CNXBKKMAN

Hard to believe that many believe a multi story parking station and new terminal will solve the problem.Short term yes, long term no.At some stage the airport will be moved

It took 30 years from initial decison to completion for Suvarnabhumi. A bit of forward thinking required here.

Access to Hang Dong Rd ????................at 10 am .this morning traffic on HD Rd was nose to nose from Big C,mae Hia to Airport Plaza and if you are going to the airport you have to do the long loop past Immigration

If the airport really wanted to a road could be built starting from the runway as you approach the city coming up from the south just after Big C. You would turn of the hang dong road around the runway area. It would skirt the inside of the airports perimeter fence and take you straight to the airport.

The huge car parking space at the back airport plaza/ baan and beyond could have a short road link to the airport. The car park area could have a ground transport station link to rest of the city. i think a mono rail line to the airport or cutting through the area would be a smart move.

If a mono rail ran from the airport would it run towards Nim then down Huay Kaeow Road or to airport plaza and towards the moat ?

Where would the line go from there out in the direction of Doi Saket?

Wasn't the major expansion of CNX airport a firm plan proposed by a certain ex-Prime Minister at least 10 years ago?

Correct

... surprisingly, on an area he owns plenty of land

You can bet your bottom satang that *any* project that requires moving the airport will have "personal benefit" factored into the choice of location.

That will be the biggest driver for any new airport being built. A group of influential people and politicians making a huge amount of money on the land and contracts to build it. If those conditions line up a new airport will be constructed.

I think it's best split the mainland Chinese into two groups. Group tour tourists and independent tourists. The group tour people are shown in the video. They don't have English language skills and are happier being herded around and acting like a herd. The independent tourists have booked their own flights on Air Asia or similar , have some English skills, are younger, more educated, have googled up all sorts of info on the destination and are out to as much as they can. They are more sophisticated and unlikely to be seen having a dump in the moat or visiting a buffet like in the video. Driving skills are poor.

It's easy to generalise though. I saw a small tour group of mainlanders at BKK check-in level. There was about 12 sat on the floor outside a Family Mart having a one of the tours meals. They all had instant noodles from the family mart and used the shops boiling water. They looked quite happy. As I got closer I could read the tour group stickers they had stuck on their shirts. It was a Vietnamese tour group and not Chinese at all. To be honest if I was Vietnamese or a mainlander and all I could afford was one of these ultra cheap tours dining at Family Marts. I would join it in a flash. Much better than staying at home or working in some awful factory making iPhones 12 hours a day or worse. I bet they love it in Thailand.

The best way forward is for these buffets to adapt to the customers. The buffet can be served by staff from dim sum style carts or from behind a counter. The tourists can be given the food and not have the option of taking it themselves. It will reduce the chaos and the waste. They can still eat as much as they want.

Difficult to comprehend why the Chinese tourists act like this. When on an Air Asia flight from Phuket to Bangkok in early February this year, the plane was full of Chinese passengers. Immediately upon landing everyone was on their feet and grabbing their bags from the overhead lockers. The plane had to stop on the runway and wait for ten minutes of air traffic to be cleared before proceeding for another ten minutes to the terminal. In that time there was a near riot on the plane with the Thai Air-hostesses desperately trying to persuade everyone to put their bags back into the lockers, sit down and belt up again. The Chinese gave the Air-hostesses serious verbal grief and this continued when we finally started to disembark. Unbelievable behaviour. I am sure many of us have witnessed similar scenes in a variety of tourist settings where the Chinese are shouting, barging past, spitting and being generally foul. What IS the matter with them?

I was on a Sri Lankan flight from Hong Kong to Bangkok 20 years ago. It was full of mainland tourists. After the meals were eaten the mainlanders put there trays on the floor in the aisle and tossed all the rubbish on the floor as well. The cabin crew had to pick it all up. As soon as the wheels hit the runway everyone was up opening the overhead lockers. The cabin crew were shouting, trying to get everyone back in their seats but they were verbally abused and one stewardess had rubbish thrown at her. I can vividly remember her being hit by bread roll and it bouncing off. She was furious but kept her cool.

