Don Muang Airport Reopens

[george]

Don Muang Airport reopens

DON MUANG: -- Bangkok's nearly century-old Don Muang airport reopened to domestic flights Sunday to ease the crowds at the city's troubled new airport, authorities said.

Don Muang was one of Asia's busiest hubs until it was shuttered in September, following the opening of the sparkling new Suvarnabhumi Airport.

Some 140 flights carrying 20,000 passengers daily are now set to use the airport, beloved by many for its quirks -- including a golf course between the main runways -- and its relatively easy access to downtown Bangkok.

The revived airport's first flight took off for flag carrier Thai Airways at 6:00 am for the northeastern city of Ubon Ratchathani, an airline spokesman said.

A sign draped across the check-in counters read: "Welcome back to Don Muang."

"Don Muang has reopened and is running smoothly," said a spokeswoman.

Thai Airways is keeping some flights to popular tourist destinations like Phuket and Chiang Mai at Suvarnabhumi in hopes of minimising inconvenience to the more than 13 million holidaymakers who visit Thailand each year.

Two other airlines, low-cost carriers Nok Airways and One-Two-Go, have moved their flights to Don Muang but international carriers have refused to leave Suvarnabhumi.

Don Muang had been shuttered six months ago as officials hoped Suvarnabhumi would establish Bangkok as Southeast Asia's preeminent air hub.

Instead, the three-billion-dollar facility has been plagued by problems from cracks in the runways to complaints about safety and sanitation.

Officials say that moving domestic flights to the old airport will ease overcrowding at Suvarnabhumi and make it easier to repair the runways and fix other problems.

--AFP 2007-03-25

[0Mix1up]

I would not like to be on the first flights in or out.

How have they been able to find the qualified staff?

[george]

Decommissioned Don Muang airport officially reopens

BANGKOK: -- Bangkok's former Don Muang International Airport, which was closed to commercial flights nearly six months ago following the opening of Suvarnabhumi Airport, officially reopened Sunday for domestic flights.

Senior Transport Ministry officials, including Permanent Secretary for Transport Chaisawat Kittipornpaibul were on hand to welcome passengers boarding four Thai Airways International (THAI) and Nok Air flights.

They also welcomed the first group of passengers travelling by Nok Air from the northeastern province of Udon Thani to land at Don Muang at around 8.30 am.

Services offered to passengers and security measures at Don Muang on the first day of resumed operations were quite smooth, according to Kalaya Pakakrong, acting president of Airports of Thailand.

Only four commercial airlines, including One-Two-Go and Orient Thai airlines, are initially providing services at Don Muang, but other airlines wishing to use the airport will be welcomed as the passenger terminal could cater as many as 11 million people annually, Mrs. Kalaya said.

Patee Sarasin, chief executive officer of budget carrier Nok Air, confirmed that services offered by his airline Sunday morning went on smoothly and he was confident that the transfer of services to Don Muang from Suvarnabhumi Airport would help develop business for Nok Air.

This year Nok Air plans to acquire three more airlines to cater to anticipated growth, Mr. Patee said.

Passenger Surapan Tumnark, a traveler en route to the southern resort of Phuket, said the reopening of Don Muang will give more choices to passengers in using services.

He said the system at Don Muang is much more convenient than Suvarnabhumi Airport and he wants the government to clearly decide to make use of Don Muang for domestic flights and Suvarnabhumi for international flights.

The reopening of Don Muang will help ease congestion at Suvarnabhumi Airport as its taxiways and main terminal undergo repairs. Located in Bangkok's neighboring province of Samut Prakan, the new airport intended as Southeast Asia's commercial aviation hub has been plagued by varied problems including cracked taxiways, a shortage of toilets, design flaws and a long list of corruption allegations.

--TNA 2006-03-25

[wiki256]

They are just trying to make some money out of it and accusing the previous PM of corruptions at the same time.

[guru]

A little insignificant but according to yesterday's Bangkok Post (24.3) they've changed the spelling to

Don Mueang

with an extra e in the middle. They said this is a more correct Roman translation of the Thai script. They showed a sign with the new spelling outside the airport.

