Fast-track immigration pass

[pomozki]

Hi, I found an old thread about this but it was closed long ago.

 

I've probably made a mistake - I booked a flight with Indigo Airlines to India just 2 hours and 15 minutes after my 1st flight to BKK from Hong Kong (HK Airlines) is due to arrive.

I've already checked in online for the 2nd flight but didn't get a boarding pass. They've now told me that they are sorry but they don't issue boarding passes online for international flights, so when I get into BKK I will have to pass through immigration and go to airport counter to check in and collect boarding pass, then to return to the "other side" to catch 2nd flight. What the hell is the point of allowing online check-in if you then insist on passengers going to the counter anyway??!!

this could be very hairy especially since they require check-in nfor 2nd flight no later than 1 hours before departure
someone suggested I buy fast-track immigration pass. I only have carry-on case, no checked-in baggage, so would it help?
and does anyone know how much it costs and where to buy it?
 

Edited April 3, 2019 by pomozki

[richard_smith237]

https://www.bangkokflightservices.com/home/bfs-services/premium-airport-services/

 

Edited April 3, 2019 by richard_smith237

[richard_smith237]

https://www.limousine.in.th/fast-track-immigration.html

 

[Chelseafan]

Providing I've understood you properly you'll have plenty of time to go your airlines transfer desk to get them to issue the second ticket. I

 

 

Edited April 3, 2019 by Chelseafan

[richard_smith237]

40 minutes ago, Chelseafan said:

Providing I've understood you properly you'll have plenty of time to go your airlines transfer desk to get them to issue the second ticket. I

 

Would Indigo Airlines even have a transfer desk at Suvarnabhumi Airport ???

 

This trip advisor report (2013) suggests there is... but its thin on information... 

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowTopic-g293916-i3687-k6569156-Transfer_Passenger_Bangkok_Suvarnabhumi_Airport-Bangkok.html

[sanmyintmaung]

Are both of your flights are in separate tickets? If yes, you won't be able to use transfer desk. You will need to a) pass through arrival immigration, b) walk to departure hall, c) check in at the departure counters and then d)depart again through departure immigration. Since, check in counter will still open 60 minutes before departure, you have only one hour to do a, b and c which might be a bit difficult without fast track pass.

Edited April 4, 2019 by sanmyintmaung

[JaiLai]

18 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

https://www.bangkokflightservices.com/home/bfs-services/premium-airport-services/

 

This service stopped a long time ago:

 

https://www.bangkokflightservices.com/Premiumservice/customer/booking_policy.php

[JaiLai]

18 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

https://www.limousine.in.th/fast-track-immigration.html

 

My experience with this mob is crap. My flight arrived an hour late, my phone rang with one of their reps asking what gate i was at..... the mind boggles.

[pomozki]

thanks so much for all your replies. yes, it seems I'm out of luck.
1) I should've allowed more time between flights but I checked beforehand and when I saw that Indigo offered web check-in, I thought it would just be a matter of printing out my boarding pass for the 2nd flight and going from arrivals to int departure. I've done online check-ins for domestic and international flights for years - and they have ALWAYS come with boarding passes. Not so with Indigo. After completing my web check-in, including selecting seats, they said "congrats you've completed web check-in" - but no boarding pass.

I phoned a lady at Indigo at BKK and she said "we don't issue boarding passes online for international flights - you have to go to our airport counter to get that". So what I want to know is, what the hell is the point of allowing you to complete online check-in if they insist on you going to the airport counter anyway? The woman also told me they don't have a transfer desk at BKK.
2) after they told me repeatedly they couldn't help me I checked the booking status on the Indigo app on my phone and it said "thanks for completing web check-in, we'll email you your boarding pass 12 hours before flight". Yeah right, I'll believe that when I see it.
3) Worse was to follow. I asked if I could pay them for a 2nd departing flight and just delay the whole trip - they said no you can't. Your ticket can't be changed. I said I'll BUY a 2nd flight. "No, sorry, you can't. What's more if you fail to make the departing flight you nullify the entire ticket so you will lose your returning flight too"
4) I checked one of Richard's fast-track services and emailed them - seems they want $140 to get jobs done. That's about the cost of a one-way flight anyway. I'm also not convinced these places will be able to get the job done.
So right now it seems sanmyintmaung is right - it'll be one rush and hope. I'm frankly minded to cancel the trip and use my holidays to go somewhere but I'm already Bt13,500 down the gurgler with this Kolkata trip (return flights, Indian visa and IPL cricket ticket) so I'm loath to do that.
My boss (who's Indian) told me Indigo are the fastest-growing airline in India and trustworthy. I'll never ever use them again, that's for sure.

