers and boost transportation convenience for them.

 

Gen Chainant's decision was apparently made in response to concerns raised by many people that they would have a hard time finding taxis to take them from the city to the airport.

 

Earlier, authorities said taxis operating out of the airport would have to register with the airport authority and non-registered cabs would not be allowed to pick up passengers from the airport.

 

However, Gen Chainant said the Airports of Thailand (AoT) is likely to collect a 100 baht surcharge per trip from cabs taking passengers from the airport. He said he would hold a meeting today with representatives from the Land Transport, AoT and agencies responsible for public transportation to discuss transportation problems at the airport.

 

The Mafia is let back in.......

[Guest wowpow]

THAI Ready for first flight from Suvarnabhumi

 

BANGKOK: -- Thai Airways International (THAI) is ready to begin commercial operations at Suvarnabhumi Airport on Friday.

 

"Everything is now ready to serve passengers," said Mano Sapayanon, Director of THAI's Ground Services Support Department.

 

The first commercial flight out of the new airport will be TG 8860, a Boeing 737-400, from Bangkok to Phitsanulok at 6.30 AM.

 

On Saturday, some of THAI's flights between the capital and Chiangmai and Ubon Ratchathani will also begin operating at Suvarnabhumi. Passengers are advised to check their tickets in advance and plan accordingly.

 

An "NBK" code on a ticket means that the flight is at Suvarnabhumi Airport, while "BKK" is at Bangkok International Airport (Don Muang).

 

When arriving at the new airport, Mano said passengers should go to island number 2 at the west end of the departure hall where the airline's domestic check-in counters are located. After receiving a boarding pass, passengers will proceed to either concourse A or B where the domestic departure gates are situated.

 

THAI will begin servicing six daily flights between Suvarnabhumi Airport and Phitsanulok, while low cost carrier Jetstar will operate six of their own flights between Bangkok and Singapore from the new airport.

 

To provide the best service to both domestic and international passengers, Airports of Thailand Plc. will assign staff to provide information at the terminal.

 

Inquiries can also be made at the airport's Call Centre at (02) 132

[Guest wowpow]

Not enough toilets!

The new airport has its soft opening today, but bosses must face some huge concerns - the main departure hall has only 100 seats and just four restrooms for men

 

The people behind the new Suvarnabhumi Airport love to boast about its numerous and impressive statistics and they have been doing so with some gusto for the past few weeks.With the Bt150-billion airport's soft opening for some domestic flights by Thai Airways International starting this morning, here are some statistics that they don't want to boast about.

 

Question 1: How many toilets for men are there in the main departure hall, which is 444 metres long and about 50 metres wide, and a place where domestic and international passengers have to check in their luggage and get their boarding passes?

 

Some experts have told The Nation that given the volume of people passing through, there should be 200 or even 300. Are there that many at Suvarnabhumi?

 

The answer: there are 12 toilets and 16 urinals in four restrooms.

 

In fact, make that eight toilets as four of the 12 - one in each restroom - are set aside for the physically disadvantaged.

 

So if you're in a hurry, you might have to hop across to the nearby Novotel Suvarnabhumi Airport Hotel, which has 19 toilets alone on the ground floor.

 

In the words of Deputy Prime Minister Suriya Jungrungreangkit, Suvarnabhumi is "one of the most modern airports in the world with multiple distinctive features".

 

With tens of thousands of people departing each day, one of those "distinctive features" is bound to be long queues at the restrooms.

 

With the other three floors having about the same number of toilets, Suvarnabhumi is in danger of being labelled a farce come September 28.

 

Now on to question 2: On that very same fourth floor, the only departure hall, how many seats are there for the public to rest their weary bones?

 

A couple of thousand would seem reasonable, you'd think. But if you said 100 you'd be spot on the money. Not bad for a place where thousands will congregate each hour. "There are hardly any seats because passengers must stand," huffed an Airports of Thailand (AOT) information officer. "We want them to check in quickly and get to the retail space."

 

The uniformed staffer added: "We have received many complaints that the duty-free space is too large." At an enormous 20,000 square metres or more, that's a lot of ground to cover. You'll definitely need a seat afterwards.

 

A female Thai Airways ticket staffer complained: "There are too few seats and too many shops. It's not like an airport but more like a shopping mall."

 

When the chairman of the AOT board, Srisuk Chandransu, happened by just at that moment, he quickly shied away from The Nation's questions about toilets and public seating, saying he was a bit too busy. The Thai Airways staffer then aired some more concerns as the hours count down to the soft opening of the airport today. "We don't even know what number to call for a wheelchair or any other units for that matter. They haven't handed that over to us yet."

 

The complaint list began to get bigger: the central conveyor belt should automatically read a check-in tag, but if the tag is not attached properly the computer won't be able to read it and the bag most likely will end up in the wrong terminal.

 

"For every 50 pieces of test luggage, 20 went missing," said the staff member, who did not want to be identified. So, if a piece of luggage goes missing, what happens next, she was asked. Well, with the new centralised single conveyor system, it means more of a headache to trace it and re-channel it back to the right place. "We're trying to fix it," she said.

 

The woman staffer added an even more ominous note to the list of complaints. It seems many who will man the airport have not been trained yet. "Training is not completed yet," she said, in an echo of the many critics who feel the government wants the airport opened as soon as possible and at all costs so that it will reap a feel-good windfall ahead of the election.

 

And what about that most controversial of purchases for the airport, the state-of-the-art CTX X-Ray bomb scanners? Well, the consensus is that they may be good but they only scan luggage after it goes through the conveyor belt, meaning there is still a risk of a bombing, said another Thai Airways staffer.

 

One major difficulty for passengers boarding public buses to and from the airport is that they will have to off-load and re-load their luggage at the public transport centre. If you are a departing passenger, you will have to grab your bags from the bus and drag them to where your bus is specifically parked. Then you load on the bags and head to the main departure hall.

 

Oh, you should know that there are no trolleys to help you with this task. Nor air-conditioning to make it more comfortable for you. The AOT claims the shuttle service is "free", but passengers still have to pay airport fees.

 

"Yes, it's a problem," admits Kaetsuda Ho-morb, a driver on the new public bus link. "Nobody is talking about it ... but we do need the trolleys."

 

"It looks convenient but in a way it's not," said Darunee Suknakorn, one of the many "airport tourists" who have come to admire the new pride of the Kingdom.

 

Pravit Rojanaphruk

 

The Nation

 

 

 

 

 

The nit picking begins - will it be a deluge?

 

SNIPPETS

Detector makes an exception

Caretaker Transport Minister Pongsak Ruktapongpisal may have thought he had been given special privileges at Suvarnabhumi Airport yesterday when he was allowed to walk through a set of metal detectors with his cellophane and a key chain still in his pocket.

 

The Nation

 

Cellophane

Mister cellophane

Should have been my name !!!!

Mister cellophane

'cause you can look right through me

Walk right by me

And never know I'm there!

 

Chicago