According to the same article THAI advertise in hard copy with the new spelling and on their website with the old spelling.

[chiang mai]

And now that'll be Don Mueang if you don't mind.

[MarcHolt]

A little insignificant but according to yesterday's Bangkok Post (24.3) they've changed the spelling to

Don Mueang

with an extra e in the middle. They said this is a more correct Roman translation of the Thai script. They showed a sign with the new spelling outside the airport.

According to the same article THAI advertise in hard copy with the new spelling and on their website with the old spelling.

I can't see what difference the extra 'e' will make. No one can pronounce the bloody name anyway. Maybe they should change the name to 'Donnybrook' or something?

[ovenman]

with an extra e in the middle. They said this is a more correct Roman translation of the Thai script. They showed a sign with the new spelling outside the airport.

According to the same article THAI advertise in hard copy with the new spelling and on their website with the old spelling.

I can't see what difference the extra 'e' will make. No one can pronounce the bloody name anyway. Maybe they should change the name to 'Donnybrook' or something?

I have a tendency to think that changes like this all come down to money, spending money that is. Think of all the signs and what-have-you that would need to be re-done. Good opportunity for some connected AOT poo-yai's wife's cousin to make some baht.

[Goldenbead]

So do all Phuket flights still go into the new airport? Or do some go to the old as well? Just wondering as I am flying out in a couple of weeks and need to make a connection at the new airport.

[chiang mai]

A little insignificant but according to yesterday's Bangkok Post (24.3) they've changed the spelling to

Don Mueang

with an extra e in the middle. They said this is a more correct Roman translation of the Thai script. They showed a sign with the new spelling outside the airport.

According to the same article THAI advertise in hard copy with the new spelling and on their website with the old spelling.

I can't see what difference the extra 'e' will make. No one can pronounce the bloody name anyway. Maybe they should change the name to 'Donnybrook' or something?

Presumably that means that you cannot pronounce the name but I think you'll find that most others can!

[mtnthai]

i flew in on Nok last night at 10 pm from Phuket and it was a typically bad experience. TIT

my departure gate was changed three times in Hkt to start off. then their was no service on the plane, nothing to buy or eat, whatsoever. the plane was maybe 20% capacity. we left early and arrived late. it took close to ten minutes to get the gangway door opoened once they started to try (so glad it was not an emergency situation, we would have all suffered for it. then the walk way to the main hallway was not lit. NO LIGHTS exccept ambient light form outside. baggage claim was ok, surprisingly. then, no exchanges open to change money, or break bills for taxis. many of the people were travelers who needed to do this but were told, in the morning it will open, ha ha ha. then the taxi stand was all the same people that helped to generate pages of posts here on TVF.com. for their bad attitude and over pricing.

all in all, TIT to the max. i will probably not fly Nok again unless they go back to the new airport.

further, the taxi ride to town, Phrakanong, was an hour and fifteen minutes and cost 400 baht (they jacked up the surcharge fee 50 baht to 150 form 100) and the new airport for me is 200 baht and 25 minutes with traffic.

i have heard this is all about politics and military control to reap the rewards. one airport is army controled and the other is airforce. everyone looking to make a fast buck. is this so? anyone hear about this?

Edited March 25, 2007 by mtnthai

[tomallison]

So do all Phuket flights still go into the new airport? Or do some go to the old as well? Just wondering as I am flying out in a couple of weeks and need to make a connection at the new airport.

I belive some Thai Airways flights will still fly to Phuket from the new Airport. And all Air Asia flights remain to/from the new Airport.

[mtnthai]

So do all Phuket flights still go into the new airport? Or do some go to the old as well? Just wondering as I am flying out in a couple of weeks and need to make a connection at the new airport.

