Thai Airways Moving Back To Don Muang

[tectronic]

funny things going on lol

[mackayae]

Back to the future.

[marshbags]

There seems to be contradictory statements being put out on a daily basis relating to this issue.

I hope you will allow me to copy and paste parts of a post i submitted on the 2007-01-13 18:18:44 ( post 45 )

This was to compliment one posted by S.J. , both submitted in " Don Muang To Re-open ?, TIT "

Quote:-

Looks like they have back tracked due to a verbal from ITAL

( edited ) / lecture and also from other noted officials.

From todays B.Post ( Article 1 )

Quote:-

Minister brakes Don Muang plans

(BangkokPost.com, TNA)

Transport Minister Thira Haocharoen put the brakes on a proposal to move some flights back to Don Muang from the new Suvarnabhumi Airport, and said much more talking lay ahead before such a scheme could happen.

There will be, for example, "another workshop to brainstorm a conclusion on the matter late this month or early next month," he said.

The board of Airports of Thailand Plc on Thursday approved the use of Don Muang for domestic flights and set March 15 as the possible date for the relaunch of the old airport.

Adm Thira scoffed. He said the resolution by the AoT board had no authority, and any such plan would have to be submitted for Cabinet approval.

Decision-makers needed to heed the opinions of all parties concerned in the private and public sectors again. The workshop would lead to resolution of the issue.

"The move of domestic flights to the Don Muang Airport will have wide-ranging repercussions. So, it needs to be studied in detail with caution," said the minister.

Unquote.

Go to the url for the full article please:-

http://www.bangkokpost.com/topstories.php?id=115977

( Article 2 )

Quote:-

IATA blasts AoT decision to shift flights

Don Muang looks set to make a comeback

BOONSONG KOSITCHOTETHANA & CHATRUDEE THEPARAT

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) said yesterday that a decision by Airports of Thailand Plc (AoT) to shift some commercial flights back to Don Muang would dampen Bangkok's potential for becoming an aviation hub. Making flight connections between two airports would be a huge inconvenience for passengers, and might further damage the attractiveness of Thailand as a tourist destination, the world's largest airline trade group said.

Responding to a query from the Bangkok Post, Albert Tjoeng, the IATA spokesman for Asia-Pacific, said: ''Imagine a passenger arriving in Suvarnabhumi and having to catch a connecting domestic flight or no-frills flight from Don Muang. How long will that connection take including baggage collection, travel from Suvarnabhumi to Don Muang and then check-in for the next flight? If an airport wants to be a hub, it is important to keep the connection time low.''

Unquote.

Go to the url for the full article please:-

http://www.bangkokpost.com/Business/13Jan2007_biz43.php

Thank (edited) for that and lets hope that,s the last of it due to ongoing connections being relative to passengers at ONE airport.

Either one will do, so long as I, for one can get off from Udon and get on for Europe in the same location and v. versa..

My local travel agent whose ex TRT said the Thai official who started it all off was politically linked to you know who ?????? and it had a chaos scenario in mind to cause further undermining of the present governments authority.

She has already sent a letter of complaint off along with other agents in Udon in reaction to yesterday.

Incidently they all reckon the majority of passengers going from Udon to Bangkok are, contrary to what was said " connecting to other flights. and should be listed with Chang Mai, Khon Kaen and Phuket to stay at the new airport.

marshbags :jap

Apologies if these articles are posted elsewhere not connected to the O.P. and I cannot locate them.

marshbags

................................................................................

..........................................................................

My latest remarks on todays O.P.

The Gall and hypocrisy of these officials who had their stciky fingers in the pot while the new airport was being built and as a consequence of wide spread corruption / graft sanctioned by the previous government and and it,s Kamoy CEO, making them all exceedingly wealthy while leaving the airport, along with their own reputations in tatters, both locally and more important internationally.

Part quote from George,s article today:-

SUVARNABHUMI: -- National carrier to move all but three of its domestic routes from Suvarnabhumi to old airport to save on operating costs.

Thai Airways International is moving all of its domestic routes, except those involving Phuket, Chiang Mai and Khon Kaen, to Don Muang airport once the Cabinet approves its reopening.

The move aims to save on operating costs, which are higher at the new Suvarnabhumi Airport. The flag carrier recently said the move to Suvarnabhumi had added Bt3.7 billion to its annual operating costs.

THAI president Apinan Sumanaseni said yesterday that only flights on three routes would be operated at Suvarnabhumi as they carry a large number of foreign passengers who are taking connecting flights to overseas destinations.