Edited April 9, 2019 by pomozki

[pomozki]

On 4/4/2019 at 6:59 PM, JaiLai said:

My experience with this mob is crap. My flight arrived an hour late, my phone rang with one of their reps asking what gate i was at..... the mind boggles.

update: despite jailai's negative review I decided that in my situation that company's price was worth the risk - they say on the voucher they sent me that they'll be waiting for me at the gate, or at the top of the first escalators if plane doesn't arrive at the gate. The cost is Bt2,300 - far less than having to rebook a 2nd departure flight even if that was an option with the pricks at Indigo, which it isn't.
I also like the fact the voucher includes 2 mobile phone numbers should I need to contact them
I'll post an update afterwards to let you know how it goes, cheers again

[fredob43]

 

 

2 hours ago, pomozki said:

update: despite jailai's negative review I decided that in my situation that company's price was worth the risk - they say on the voucher they sent me that they'll be waiting for me at the gate, or at the top of the first escalators if plane doesn't arrive at the gate. The cost is Bt2,300 - far less than having to rebook a 2nd departure flight even if that was an option with the pricks at Indigo, which it isn't.
I also like the fact the voucher includes 2 mobile phone numbers should I need to contact them
I'll post an update afterwards to let you know how it goes, cheers again

Hope all goes well for your trip. But have to confirm that these services don't include fast track now. Like J/L has said. They just pick you up and transport you to the normal immigration Gate. Then it's pot luck how long the wait will be. I have seen it well over two hours.

Edited April 11, 2019 by fredob43

[pomozki]

well, I am happy to report the fast-track service I used totally saved the day.
the plane from Hong Kong arrived on time but didn't taxi to the gate, so that was a worry - we were ferried in a bus to a different arrival spot. As soon as we landed I switched my phone back on and the guy was calling to ask where to meet. I didn't understand what he was trying to say. More anxiety. However, when the bus stopped I ran through the entrance door on the ground floor, turned the corner - and there he was, holding up a board with my name on. I just about hugged him.
He escorted me through immigration - then they didn't bother/forgot to check my bags through x-ray - so we were "on the other side" and ready to go over to the Indigo Air check-in counter in about 10 minutes flat. Fantastic! The guy spoke to the Indigo check-in girls - they immediately put me to the front of the longish queue, even offered me an exit row seat, gave me my boarding pass and we were on our way back to immigration for the return leg" of the mission.
He took me through the x-ray baggage area - we breezed through but then he vanished, apparently waiting for me to whiz through immigration.
Here, there was a hiccup - when I arrived at immigration, the officer tried to stamp my passport but I said NO, please wait. I need to first get a reentry permit. The officer said no worries, we'll do this, then you can get it. I wasn't having that. These reentry services are on the "outside world" side of immigration. You always have to see them before immigration. I thought it was possible they'd decline the permit, saying I'd already left the country. A workmate forgot to get his done - it cost him thousands to fly overseas again and re-process his work permit. So I wasn't taking the risk. The officer kept saying it would be okay but he finally relented (or lost patience with me) and allowed me to first go over to reentry permit area. The permit was processed in about 10 minutes but the woman who did it said she couldn't give me back my passport cos her supervisor needed to sign it - and he'd gone off somewhere for a break. Aaargh. Another 10 minutes and he returned and recognised me from the day before, when I asked him to process an extra reentry permit or upgrade me to multi-entry, to save me having to to do it the next day between flights (he'd refused, said getting a second reentry or upgrading to multi-reentry is not possible). Anyway, he signed it off, and the same woman who'd done my reentry permit then kindly escorted me back to the immigration area a few yards away, stamped me out of the country - and I was done!
I then then had time to cruise around before going to the departure gate - whereupon the fast-track guy was over there waiting for me at my departure gate. I wasn't happy he'd done a bunk but I thanked him and handed him a small (100 baht) tip and he seemed very happy with that, asked me to pose for a "happy customer" photo.
Points to remember:
1. People at work thought this fast-track thing must be dodgy, even illegal - not at all - they even have their own clearly signed fast-track lanes at both baggage x-rays and immigration now, so it's all above board and smooth as. It seems to have become an extra service offered by the airport.
2. The fast-track guys work all day at the airport, they are mates with all the staff and you, the customer, get treated like a VIP when staff realise you're with them.