I flew China Southern to LAX last year and was very apprehensive about flying with them. A380 flight I was worried it would be hellish. No problem at all. BKK to Guangzhou only a couple of old timers jumped as the plane touched down and were quickly ordered back into their seats. Into LAX only one guy jumped up on landing, like he was in a race but was quickly put back in his seat. The male cabin crew on CZ seem to bigger than average Chinese and although neat and tidy and courteous they definitely look like they can handle any agro that may occur.

CNX has one runway that can accommodate 24 take-off and landings per hour providing a capacity to handle eight million passengers a year.

If additional infrastructure such as new terminals, taxiways and aprons doesn't include a second runway, this airport will become dangerous at 17 million passengers a year.

Agree. 1 runway is insufficient to handle the increase in traffic. Also, because of the mountains, approach and departure paths are limited as well. I don't believe there is enough usable, safe airspace to increase traffic to that amount even with 2 runways.

London Gatwick 38 million passengers on a single runway. Manchester was on about 20 million before it had a second runway. San Diego has a single runway plus crowded airspace with the navy base next door. San Diego airport is only about 2 miles from the city centre. There is a lot of scope for sleepy CNX to increase its passenger numbers with the current single runway. As it gets busier the airlines will operate bigger aircraft. At the moment all the Chinese flights are are on small aircraft A320 and B737's . The next step will be for these to go wide body with A330, B777's etc.

There is no problem with crowded airspace either. Chiang Mai is a small airport and 8 million passengers today which must be double what is was 5 years ago. The Terminal and apron space will get bigger just like it doubled in size during the past 10 years. The car parking will go multi story.

The day is coming where the CM authorities will have to accept that public transport is needed just like in every city in the world. Bus services, bus stops, routes crossing all over the city. A mono rail running from the airport into and out of the city would make sense and wouldn't be many km's long. If the airport can be kept close to the city it will be a great asset for Chiang Mai.

All of the airports you are mentioning have multiple (practically unlimited in an emergency) approaches and can safely route traffic at different distances and altitudes. Other airports capable of supporting the aircraft are within a reasonable distance. A safe approach to CNX by anything but the smallest jets needs to happen on runway 36. An approach on runway 18 is not as safe. The glide path is steep coming from that direction. If there is an emergency with an aircraft, what do you do with the other traffic? According to your altitude you can't turn West and have a limited capability to turn East. There is nowhere to go. I don't care how big they make the runways, aprons, etc. The air space here will be the limit not the ground. Unless you throw safety out the window that is.

I would disagree with the safety aspect. What happens at Heathrow or LAX when there is an emergency. The skies are jammed full of aircraft. LAX has Longbeach, Santa Monica, Burbank, Van Nuys, Hawthorn all very close together, helicopters buzzing about all over. The aircraft with the emergency has to follow the controllers instructions. There is almost nothing in the skies above CM. Only the mountain is a no go area and easily avoided. I have seen no difference with approach on runway 18, Thai 777's land on that runway just as easily as the as they do landing from the south. I have not noticed any steep approach either.

CNX has one runway that can accommodate 24 take-off and landings per hour providing a capacity to handle eight million passengers a year.

If additional infrastructure such as new terminals, taxiways and aprons doesn't include a second runway, this airport will become dangerous at 17 million passengers a year.

Agree. 1 runway is insufficient to handle the increase in traffic. Also, because of the mountains, approach and departure paths are limited as well. I don't believe there is enough usable, safe airspace to increase traffic to that amount even with 2 runways.

London Gatwick 38 million passengers on a single runway. Manchester was on about 20 million before it had a second runway. San Diego has a single runway plus crowded airspace with the navy base next door. San Diego airport is only about 2 miles from the city centre. There is a lot of scope for sleepy CNX to increase its passenger numbers with the current single runway. As it gets busier the airlines will operate bigger aircraft. At the moment all the Chinese flights are are on small aircraft A320 and B737's . The next step will be for these to go wide body with A330, B777's etc.

There is no problem with crowded airspace either. Chiang Mai is a small airport and 8 million passengers today which must be double what is was 5 years ago. The Terminal and apron space will get bigger just like it doubled in size during the past 10 years. The car parking will go multi story.