I belive some Thai Airways flights will still fly to Phuket from the new Airport. And all Air Asia flights remain to/from the new Airport.

would this be because thaksin has a stake in air asia and he was the one who pushed the opening of the new airport and also used that (so i have heard) as a way to exclude the old guard from Don Muang from getting a slice of the new pie?

i would really love to see an indepth news report on these aspects as i hear all kinds of theories and none are confirmed by hard fact or data.

[hpotamus]

Thai Airways flights at Don Muang airport will have a four-digit number code beginning with 1, such as TG1203.

Flights at Suvarnabhumi airport will use three-digit numbers, such as TG203

[subbuteo]

what happens when pilots get mixed up on which airport to land on.

[Mr_Happy]

Jacked up my connection to Chiang Mai no way to travel from airport to airport to make the connection...

[pippasipanoun]

I live in Khon Kaen which makes the international hop a real pain in the jackseeeee!!! Silly question probably but how long does it take to get from Don Mueang to Suvarnabhumi? And how much? Do Thai Airways lay on a courtesy couch if you are connecting to their International flights? Thanks.

BTW: This is bonkers!!

[marshbags]

Someone told me yesterday that Air Asia was going via the new airport from Undonthani ???????

May i offer the following based on the feedback to avoid the mega problems unfolding.

If you can possibly do it Delay your journey for a couple of weeks until the chaos dies down and things become calmer.

I have purposely arranged to fly early May in the hope of a more reliable schedule.

Also the unfortunate members that do not have a choice will be able to advise the fortunate ones the best way forward via the trial and error method.

I genuinely sympathize with the unfortunates, even more so if they have families travelling with them.

I do not want to sound condescending because i am not.

marshbags

Edited March 25, 2007 by marshbags

[lingyai]

Don Muang forever!!!

ah the memories, the ease of use, the 7/11 in the building, right on a main road. I would rather go to Don Muang than the new one anyday.

Edited March 25, 2007 by lingyai

[iang]

This whole split airport thing is a pain in the proverbial! Until now, I was a regular Nok Air user, in their Nok Plus cabin. Emailed Nok Air complaining that I could no longer use them as am usually connecting to or from an international flight & advised they would lose a great deal of business from other connecting passengers - no response or acknowledgement though, yet they claim that moving to Don Muang is going to increase their business but in doing so, they now lose substantial business from passengers connecting to or from internation flights! I just can't figure this personally.

The other thing is that being in CM, even the TG flights are split between the 2 airports. This now means that if I am returning from a trip to Oz, I can no longer connect back home to CM the same day, as the last flight of the day leaves from Don Muang (Don Mueang!!! - who's got shares in a signwriting company?!?!?) and there's not enough time to drive from Suvarnabhumi to Don Muang to connect! This now means I have to overnight in Bangkok every time - an absolute pain & gross inconvenience!

[lubbkis]

This pronunciation problem is more real than might at first be thought. I used to be able to simply get into a taxi and pronounce my intended destination as "Airport". Now with a choice of two unpronounceable names I will have to rely on the apartment doorman to brief the taxi driver and that generally means an inflated fare.

Anyway, I'm pretty sure I m landing at Suvasomethingorother shortly.

[harmonist]

A little insignificant but according to yesterday's Bangkok Post (24.3) they've changed the spelling to

Don Mueang

with an extra e in the middle.

I can't see what difference the extra 'e' will make. No one can pronounce the bloody name anyway. Maybe they should change the name to 'Donnybrook' or something?

If you think like that concerning the Thai language, you display in great manner how unwilling you are to try at least. But, if you are that unwilling, why are you here anyway? Thailand doesn't need bloody people like you, not at all. So just go home and citisize your own country !

[Xangsamhua]

The new transcription ("mueang") is correct following the Royal Thai General System of Transcription, the official system for rendering Thai in the Latin alphabet (see Wikipedia article).

There might be a dollar or two in it for somebody, but I for one am happy to see someone conforming to the recommended standard for a change. I wish everyone would do it and we wouldn't have the rafferty's rules that normally apply to transcription of Thai words and proper nouns.