so thanks for all your comments and advice. I for one can certainly recommend using them. They saved me a lot of money and aggravation.

Edited April 18, 2019 by pomozki

[josephbloggs]

17 hours ago, pomozki said:

well, I am happy to report the fast-track service I used totally saved the day.
the plane from Hong Kong arrived on time but didn't taxi to the gate, so that was a worry - we were ferried in a bus to a different arrival spot. As soon as we landed I switched my phone back on and the guy was calling to ask where to meet. I didn't understand what he was trying to say. More anxiety. However, when the bus stopped I ran through the entrance door on the ground floor, turned the corner - and there he was, holding up a board with my name on. I just about hugged him.
He escorted me through immigration - then they didn't bother/forgot to check my bags through x-ray - so we were "on the other side" and ready to go over to the Indigo Air check-in counter in about 10 minutes flat. Fantastic! The guy spoke to the Indigo check-in girls - they immediately put me to the front of the longish queue, even offered me an exit row seat, gave me my boarding pass and we were on our way back to immigration for the return leg" of the mission.
He took me through the x-ray baggage area - we breezed through but then he vanished, apparently waiting for me to whiz through immigration.
Here, there was a hiccup - when I arrived at immigration, the officer tried to stamp my passport but I said NO, please wait. I need to first get a reentry permit. The officer said no worries, we'll do this, then you can get it. I wasn't having that. These reentry services are on the "outside world" side of immigration. You always have to see them before immigration. I thought it was possible they'd decline the permit, saying I'd already left the country. A workmate forgot to get his done - it cost him thousands to fly overseas again and re-process his work permit. So I wasn't taking the risk. The officer kept saying it would be okay but he finally relented (or lost patience with me) and allowed me to first go over to reentry permit area. The permit was processed in about 10 minutes but the woman who did it said she couldn't give me back my passport cos her supervisor needed to sign it - and he'd gone off somewhere for a break. Aaargh. Another 10 minutes and he returned and recognised me from the day before, when I asked him to process an extra reentry permit or upgrade me to multi-entry, to save me having to to do it the next day between flights (he'd refused, said getting a second reentry or upgrading to multi-reentry is not possible). Anyway, he signed it off, and the same woman who'd done my reentry permit then kindly escorted me back to the immigration area a few yards away, stamped me out of the country - and I was done!
I then then had time to cruise around before going to the departure gate - whereupon the fast-track guy was over there waiting for me at my departure gate. I wasn't happy he'd done a bunk but I thanked him and handed him a small (100 baht) tip and he seemed very happy with that, asked me to pose for a "happy customer" photo.
Points to remember:
1. People at work thought this fast-track thing must be dodgy, even illegal - not at all - they even have their own clearly signed fast-track lanes at both baggage x-rays and immigration now, so it's all above board and smooth as. It seems to have become an extra service offered by the airport.
2. The fast-track guys work all day at the airport, they are mates with all the staff and you, the customer, get treated like a VIP when staff realise you're with them.

so thanks for all your comments and advice. I for one can certainly recommend using them. They saved me a lot of money and aggravation.

Thanks for the post and reporting back - it is always really useful when people do, but too many people don't.

