Nok Air To Move All Flights Back To Don Muang

[george]

Nok Air to move all flights back to Don Muang

BANGKOK: -- Nok Air will shift all of its 58 daily flights from Suvarnabhumi Airport back to Don Muang on March 24, one day ahead of the latter airport's official reopening.

The Thai Airways International (THAI) subsidiary will man eight checkin and three ticket-sales counters there. Two of the ticketing counters will be located on the departure level and the other one in the arrival hall.

The budget airline Friday said two flights from Hat Yai, two from Phuket, one from Nakhon Si Thammarat and one from Chiang Mai were scheduled to land at Don Muang on the night of March 24.

The next day, flights will depart for Hat Yai, Nakhon Si Thammarat and Udon Thani.

-- The Nation 2007-03-02

[cdnvic]

With the cost of transfers between airports will it be worth it to fly Nok anymore?

[pumpuiman]

Will Nok explain in their advertising that they are not located at the International airport at which you arrive in Thailand?

Or will you find out when you look for your connection when you step off the plane?

[Macx]

With the cost of transfers between airports will it be worth it to fly Nok anymore?

Probably not for foreign tourists heading home, but great for Thais on domestic travels.

Of the two dozen flights I've taken on Nok and Air Asia, over 90% of the passengers were Thais (or other Asians). Not everyone who gets on a plane to BKK needs to make a same day connecting flight out of LOS.

[hkt83100]

Nok Air to move all flights back to Don Muang

I just love the idea coming from Phuket by Nok and getting on the train on the other side of the road, going to my favourite destination Pak Chong

[Ricardo]

Wonder how much Nok-Air's load-factors will fall, as a result of this, not being able to use them when connecting with international flights ?

But do they care - since people will just be switching over to their much-more-expensive parent-company TG ?

How devious can you get !

[hansnl]

Will Nok explain in their advertising that they are not located at the International airport at which you arrive in Thailand?

Or will you find out when you look for your connection when you step off the plane?

Is there maybe somebody at AOT who maybe had the bright idea to create a shuttle service between Don Muang and Suvarnibhumi?

[marshbags]

Wonder how much Nok-Air's load-factors will fall, as a result of this, not being able to use them when connecting with international flights ?

But do they care - since people will just be switching over to their much-more-expensive parent-company TG ?

How devious can you get !

The majority of Thai domestic flights wil also be transfered back to D.Maung.

Udonthani Travel agents attended a meeting in the North East to put forward representations on why the local domestic flights should stay at the new airport ??????????? new , there,s a thought for you to ponder on

and at the same time.

The Thai airways Puyai was informed 80 % of passengers used ongoing flights and they promised to take this on board when making a decision.

TIT of course and this translates into you,ve N. F. C. we,ve already made our decision.

Thanks for nothing as that is obviouly what we are seen as.

marshbags and

P.S.

Let us hope they arrange convenient transport to collect and take international passengers to the connecting airport on arrival at D.Maung and vice versa.

I was informed that no decision would be made until AFTER the move on the 25th of March when i made direct enquiries at the Thai Airways offices at Udonthani.

Edited March 4, 2007 by marshbags

[Florin]

Just out of curiosity, how well do transfers work in London between Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, London City, etc...? I doubt it's the easiest of things to go through by oneself...

Bottom line: you don't want hassle, you get an organized tour, which also takes care of any pesky transfers. LCCs don't do through-checkin of luggage anyway, so (combined with their spotty on-time record) I'd think very few people would/should choose tightly connecting flights involving LCCs...especially since BKK has got to be one of the world's cheapest & most convenient cities for a quick hotel stay. A taxi between Don Muang and Suvarnabhumi would be no more than 5-600 Baht, even with tolls and would be A LOT more convenient than any bus-based shuttle service.

[cdnvic]

The VIP sleeper bus to Chiang Mai is sounding a lot less complicated.

[THAILIBAN]

Wonder how much Nok-Air's load-factors will fall, as a result of this, not being able to use them when connecting with international flights ?

the load factor will GROW, not fall, because almost no NOK AIR passenger is going on an international connecting flight after, and DON MUANG is much more convenient to get to and away anyway.... and hasslefree...

I will much more consider to choose NOK AIR in the future than I did before....

hope Airasia and 1-2-go will follow soon - then BKK finally has its LOW COST HUB

[Thai-Spy]

It will be interesting to see if the taxis follow the LCCs back to Don Muang and if all the old fare rules go back into effect.

[astral]

They must be migratory nok...............

[marshbags]

Just out of curiosity, how well do transfers work in London between Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, London City, etc...? I doubt it's the easiest of things to go through by oneself...

Bottom line: you don't want hassle, you get an organized tour, which also takes care of any pesky transfers. LCCs don't do through-checkin of luggage anyway, so (combined with their spotty on-time record) I'd think very few people would/should choose tightly connecting flights involving LCCs...especially since BKK has got to be one of the world's cheapest & most convenient cities for a quick hotel stay. A taxi between Don Muang and Suvarnabhumi would be no more than 5-600 Baht, even with tolls and would be A LOT more convenient than any bus-based shuttle service.