Unquote.

This is a complete nonsense regarding Undonthani as my travel agent along with ALL others in the area can testify and have as stated already submitted a letter to the relevant authorities with data to back it up.

She also said it was to enable Thai to relocate vast amounts of equiptment back to D.Muang to enable the servicing by them for all the low cost airlines and other users.

Another point, if they lost / are loosing so much finance how come they where able to announce the profits they made ????? and if they are in profit why use this as an excuse to carry out their ALLEDGED re, re, locating

( To and then Back again. )

From my observations of this route over the years they also contradict the THAI president Apinan Sumanaseni asesssment.

I have never been on one of these flights that are not fully occupied and yes the majority of passengers are usually connecting to other flights. ????????

I can also say that thousands of passengers will NOT be impressed should it happen and also suggest they maybe provide dedicated flights in addition to accomodate ongoing passengers by utilising part of the 3 flights Thai already operate. 1, 2, or what ever to suit the needs / demand that is required.

I can only reitterate the ITAL and say it,s not practical and unrealistic. ( or words to that effect )

A complete and utter disgrace i,d like to add.

Imagine what use all the TEA money would be to re address much of what it,s going to cost to put things in order.

[john b good]

Incidentally, tried to buy a ticket from BKK to Manilla from Thai at CM airport yesterday and they quoted me 28,000 baht. The Thai Airways lady then said " that's very expensive, better if you go next door and buy the ticket there". Next door I was able to buy the same ticket, on Thai, for 12,900 baht. Now that's great for me and thank you to the lady from Thai Airways, but ..........!

Are you suggesting that there is something unusual or commercially questionable in this.

Anywhere in the world travel agents will provide more competitive fares.

How are travel agents expected to make a living if the airlines undercut them (and not forgetting that the travel agents sell the bulk of the tickets in any event)

It's only on domestic (Thai) flights where the agents and Thai sell at the same price.

As for the "lady from Thai Airways" she is just doing her job. I have been told this many times by Thai staff (that agents prices are much cheaper) so nothing at all unusual in this.

[sriracha john]

I thought the original plan was to keep DM open for domestic service after the new airport opened any ways ?

It WAS, and it's interesting who was opposed to it at the time.

The Caretaker Transport Minister at the time was subsequently over-ruled by the Caretaker Prime Minister at the time:

- From Business Day, April 9, 2006

Domestic, charter flights to use Don Muang

Caretaker Transport Minister Pongsak Raktapongpaisal said Saturday that existing facilities at Bangkok’s Don Muang International Airport would continue to cater to domestic and chartered flights after the opening of the new Suvarnabhumi Airport scheduled for late July this year.

Turning down a proposal made by the board of Thai Airways International (THAI) to close Don Muang International Airport after the commercial opening of the Suvarnabhumi Airport, Pongsak said it is the government's policy to continue using both airports as it would create more advantages for the country.

-------------------------------------------------

[astral]

Incidentally, tried to buy a ticket from BKK to Manilla from Thai at CM airport yesterday and they quoted me 28,000 baht. The Thai Airways lady then said " that's very expensive, better if you go next door and buy the ticket there". Next door I was able to buy the same ticket, on Thai, for 12,900 baht. Now that's great for me and thank you to the lady from Thai Airways, but ..........!

Are you suggesting that there is something unusual or commercially questionable in this.

I would say it is very questionable............. but not uncommon.

We are no talking about the agent discounting using his commission.

This is the airline offering a cheaper price for the same service.

The same often applies to airline web sites and Thai is definitely a culprit.

I fly a lot and need to find the best deals, using the internet as my first point of reference.

If an an airline does not have the nouse to quote "deals" on line they loose my attention immdiately.

Gulf Air and Emirates are examples of airlines that DO offer good price deals on the web.

[punisher]

Yet another chance for Taxi drivers to rip us(well not us,but tourists/1st time TIT'ers) off rotten,

"Where you go?",

"Eh,Phuket mate,first time in thailand,I dono which airport,Don,eh,Don johnson or something",

"OK no problem 500 baht"

"OK thanks"

*Drives to Suvarnabhumi*,

"Oh!,so sorry,wrong airport,you late for flight,no problem,I take you quick quick,cheap cheap...1000baht"...

I wonder how much will be the taxi fare from Pattaya to DM,before it was 800,when new airport opened,i thought it must be cheaper than DM because 50km less,but its not,so if they open DM again probably 1200 or more,i like taxi drivers.