 

Good to hear the fast track service is still valid.  Just one point though is that you can do re-entry after being stamped.  Normally you would do it before but you can do it afterwards (I have done this when using the fast track lane - they said stamp out then go to the re-entry counter afterwards).

 

 

[MeePeeMai]

On 4/4/2019 at 6:59 PM, JaiLai said:

My experience with this mob is crap. My flight arrived an hour late, my phone rang with one of their reps asking what gate i was at..... the mind boggles.

I used   https://www.limousine.in.th/fast-track-immigration.html   before and was met by a pleasant female I.O. at DMK who took me back into the office and stamped my in and off I went.  I was a happy customer and would have recommended their service but.....

 

Unfortunately, I tried to book a fast track with them this month and this was the response I got:

 

Dear Mr. **** ********

Thank you for your inquiry

Unfortunately, we have been ordered to temporarily suspend our fast track service at Don Muang Airport for now,  so much to our regret we won't be unable to meet you at the gate and through the VIP lanes on the requested date.

Our sincere apologies for the inconvenience caused. We expect to be able to offer this server again very soon. 


With warm regards, 
Siam Resorts Airport Limousines

Edited April 23, 2019 by blackcab
Links removed

[OJAS]

On 4/19/2019 at 5:22 AM, pomozki said:

well, I am happy to report the fast-track service I used totally saved the day.
the plane from Hong Kong arrived on time but didn't taxi to the gate, so that was a worry - we were ferried in a bus to a different arrival spot. As soon as we landed I switched my phone back on and the guy was calling to ask where to meet. I didn't understand what he was trying to say. More anxiety. However, when the bus stopped I ran through the entrance door on the ground floor, turned the corner - and there he was, holding up a board with my name on. I just about hugged him.
He escorted me through immigration - then they didn't bother/forgot to check my bags through x-ray - so we were "on the other side" and ready to go over to the Indigo Air check-in counter in about 10 minutes flat. Fantastic! The guy spoke to the Indigo check-in girls - they immediately put me to the front of the longish queue, even offered me an exit row seat, gave me my boarding pass and we were on our way back to immigration for the return leg" of the mission.
He took me through the x-ray baggage area - we breezed through but then he vanished, apparently waiting for me to whiz through immigration.
Here, there was a hiccup - when I arrived at immigration, the officer tried to stamp my passport but I said NO, please wait. I need to first get a reentry permit. The officer said no worries, we'll do this, then you can get it. I wasn't having that. These reentry services are on the "outside world" side of immigration. You always have to see them before immigration. I thought it was possible they'd decline the permit, saying I'd already left the country. A workmate forgot to get his done - it cost him thousands to fly overseas again and re-process his work permit. So I wasn't taking the risk. The officer kept saying it would be okay but he finally relented (or lost patience with me) and allowed me to first go over to reentry permit area. The permit was processed in about 10 minutes but the woman who did it said she couldn't give me back my passport cos her supervisor needed to sign it - and he'd gone off somewhere for a break. Aaargh. Another 10 minutes and he returned and recognised me from the day before, when I asked him to process an extra reentry permit or upgrade me to multi-entry, to save me having to to do it the next day between flights (he'd refused, said getting a second reentry or upgrading to multi-reentry is not possible). Anyway, he signed it off, and the same woman who'd done my reentry permit then kindly escorted me back to the immigration area a few yards away, stamped me out of the country - and I was done!
I then then had time to cruise around before going to the departure gate - whereupon the fast-track guy was over there waiting for me at my departure gate. I wasn't happy he'd done a bunk but I thanked him and handed him a small (100 baht) tip and he seemed very happy with that, asked me to pose for a "happy customer" photo.
Points to remember:
1. People at work thought this fast-track thing must be dodgy, even illegal - not at all - they even have their own clearly signed fast-track lanes at both baggage x-rays and immigration now, so it's all above board and smooth as. It seems to have become an extra service offered by the airport.
2. The fast-track guys work all day at the airport, they are mates with all the staff and you, the customer, get treated like a VIP when staff realise you're with them.

so thanks for all your comments and advice. I for one can certainly recommend using them. They saved me a lot of money and aggravation.