While i do not in anyway mean anything personal and on the face of it, your bottom line observation.

I note by the way you are based in B.Kok., but i,m sure you appreciate those who live in the outbacks, time wise and on an already consuming schedule.

We are talking THAILAND here and the vast array of negatives that need to be taken into account and addressed are many.

You will find i,m sure adequate facilities on transfers back in the U.K. for one, are within reason accomodated for in the majority of cases, just to get that one out the way.

It takes me 30/35 hours under normal circumstances to get from my families home to my residence in the U.K.

Adding another possible day onto that isn,t very pleasant to say the least, and maybe it doesn,t look much in a sentence........ BUT

The hassle it will cause and all the untold chaos and exploitation that goes with it for everyone ( Especially those not familiar with Thailand ) who are personally effected, it is not as easy or simple a scenario as it appears.

Another important and relevant point to observe is on behalf of tourists.

Say they come for a 10 -14 day break out of which they already loose ex amount of time which takes say 1-2 days away from quality / relaxing time.

Then add the 1-2 days this chaos will need, to be taken into account, not forgetting all the additional hassle that their respective cultures will find difficult to take in.

They wil not be very receptive to the BOTTOM line scenario if it comes down to it.

I,m sure you mean well and i hope you will accept my side of this without it being negative or disparaging as it is definitely not my objective.

There are many people effected by this 2 airport system being put in place and all we want is the same reasonable consideration by the domestic side of things, in particular Thai Air who cna do better if the will is there to ease the obvious downside that is going to happen.

Shuttle buses SHOULD be provided similar to the ones that used to ferry passengers downtown from D.Maung in times gone by.

We are ALL willing to pay a reasonable fare by the way and do NOT expect it to be free.

Thai Air, and all Airport Authorities involved in this, please take note and hopefully act in a positive way.

marshbags

Edited March 5, 2007 by marshbags

[Ricardo]

Wonder how much Nok-Air's load-factors will fall, as a result of this, not being able to use them when connecting with international flights ?

the load factor will GROW, not fall, because almost no NOK AIR passenger is going on an international connecting flight after, and DON MUANG is much more convenient to get to and away anyway.... and hasslefree...

I will much more consider to choose NOK AIR in the future than I did before....

hope Airasia and 1-2-go will follow soon - then BKK finally has its LOW COST HUB

Sorry, but I don't follow your logic ?

Existing connecting-to-international passengers will not fly Nok, because they end up in the wrong place, so their numbers will fall. Nobody wants to add 4-5 hours to their journey, by an unnecessary connection by bus, between the 2 airports.

Existing domestic passengers, or those connecting onwards with Nok Air, will see no change, and continue at current levels. You will still need to allow at least 3 hours to connect-on to another Nok flight, as I do, regularly.

So how can this translate into a HIGHER load factor ?

And if Don Muang really is more convenient to get to, what does that say, about the new aviation-hub of Thailand & S.E.Asia ? ? !

Lastly, if a Bangkok-area Low-Cost Hub was ever needed, why did it not emerge previously, at U-Ta-Pao for example ?

[slimdog]

One thing to add to the confusion, is the fact that according to Nok Airs website, quite a few flights are due to stop on the 25th March 2007. In particular flights to/from Phuket, but also Chiang Mai and Trang are losing some of their flights. Whether this means that the flights will be operated by Thai is not mentioned...

source: http://www.nokair.com/s1000_obj/front_page..._category_id=81

[zink]

Wonder how much Nok-Air's load-factors will fall, as a result of this, not being able to use them when connecting with international flights ?

the load factor will GROW, not fall, because almost no NOK AIR passenger is going on an international connecting flight after, and DON MUANG is much more convenient to get to and away anyway.... and hasslefree...

I will much more consider to choose NOK AIR in the future than I did before....

hope Airasia and 1-2-go will follow soon - then BKK finally has its LOW COST HUB

Sorry, but I don't follow your logic ?

Existing connecting-to-international passengers will not fly Nok, because they end up in the wrong place, so their numbers will fall. Nobody wants to add 4-5 hours to their journey, by an unnecessary connection by bus, between the 2 airports.

Existing domestic passengers, or those connecting onwards with Nok Air, will see no change, and continue at current levels. You will still need to allow at least 3 hours to connect-on to another Nok flight, as I do, regularly.

So how can this translate into a HIGHER load factor ?

And if Don Muang really is more convenient to get to, what does that say, about the new aviation-hub of Thailand & S.E.Asia ? ? !

Lastly, if a Bangkok-area Low-Cost Hub was ever needed, why did it not emerge previously, at U-Ta-Pao for example ?

It's worth remembering that low cost carriers as Nok Air or Air Asia, don't offer connecting flights. Using them before an outward flight is very risky, even if they use the same airport as other carriers. Besides, ride between two airports takes 1-2 hours instead of 4-5.