[eljeque]

Perhaps Thai could call the new domestic airline it's going to set up Nokair?

Nok Air is already a subsidiary of Thai.

Perhaps I am missing something (an attempt at some form of humour perhaps)

No Care

[sriracha john]

Had they kept it open for some flights it would have been one thing, but to shut it down and then re-open just makes a laughing stock out of the whole AOT. A brand new airport is already not able to handle its own domestic traffic? What kind of fools are in charge of AOT?

Old Thai Airforce officers?

and in a snapback to reality:

Mr Chotisak Asapaviriya, appointed to the presidency of the AoT by the Thaksin government, ...

http://www.bangkokpost.com/topstories.php?id=115926

[iang]

DON MUANG AIRPORT

THAI going back to the future

SUVARNABHUMI: -- National carrier to move all but three of its domestic routes from Suvarnabhumi to old airport to save on operating costs

Low-cost carriers including Nok Air and One Two Go have shown interest in moving their operations to Don Muang airport. However, AirAsia wants to move both domestic and international routes back to the old airport.

-- The Nation 2007-01-15

Air Asia need to operate both their domestic & international flights from the same airport, as aircraft are rotated between both domestic & international services. If they have to split services between 2 airports, there will need to be repositioning flights from Don Muang to Suvarnabhumi, when an aircraft arrives domestically and then that same aircraft departs internationally. An impossible situation from both an operational and financial standpoint.

But there again, maybe Air Asia can sell tickets on repositioning flights from Don Muang to Suvarnabhumi, for all the people who find themselves stranded at the wrong airport!

Rest assured that there are plenty of travellers currently using low cost carriers to connect with international flights and they are going to be severely disadvantaged if there are 2 airports in operation and they will definitely lose business.

[chiang mai]

Are you suggesting that there is something unusual or commercially questionable in this.

Anywhere in the world travel agents will provide more competitive fares.

How are travel agents expected to make a living if the airlines undercut them (and not forgetting that the travel agents sell the bulk of the tickets in any event)

It's only on domestic (Thai) flights where the agents and Thai sell at the same price.

As for the "lady from Thai Airways" she is just doing her job. I have been told this many times by Thai staff (that agents prices are much cheaper) so nothing at all unusual in this.

Errr.... If you were the President of Thai Airways or even the supervisor of the Thai Airways office (or any responsible business rank in between) at the airport and a customer wanted to buy a ticket from you for an overseas destination, how would you feel if your staff said, Oh, our tickets are way too expensive, why don't you go and see the nice lady at the travel agent next door and you'll save loads of money! Commercially questionable, Lady from Thai Airways just doing her job, .....

[s.pylos]

lets just screw the farang some more have you seen the price of Oishi at suwannaphoooooooom ? 70 baht when you can buy it locally for 19 baht!!

I nearly had a heart attack last time when I tried to buy a bottle of water with a 20 Baht note and was asked thirty. I gave 10 baht more but noooo ! She wanted 30 Baht more !! 50 Baht for a botle of water that can be bought for 10-15 Baht in town!?

This is definitiveley the most expensive ever Airport in the world, if nothing else...

[sandy]

[jackmuu]

lets just screw the farang some more have you seen the price of Oishi at suwannaphoooooooom ? 70 baht when you can buy it locally for 19 baht!!

I nearly had a heart attack last time when I tried to buy a bottle of water with a 20 Baht note and was asked thirty. I gave 10 baht more but noooo ! She wanted 30 Baht more !! 50 Baht for a botle of water that can be bought for 10-15 Baht in town!?

This is definitiveley the most expensive ever Airport in the world, if nothing else...

[sandy]

Try buying a coffee at Heathrow..

[Ricardo]

Perhaps Thai could call the new domestic airline it's going to set up Nokair?

Nok Air is already a subsidiary of Thai.

Perhaps I am missing something (an attempt at some form of humour perhaps)

No Care

My personal suggestion, maintaining the 'bird' image for Thai Airways' various nom-de-plumes, would definitely have to be 'Turkey Air'.

They can't cope with the current operation, run elderly out-of-date planes with cr*p food & in-flight-service, can't manage a co-ordinated pricing-structure, and take no personal responsibility for the mess. And their commercial results reflect this.

And the strategy is to use yet another name, for their business, and to split their hub between two non-linked airports, what a shambles.