The day is coming where the CM authorities will have to accept that public transport is needed just like in every city in the world. Bus services, bus stops, routes crossing all over the city. A mono rail running from the airport into and out of the city would make sense and wouldn't be many km's long. If the airport can be kept close to the city it will be a great asset for Chiang Mai.

Will have to move further up to Chiang Rai ! Or maybe west up the mountain road,

Chiang Rai must have doubled its passengers numbers over the last couple of years. Direct flights to China and Singapore, charter flights from Korea. Plus a massive increase in flights to BKK.

Anyone who is not familiar with story needs to do a bit of googling. The khaosod report seems to miss out huge chunks of what happened after the jewellery was stolen. It's an very Thai story, and incredible.

I have tried all Hillkoff variations like blaze but prefer the Italian Espresso. I just buy that now and have stopped trying other types. Hand grinder and and aerobie.

550,000 baht is an awful lot of money to pay for a counterfeit Thai license. Perhaps he should have stuck to buying a stolen passport or a fake one.

Why come to Thailand if he knew he was a wanted criminal? There are many other countries that would have loved his money and don't have extradition. Well, he partied hard her I am sure. Now he will spend the rest of his days with only men at his side. Good riddance.

If you buy a fake/stolen passport, it would be wise to use it in countries OTHER than where it was (supposedly) issued, and where its lack of legitimacy is almost sure to be recognised.

OTOH if your faked ID card is good enough to get you a real passport, there is no reason for Immigration to question the passport's legitimacy.

His ID card was probably genuine but you have to pay the issuing office some cash to obtain it. Many hilltribe people or children of the Guomintang have to pay if they want an ID card as they don't qualify for one by law.

With his ID card he could obtain a genuine passport and travel worry free. How good are his Thai reading and writing skills and pronounciation? That may be his weak point.

1 2 go was part of Orient Thai. It was their domestic start up and used cheap aircraft that were 25 years or older. Its competitors Air Asia , Nok and Lion Air quickly moved to brand new efficient aircraft and 1- 2 Go couldn't compete. Orient Thai does holiday flights to Hong Kong and China mainly using the same business model, operating with aircraft that are very old. With the Thai aviation authorities now being forced to do their jobs properly, as they should, Orient Thai has been grounded.

There will be no more foriegn investment. And no more retirees and the retirees here will leave. Because of assnine immagration laws anb the harassment of foreigners in the kingdom..

There certainly won't be any from me, and just a few years ago I thought it would be a no-brainer to move and retire there, but a modest condo, let some friends from the states stay there while I was traveling elsewhere, etc. Now I see way too many risks and down sides to making any financial investment in the country. I don't want a massive bureaucracy and the associated red tape, but the rules, laws and policies are just too hard to plan for and deal with. A military coup stunts local civil officials and agencies.

Retirement visa is considered one of the easiest ways to stay in Thailand. Rents are cheap and plenty of choice. The cost of living can be low if you want it to be. The coup has made the country more stable and safe but it was bad news if you were involved in politics but who on this forum is involved in Thai politics?

R Airlines, Orient Thai Airlines.

Never!

Leave it to the Chinese.

who the hell is R Airlines.

They seem to exist Saw one plane last year in Khon Kaen.

They have been flying Hatyai - Chiang Mai for at least a year. Most flights are out of DMK.

Wow, impressive NOT, who the hell is R Airlines. By the way I read in the SCMP Orient Thai Airlines have cancelled their single 747 aircraft to Hong Kong from Bangkok for 10 days because of safety reasons ..... Thailand aviation doesn't install confidence

Whilst the Hong Kong press were reporting Orient Thai suspending flights for safety reasons there was no mention of it in the Thai press which was odd. Will those flights ever resume now the Thai aviation authorities are actually doing their jobs properly?

Is the color orange for monks only? If so i would have changed it if i were him. I see every color for constructionshirts except orange in BKK, in fact i don't see that color used at all.

I repeat. Orange is the official colour of Udon Thani. It's very common in Udon.

It's the official colour of Thursday too in Thailand. Does any other country give the days of the week colours?

Another name best not to use for your business venture in Thailand. "FBI Investigation Office" .