[THAILIBAN]

Wonder how much Nok-Air's load-factors will fall, as a result of this, not being able to use them when connecting with international flights ?

the load factor will GROW, not fall, because almost no NOK AIR passenger is going on an international connecting flight after, and DON MUANG is much more convenient to get to and away anyway.... and hasslefree...

I will much more consider to choose NOK AIR in the future than I did before....

hope Airasia and 1-2-go will follow soon - then BKK finally has its LOW COST HUB

Sorry, but I don't follow your logic ?

Existing connecting-to-international passengers will not fly Nok, because they end up in the wrong place, so their numbers will fall. Nobody wants to add 4-5 hours to their journey, by an unnecessary connection by bus, between the 2 airports.

Existing domestic passengers, or those connecting onwards with Nok Air, will see no change, and continue at current levels. You will still need to allow at least 3 hours to connect-on to another Nok flight, as I do, regularly.

So how can this translate into a HIGHER load factor ?

And if Don Muang really is more convenient to get to, what does that say, about the new aviation-hub of Thailand & S.E.Asia ? ? !

Lastly, if a Bangkok-area Low-Cost Hub was ever needed, why did it not emerge previously, at U-Ta-Pao for example ?

someone who flies NOK will not have an international connecting flight..... i guess 99% (probably even more) of the NOK passengers will NOT go to any other international connecting flights.

U-TAPAO ??? thats 150 km away from Bangkok..... THEN you will have indeed have your falling load-factor..... cause no-one wanna travel 3 hours by Bus to his actual destination (when u can be in downtown BKK from Don Muang in less then 20 minutes by car during non-peak-hours).....

anyway, time will tell...... so we have to wait and see.... nothing else we can do....

[THAILIBAN]

One thing to add to the confusion, is the fact that according to Nok Airs website, quite a few flights are due to stop on the 25th March 2007. In particular flights to/from Phuket, but also Chiang Mai and Trang are losing some of their flights. Whether this means that the flights will be operated by Thai is not mentioned...

source: http://www.nokair.com/s1000_obj/front_page..._category_id=81

on the late evening before re-operating from Don Muang again, most flights have to land at Don Muang, so they can depart from Don Muang the next morning...

maybe they cancelled some flights to avoid confusion....

I remember that, when Suwannaphum was opened, NOK cancelled all their flights on the official opening day for the same reason.....

[Lithobid]

Wonder how much Nok-Air's load-factors will fall, as a result of this, not being able to use them when connecting with international flights ?

the load factor will GROW, not fall, because almost no NOK AIR passenger is going on an international connecting flight after, and DON MUANG is much more convenient to get to and away anyway.... and hasslefree...

I will much more consider to choose NOK AIR in the future than I did before....

hope Airasia and 1-2-go will follow soon - then BKK finally has its LOW COST HUB

Right on the money Thailiban, I think an LCC hub would be a good idea, although wouldn't that take some reorganization and goverment subsidies, I was always under the impression that LCC's took advantage of an airport, by using the minimal services offered, such as air gates, and food service, and baggage handling equiptment. Wouldn't that affect ticket price if they were at a hub all their own?

[Krub]

Wonder how much Nok-Air's load-factors will fall, as a result of this, not being able to use them when connecting with international flights ?

But do they care - since people will just be switching over to their much-more-expensive parent-company TG ?

How devious can you get !

A lot if not most domestic destinations in Thailand do not have the luxury of a choise of carrier.

And even then TG announced they will move a lot of their domestic flghts to Don Muang also....so even less choices for the International transfers.

Spending 5-6hours between airports or a extra night in bangkok just for the sake of changing plane is not a good thing.

As SUV is not much frter away from Bangkok than DM the idealwould be for all flights to stay at SUV

[marshbags]

Wonder how much Nok-Air's load-factors will fall, as a result of this, not being able to use them when connecting with international flights ?

But do they care - since people will just be switching over to their much-more-expensive parent-company TG ?

How devious can you get !

A lot if not most domestic destinations in Thailand do not have the luxury of a choise of carrier.

And even then TG announced they will move a lot of their domestic flghts to Don Muang also....so even less choices for the International transfers.

Spending 5-6hours between airports or a extra night in bangkok just for the sake of changing plane is not a good thing.

As SUV is not much frter away from Bangkok than DM the idealwould be for all flights to stay at SUV

I mentioned in a similar thread that my travel agent had heard Thai Airways wanted to move the majority of domestic flights over to NOK and for both business and political reasons. SAME, SAME. of course.

This was before the feeding bowl of the PUYAI opened up and some time before the coup took place.???????

Once again the N.East travel agencies had voiced their opposition to this, and were, as as happened in this latest back tracking to D.Muang, told it would be taken seriously and all observations taken into account.

It wasn,t in both scenario,s as we now all know i,m sad to say, just a case of giving them lip service.

marshbags