IMHO Thai are the one airline, out of our local bunch, which should not split their operation like this. Let the other low-cost poor-service airlines hub where they will, that's their decision, and if it is at DM then they should be made to carry the full cost of keeping the white-elephant open, although they never moved to U-ta-Pao when they prevously had the chance to do so, so personally I think reverting to DM would be a mistake on their part.

But Thai as the national airline need one hub, domestic & international, not two. It's Marketing-101 , guys.

[Soju]

I nearly had a heart attack last time when I tried to buy a bottle of water with a 20 Baht note and was asked thirty. I gave 10 baht more but noooo ! She wanted 30 Baht more !! 50 Baht for a botle of water that can be bought for 10-15 Baht in town!?

This is definitiveley the most expensive ever Airport in the world, if nothing else...

[sandy]

You obviously haven't traveled much, and must have never been to Don Muang. You also must not have looked around much. There are plenty of places where you can buy water very cheaply landside at Suvarnabhumi (Family Marts), and much more convenient to get to those places than at Don Muang. Airside, there are places selling bottled water for 30 baht and even less if you look. Try any major airport in the US, Europe, or even many places in Asia and you'll be lucky to find a bottle of water airside for under 70 baht. Some places even double that. Suvarnabhumi's prices for food and beverages are very reasonable compared to other airports around the world, and based on my sampling are cheaper than Don Muang was.

[Robbie Dye]

So what name will be used for DM?

Bangkok National Airport

Bangkok Occasional Airport

BKK Classic

I can't believe it's still an Airport

New Bangkok International Old Domestic ...er... I give up.

What will they dream of next.One has to live here to beleive all of this BS.No one else would beleive it.

This whole nonsense is going to cause havoc for poor visitors from overseas, never mind us ! The airport code is BKK which as we all know was moved from Don Mueang to Suvarnaswamp. They will have to create a new three letter code and implement this in worldwide reservations systems and online, and make sure everyone knows what they are doijg, and if anyone thinks they can do this by 15th March they have to be joking. There can be no doubt that chaos will prevail very soon!! I wish them luck.

[Soju]

Just to add my opinion on the matter of reopening Don Muang. If Suvarnabhumi is really reaching maximum capacity, then they have no choice but to use Don Muang, at least until Suvarnabhumi can be expanded. If that's the case, I hope they will make Don Muang the airport for low-cost carriers, both domestic and international, or for other airlines that choose to move their entire operations there. If THAI or other airlines are splitting their flights between the two airports, then the whole thing gets too confusing for many passengers and is simply a dumb idea. Where on earth THAI came up with this silly idea, I'll never know. Let Nok Air, 1-2-go, Air Asia (domestic and international) move to Don Muang, being that's what they want, and have THAI remain fully at Suvarnabhumi. Then when catching a taxi to the airport, if you don't know which one, the important thing will be which airline, which I think most people will know and which shouldn't be too difficult for the taxi drivers to know which airlines are using which airport. Anything other than this will just cause chaos and even more complaints about Thailand and their airports.

[xbusman]

I think they have to be very careful with all this. It appears that the corruption tax has forced the AOT monopoly to raise prices through the roof, and thats only on the bit we see. Things like fuel services, lounge rentals and on and on are all sky high to pay for things like the worlds most expensive scanners. If they open the door to good old, paid for, efficient Don Muang they may have a mass exodus out of SUV. If they force Thai Air to remain, they will have to shoulder about the entire cost of the many millions of AOT employees which could make them completely uncompetitive. Its a very dangerous pandoras box to open which is why we are seeing so much back and forth. Lots of vested interested and wasted money needs to be recouped AND additional funds on top of that need to be accumulated to repair and expand SUV. Rock and a hard place.

[BlackJack]

Amazing Thailand

[Patriot]

Sorry folks but I havent read all the posts on this thread, but when I want to go from Phuket to Udon Thani, is that to Suvarnapum, shuttle bus to Don Muang and then onwards to Udon ...... eerr I don't think so; bye-bye Thai Airways? ANyone know

[drbrit]

Its quite common for capital cities to have both an international and a domestic airport. Or even, in the case of Singapore, terminals for regular airlines and budget airlines. Travellers can easily understand the split.

However in this proposal we are having some domestic flights at one airport, some at another. This will inevitably lead to highly frustrated passengers who had not been well informed of this, and we can guarantee a lot of missed flights though the complexity and confusion. Reputation as a 'hub' will drop.

Ever since seeing a public exhibition on Suvarnabhumi at Don Muang, I was struck that the capacity increase for passengers, is only 15% more than Don Muang. Seemed ridiculous to me, surely it should have been designed for a doubling. Cargo capability however was significantly increased, which of course means it is the local businesses that profit more from Suvarnabhumi than the passengers.