Glad that everything worked out for you in the end - but, wow, what a bloody palaver you had to go through, though, thanks entirely to those bungling incompetent cretins at Indigo!

 

On 4/9/2019 at 12:51 PM, pomozki said:

My boss (who's Indian) told me Indigo are the fastest-growing airline in India and trustworthy.

Might he have been saying exactly the same thing about Jet Airways at one time, I wonder?

[pomozki]

On 4/19/2019 at 11:42 PM, MeePeeMai said:

I used   https://www.limousine.in.th/fast-track-immigration.html   before and was met by a pleasant female I.O. at DMK who took me back into the office and stamped my in and off I went.  I was a happy customer and would have recommended their service but.....
 
Unfortunately, I tried to book a fast track with them this month and this was the response I got:
 

Dear Mr. **** ********

Thank you for your inquiry

Unfortunately, we have been ordered to temporarily suspend our fast track service at Don Muang Airport for now,  so much to our regret we won't be unable to meet you at the gate and through the VIP lanes on the requested date.

Our sincere apologies for the inconvenience caused. We expect to be able to offer this server again very soon. 


With warm regards, 
Siam Resorts Airport Limousines

that's a damn shame. It was such a smooth operation at Swampy and frankly, for the service I got, it was great value.

Sent from my SM-C710F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

[pomozki]

Thanks for the post and reporting back - it is always really useful when people do, but too many people don't.
 
Good to hear the fast track service is still valid.  Just one point though is that you can do re-entry after being stamped.  Normally you would do it before but you can do it afterwards (I have done this when using the fast track lane - they said stamp out then go to the re-entry counter afterwards).
 
 

thanks heaps for pointing that out. I thought he didn't understand my concern but he must've done
very useful to remember if prople ever forget to do the reentry before being stamped

Sent from my SM-C710F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[MeePeeMai]

15 minutes ago, pomozki said:

that's a damn shame. It was such a smooth operation at Swampy and frankly, for the service I got, it was great value.

 

Yes I agree, I had planned to use their service every time I flew in and out of DMK or Swampy.  For 1200 baht (or 2300 out and back in again) it sure beats standing in line for an hour or so each way.

 

I theorize that now BJ is gone, they will be allowed to bring their service back again soon (I am hoping).  

[JaiLai]

3 minutes ago, MeePeeMai said:

 

Yes I agree, I had planned to use their service every time I flew in and out of DMK or Swampy.  For 1200 baht (or 2300 out and back in again) it sure beats standing in line for an hour or so each way.

 

I theorize that now BJ is gone, they will be allowed to bring their service back again soon (I am hoping).  

BFS used to be 900 baht ( i think ), i tried a few of the other ones but they seemed to be the most reliable of the bunch.

 

tbh i've been pretty lucky with queues the last couple of years coming in and out ( 2 or 3 times a month ) but i know it's only a matter of time before i get scuppered.

[MeePeeMai]

Ye

2 minutes ago, JaiLai said:

i've been pretty lucky with queues the last couple of years coming in and out ( 2 or 3 times a month ) but i know it's only a matter of time before i get scuppered.

There's not much worse than standing in an hour long line of full of pushy, loud, obnoxious Chinese tour group types all trying to get ahead of the folks in front of them.

 

Been there and done that.  That's one reason I hate to fly anymore (without fast tracking).  I did get lucky on a recent trip to Malaysia though but It's such a gamble now at DMK and Swampy.

[JaiLai]

1 minute ago, MeePeeMai said:

Ye

There's not much worse than standing in an hour long line of full of pushy, loud, obnoxious Chinese tour group types all trying to get ahead of the folks in front of them.

 

Been there and done that.  That's one reason I hate to fly anymore (without fast tracking).  I did get lucky on a recent trip to Malaysia though but It's such a gamble now at DMK and Swampy.

Totally agree, unless flying business class everything about flying / airports and all that goes with it is becoming very tedious nowadays.