What does the FBI stand for in this Udon real estate business? It's a strange choice for the name of a business. I am not American but I know FBI means the police. It's well known throughout the world. Going around with FBI on your shirt and no mention of Real Estate or other similar words may make people think you are impersonating the FBI to some degree. Orange is a colour associated with monks and Buddhism. Is there a cultural faux pas going on when you roll into Immigration Police office with FBI written plain orange shirt. You might be starting off on the wrong foot before you even open your mouth or hand over the documents. They may actually take an instant dislike to you?

"What does the FBI stand for in this Udon real estate business?"

Perhaps this might help answer your question?

http://www.htspweb.co.uk/cia/2009/cc/5304fb.htm

"I am not American but I know FBI means the police" Not so.

Actually, the Federal Bureau of Investigation is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States similar to the United Kingdom's MI5..

Thank you for that link, it is very interesting. I don't see where it shows what FBI stands for in this real estate business. If Udon immigration googled that stuff up it may raise red flags with his visa extension even if he is an innocent party.

CNXBKKMAN - so, if I wear an orange or (God forbid) scarlet frock, name my business, home, car or dog with an English language abbreviation which, somewhere on the planet, may possibly suggest police, army, etc, etc, I should accept running the risk of being subjected to all kinds of immigration et all hassle?? Even after being here perfectly legally for 10 years?

I dread to think how many wars across the millennia all over this darn great rock floating in space have been started by a ' cultural faux pas'

About time I cranked up option 2 - Kompat here I come!

It's definitely possible if you wear the wrong stuff at certain times you may be opening up yourself to be taken less seriously or getting some kind of extra grief. Tourist fly into Barbados all the time and wear a camo pattern t-shirt or bikini and get unwanted attention from the authorities. Bizarrely it's illegal to wear camouflage clothing in Barbados unless you are in the army.

What does the FBI stand for in this Udon real estate business? It's a strange choice for the name of a business. I am not American but I know FBI means the police. It's well known throughout the world. Going around with FBI on your shirt and no mention of Real Estate or other similar words may make people think you are impersonating the FBI to some degree. Orange is a colour associated with monks and Buddhism. Is there a cultural faux pas going on when you roll into Immigration Police office with FBI written plain orange shirt. You might be starting off on the wrong foot before you even open your mouth or hand over the documents. They may actually take an instant dislike to you?

The most famous english language newspaper in Thailand reported this evening at 20:01, that Nok will cancel 60 flights a day until the start of April.

You can still fly with Nok Air and have no problem at all but if you are flying for something important and one time departures are critical you are probably best to fly with another airline until Nok Air get back to normal.

Or turning that on its head perhaps the advice should be:

Since Nokair may now be generally cheaper than other airlines (for obvious competitive reasons) maybe consider flying a bit earlier (or if time is not an issue make sure you check out Nokair's prices) to take advantage.

The 'may now be generally cheaper comment' is a reflection of my observations on the BKK to UBP (Ubon) route where it seems clear to me that Lion Air flights are now full a week or more in advance despite having noticeably higher prices than Nokair. May not apply to destinations that are not competitively served by multiple airlines.

BTW - Lionair's check-in at DM now appears to be a zoo, compared to the breeze-through that is Nok Air (observation from 2 departures in last month).

Personally I would be happy to book on Nok Air especially on a busy route like BKK-CNX. The worst that could happen is you arrive later or are put on Air Asia or Thai Smile. If you are flying for important reasons and you don't have lots of spare hours to build in as a buffer, don't risk it.

The most famous english language newspaper in Thailand reported this evening at 20:01, that Nok will cancel 60 flights a day until the start of April.

You can still fly with Nok Air and have no problem at all but if you are flying for something important and one time departures are critical you are probably best to fly with another airline until Nok Air get back to normal.

Every now and then some news reports appear showing that UK police are not perfect in recording crime especially when it's beneficial to them in some way.

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-30081682

Can we expect the RTP stats to be super accurate? When there is a big crime like the murders on Koh Tao the detectives never seem to be very skilfed. These are the guys who label a death , a murder, accident, "broken heart" or whatever.

Nok Air won't be back to normal until they can hire enough pilots which will take months or they reduce their flying to fit the number of pilots they have. So no they are not back to normal operations yet.

The facts and stats in Thailand are not very accurate or complete. You can only get fuzzy results from fuzzy stats. If OP only wants hard facts well he will be disapointed in Thailand.