The decades of planning for this airport are a travesty.

[Kaojai]

TIT dude...

That's true, because nowhere else in the world are there any airport problems.

LONDON, England -- Airlines moved Wednesday to reduce the "baggage mountain" of thousands of items of luggage after chaos at London's Heathrow Airport over Christmas.

Thousands of airline passengers have still not been reunited with their personal items, the UK's Press Association reported.

British Airways, the worst affected airline, told CNN the problem would take "days" to clear, rather than hours or weeks.

A spokesman told PA that there were still "several thousand" bags that had not been delivered to customers.

Many are still stacked up at Heathrow's Terminal 1 and Terminal 4 as BA uses air freighter planes to try to clear the backlog.

A BA spokesman told PA: "The problem began before Christmas when there was a fault with a baggage belt at Heathrow Terminal 4. That caused the initial backlog, and about 8,000 bags were not delivered.

"Then the fog at Heathrow caused further problems, and there was another Terminal 4 baggage belt problem on December 29."

"The fog and the second belt problem led to about 10,000 bags not being delivered. We have put on air freighter planes to get the bags to their owners, and we have drafted in a number of volunteers to help.

"To put the whole thing into context, we dealt with about 75,000 bags a day at Heathrow over the festive period and handled about one million passengers."

The BA spokesman said that the baggage problem had also coincided with changes in working practices for BA baggage handlers at Terminals 1 and 4 ahead of the move of the airline's entire Heathrow operation to the new Terminal 5 in March next year.

MIAMI: British Airways said poor lighting at Miami International Airport was responsible for one of its jets overshooting a runway here with the British prime minister, Tony Blair, and his family aboard, but airport and federal officials said Wednesday that the lights were fine.

A BA spokesman, John Lampl, said the pilot stopped the Boeing 747 at the end of the runway because he could not see the lights to the taxiway. "Apparently they're doing some resurfacing work and relighting, so the lighting was poor," Lampl said.

But an airport spokeswoman, Lauren Stover, said the lights were working fine. "There was absolutely no construction on the runway," she said. He added that for 10 years the airport had received the highest Federal Aviation Administration safety ratings for its runways, taxiways and airfield

Isn't BA big enough to admit that it's wrong? FROM ONE OF THE MEN WHO HELPED TRANSFORM BRITISH AIRWAYS INTO THE WORLD'S GREATEST AIRLINE, SOME FRANK WORDS OF ADVICE.

From: The Daily Mail (London, England) | Date: November 23, 2006

Byline: MICHAEL DOBBS

ONCE I was proud to fly our national carrier, British Airways. Like millions of Britons, I admired the values it stood for and so flew the flag.

Our custom and support helped make it the most successful airline in the world. Yet, no longer. A whiff of madness is wafting from the company's headquarters.

It seems as if British Airways does not any more want to be British. Perhaps the management is suffering from a collective lack of oxygen, or auditioning for parts in the next Borat film, but something has gone horribly wrong.

Colin Barber wrote to the BBC News website to say he was disturbed to find unattended piles of lost luggage in Heathrow Terminal One.

Following a weekend spent in Ukraine to usher in the New Year, Colin Barber was surprised by the sight that greeted him at Heathrow on his return to the UK.

There were countless bags in the baggage reclaim area at Terminal One.

As far as he could tell, the bags - many of which had labels clearly identifying the owner - were unattended and could have been stolen by unscrupulous individuals.

"A room adjoining the reclaim area was also full with more 'lost' bags," he said, and "in one area there was a pile of about 20 pushchairs".

Mr Barber said he was appalled.

"There was absolutely no security - had I wanted to, I could have picked up any item of luggage, and walked through the green channel.

"No attempt was being made to do anything about the situation.

"There were four BA [british Airways] lost-luggage staff on duty. When I questioned one of them, he said that they were not dealing with the backlog, they

[pnustedt]

This whole nonsense is going to cause havoc for poor visitors from overseas, never mind us ! The airport code is BKK which as we all know was moved from Don Mueang to Suvarnaswamp. They will have to create a new three letter code and implement this in worldwide reservations systems and online, and make sure everyone knows what they are doijg, and if anyone thinks they can do this by 15th March they have to be joking. There can be no doubt that chaos will prevail very soon!! I wish them luck.

