flashbrown99

Who knew?
 
Oh wait, Everyone except the ToT.
 

Sent from my iPod touch using Thaivisa Connect Thailand

I remember when the Denver Int. Airport opened in the US. There was all of the build up, all of the delays, and then the let down. The biggest complaint is that they pushed too much technology into the airport and nothing worked right. Less than a year later Denver became just another airport.

I agree with the post that mentioned the more frequent the flyer implies the more positive responses will be about the airport. Most airports get the job done pretty well. The only airport that I really don't like is Philadelphia (PHL). I liked Don Muang because I was very familiar with it. I learned where the employee cafeteria was at and I really liked catching a meal there. The new airport is not Don Muang, but that does not make it a bad airport.

My wife has already flown through Suvarnabhumi and she thought it was just fine. Her arrival and departure were during off-hours (we both prefer to travel off-hours) and she passed through each part with no problems.

As far as the corruption; it is Thailand...what do you expect. I think that the only thing that PM Thaksin did in dealing with the airport that may be iffy is he pushed to open it before elections. The bottom line on that is if he did not push, then the really corrupt officials would have continued milking the project for a couple more years and then we would be where we are today.

Take a pill, recline your seat, and enjoy the flight.

For every complaint made about the new airport this forum seems to have a core of supporters who shrug them off saying everything is fine, stop complaining, and so on and so on. Just like the post above. One wonders sometimes, in the face of the enormity of the various problems that are now overwhelming evident , who is paying them for their undying support of this farce of an airport, because it is difficult to see how they could be so blind as to not see that everything is simply just not okay with this airport.

I remember when the Denver Int. Airport opened in the US. There was all of the build up, all of the delays, and then the let down. The biggest complaint is that they pushed too much technology into the airport and nothing worked right. Less than a year later Denver became just another airport.

I agree with the post that mentioned the more frequent the flyer implies the more positive responses will be about the airport. Most airports get the job done pretty well. The only airport that I really don't like is Philadelphia (PHL). I liked Don Muang because I was very familiar with it. I learned where the employee cafeteria was at and I really liked catching a meal there. The new airport is not Don Muang, but that does not make it a bad airport.

My wife has already flown through Suvarnabhumi and she thought it was just fine. Her arrival and departure were during off-hours (we both prefer to travel off-hours) and she passed through each part with no problems.

As far as the corruption; it is Thailand...what do you expect. I think that the only thing that PM Thaksin did in dealing with the airport that may be iffy is he pushed to open it before elections. The bottom line on that is if he did not push, then the really corrupt officials would have continued milking the project for a couple more years and then we would be where we are today.

Take a pill, recline your seat, and enjoy the flight.

For every complaint made about the new airport this forum seems to have a core of supporters who shrug them off saying everything is fine, stop complaining, and so on and so on. Just like the post above. One wonders sometimes, in the face of the enormity of the various problems that are now overwhelming evident , who is paying them for their undying support of this farce of an airport, because it is difficult to see how they could be so blind as to not see that everything is simply just not okay with this airport.

Used the airport for the first　time last week. Was expecting things to have improved by now inline with some comments here on the board.

Arrived on Saturday afternoon, Thai Airlines from Japan, and in fact had no real inconveniences. luggage arrived okay, through immigration and customs fairly quickly and into a taxi and away. I did however find it a bit strange to have use a bus between the plane and the terminal and be driven around and around, in a NEW airport, rather than to be able to alight directly to the terminal, like in the old airport, and most other airports in the world I know. Also the chaos when one exits from departures is now much worse than the old airport because it is contained in a smaller space than the old airport, with the money changers in the middle of the chaos too, rather than separated in the area before, as in the old airport. Signs to the public taxi areas are sparse, (I think I saw one) clearly on purpose to get people to use the limousine services (offical or otherwise). If you have read the forum and know to go straight down to the taxis it is okay, but many unsuspecting new arrivals must end up with these limousine taxis for not knowing about the ordinary ones.

However although my arrival was basicallyokay, someone I know who arrived later in the day on a direct Thai Airlines flight had his luggage lost. He recieved it next day I believe. So the luggage problems are still around.

But my real story was with my departure back to Japan on Thai Airlines on Thursday night. For a start everything said about the Toilet situation for departures is true. The situation is ridiculous and whoever it was the designed the departures floor like that deserves to be banned from being an architect or designer for life, it is just so obviously bad and lacking in any common sense.

Next there is the check in to Thai Airways. Two mammoth chaotic massive lines of people waiting and waiting, as they slowly slowly move to the check in. A wait of some thing like 90 minutes to get to your turn to check in. where you discover that computer problems are in effect and the hapless check-in staff can do nothing just tap tap on their computer, but the system is down for most of them, but after a lot of tapping and waiting eventually they get in to do your check in. What makes it all the worse is that there is no one from Thai airlines around to explain what is happening to the masses of people waiting and waiting, many who are starting to get worried about missing their flights (Of course all the flights were delayed an hour or so to allow for the delayed check in or many people really would have missed their flights) All who are frustrated and annoyed. No one to help try and organise the chaos. Only about half the check in desks were even open so they dont even have staff for that at such a busy time! (I thought I has seen bad check in situations departing from India, but at least there were some staff around so you knew what was going on as you waited and waited.) So anyhow computer problems are most definately still in effect!

Then there is security check before the gate, where when I walked through the alarm went off but no one checked me, as they were talking or something, and I just continued on. I had nothing bad with me but if I had I could have taken it aboard as that was the only check between me and the plane. And then of course finallly there is a bus to get to board the plane for a last taste of the Thai heat. Did they forget to design walkways to the planes, along with the toilets in the departure area? Is it cost saving or do they just want you to see how beautiful the building is from the outside?

The airport is clearly far from being over its problems and hundreds of people who departed with Thai on Thursday night bear witness to this and will, like me, be telling everyone they know just how bad it is. The definatley would not be agreeing with some of the posts in this forum where it is suggested things have improved or the airport is not really that bad. I doubt if even another year will see that much improvement as so many of the problems are quite major and structural and beyond what could be called teeething problems.