Call the current airport Suvarnaswamp Terminal 1 (Intl) - or Bkk Intl, and the old one Suvarnaswamp Terminal 2 (domestic) or Bkk Domestic. Intl flights won't land at Terminal 2 so no need for immigration controls, etc.

[phuketdiver]

Why cant people read the innitial post before posting their replies and making derogatory comments about the Thai government and their supposed inabilities - Don Muang is reopening " at the request of low cost airlines

The government are taking the responsible act of ensuring that there is a low cost alternative in the airline industry.

And for those who are whinging about having to transfer between airports to save money I suggest they take a closer look at their home countries.

Several of the low cost airlines do not fly into the main airports but to hub airports anything up to 50 km away -

Easy Jet into London Luton (!!!)

Easy jet into Glasgow - actualy into an airport 35km away but great for the golf course

Palermo - 3hr 30 bus journey into the city

And there are many other places similar to this. Before the Americans get too excited and on their high horses one of their airports is not even in the same state as the name on the tickets.

The government have taken a logical decision on a request from Thai businesses - which affects mainly Thais or those who choose to life in Thailand.

If you dont like the decision shut up or get out and leave those who are comfortable living with the decisions being made (we may not like them but accept it's not our country). Some of us are getting fed up of being tarred with the same brush by Thais who are fed up of constantly whining ferangs

Phuket Diver

[Robbie Dye]

Sorry folks but I havent read all the posts on this thread, but when I want to go from Phuket to Udon Thani, is that to Suvarnapum, shuttle bus to Don Muang and then onwards to Udon ...... eerr I don't think so; bye-bye Thai Airways? ANyone know

I reckon you will have to use Air Asia via an airport (probably Don M). Air Asia are NOT I think happy about this because if I understand right Don M will be ONLY for the domestic low cost boys, thus if they wanted to get a plane to go BKK Udon in the early morning but then once back in BKK it was to head to Singapore the plane would be at the wrong airport! Luckily I am in the trade so I hope I can get some more info for people soon>

[pgs]

It seems that London and Paris manage with 2 airports in operation.!

Paris has 2: Charles de Gaul & Orly; London has 5: Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, City and Luton. Heathrow is far too big.

[wrecker]

Thai policy makers seem to have a real problem with their brain. Or should it be so that they deliberately trying to kill of the country. cheaper for the airlines, much more expensive for the tourists, business people, and the tour operators. Hmm Two airports, located 60km apart from each other. That would be great fuin for tour operators, they need 2 offices, they need to hire shuttle buses, and the tourists lose a day in traffic and collecting baggage and checking in. I am always amazed how much geniuses there are in the Thai civil service. The only reason why Malaysia is not taking off is just because they have two separate airports. Well military intelligence.... we know the answer.

[wrecker]

Why be so negative. The actual domestic move is a good idea,but it should be all, all domestic.

Air Asia should be made to use the two airports,so no confusion arrives. Not that they arrive on time anyway.If Anyone wants to use Internatial at THe Don, then those airlines should pay 100% of the cost of immigration and customs that would have to be set up.

Thai Airways has long been an inefficient high cost operator,and needs a good over haul.

A good idea??? So because you are an inefficient company, you force your failing business model upon tour operators and travellers. The nonsense that London has two airports makes no sense. Everybody knows that Heathrow is a disaster, it is old fashioned they have too few landing strips, the Spanish operator put too little money in it. And in case of Paris or Milan, it is a bit different. You have the GTV so you can be faster anywhere in France, The Netherlands or Belgium than by air, more convenient and cheaper too, and they have at least connecting flights. The fact that you call it a good idea showws that you have not given it a thought for any minute longer than the Thai authorities. It will kill off the tourist industry. The bottomline is of course that Don Muang is a milityary airport right now and the cronies of the dictator must be rewarded, I suppose the 859,000 THB a month salary is not sufficient for the gentlemen... talking about greed and incompetence.

[percy2]

If they move all the lowcost airlines back to DM Thai will then realistically have a monopoly on farangs flying to Phuket, Chiang Mai and Khon Kaen as nobody's going to be bothered to hack across town to save 1000(ish)bt.

Thats only for tourists arriving on inter flights.

The domestic market for domestic flights won't see much of a difference.

Cheers

[Jaxxeh]

LOL

I am completely confuzzled.

Someone said Bangkok Air flights will remain at Suvarnabhumi and Thai Int'l flights will also land at Suvarnabhumi... ?

(Yes I like to type Suvarnabhumi Suvarnabhumi Suvarnabhumi wheee)

As the Thai's say.. don't worry. It will sort itself out