I lived in Laos for several years during their war and never recollect any difficulty with transcription from Lao to the Roman alphabet. The French and Lao together came up with a perfectly logical and consistent transcription code. (Incidentally, the Lao would spell it "meuang".)

[mtnthai]

This whole split airport thing is a pain in the proverbial! Until now, I was a regular Nok Air user, in their Nok Plus cabin. Emailed Nok Air complaining that I could no longer use them as am usually connecting to or from an international flight & advised they would lose a great deal of business from other connecting passengers - no response or acknowledgement though, yet they claim that moving to Don Muang is going to increase their business but in doing so, they now lose substantial business from passengers connecting to or from internation flights! I just can't figure this personally.

The other thing is that being in CM, even the TG flights are split between the 2 airports. This now means that if I am returning from a trip to Oz, I can no longer connect back home to CM the same day, as the last flight of the day leaves from Don Muang (Don Mueang!!! - who's got shares in a signwriting company?!?!?) and there's not enough time to drive from Suvarnabhumi to Don Muang to connect! This now means I have to overnight in Bangkok every time - an absolute pain & gross inconvenience!

i just now have gotten off the line with Nok "Customer Service". I explained in detail what went wrong with my flight to Don Muang Saturday evening. All the rep kept saying was, "it was our first day". i told her i did not want to hear excuses and her job is to listen and ask for suggestions and solutions, but that went over like the Hindenberg in New Jersey. I tried to explain that most folks would expect an airline to iron out all the problems before opening day, for safety and comfort reasons.

when i tried to get her to understand that many of my points were relative to percieved (if not real) safety issues and a care-free attitude that does not fit with such a serious service as air travel, she was unresponsive. she really never understood what i was trying to say, nor did she really seem to care. another talking head offering lip service. i also feel that i was probaly one of many who had called her today to say the exact same things.

too bad, Nok used to be the best, heads above the rest.

they really seemd to have bought into their own line of propaganda that if you go to Don Muang and you are not making a connecitng flight so there is no need for concerns, there are not a lot farangs on the plane and you will need no assitance or deserve any level of professionalism from Nok who used to be (IMHO) a benchmark for the local air travel industry.

i closed my conversatioin by giving her the URL for this forum in hopes that they will see what everyone's concerns are, and then maybe try to do something that is prompted by the consumers concerns.

now i will try to stop laughing and get back to work.

[diehard60]

You must be from England. Would you like your name misspelled? and mispronounced? I guess you would. So stop complaing

A little insignificant but according to yesterday's Bangkok Post (24.3) they've changed the spelling to

Don Mueang

with an extra e in the middle. They said this is a more correct Roman translation of the Thai script. They showed a sign with the new spelling outside the airport.

According to the same article THAI advertise in hard copy with the new spelling and on their website with the old spelling.

I can't see what difference the extra 'e' will make. No one can pronounce the bloody name anyway. Maybe they should change the name to 'Donnybrook' or something?

[hkt83100]

I can't see what difference the extra 'e' will make. No one can pronounce the bloody name anyway. Maybe they should change the name to 'Donnybrook' or something?

I recommend you try to learn a bit about Thai language and the pronunciation. If this is too hard for you, you should better live in a country with a language similar or equal to your own, because you are definitely in the wrong place.

[AmeriThai]

The new transcription ("mueang") is correct following the Royal Thai General System of Transcription, the official system for rendering Thai in the Latin alphabet (see Wikipedia article).

There might be a dollar or two in it for somebody, but I for one am happy to see someone conforming to the recommended standard for a change. I wish everyone would do it and we wouldn't have the rafferty's rules that normally apply to transcription of Thai words and proper nouns.

I lived in Laos for several years during their war and never recollect any difficulty with transcription from Lao to the Roman alphabet. The French and Lao together came up with a perfectly logical and consistent transcription code. (Incidentally, the Lao would spell it "meuang".)

Now if they'd decide to get settled with some of the other variations:

Wittiyu/Vittiyu

Chatuchak/Jatujak

etc.

[CSS]

I just took the 16:30 12go flight from Don Mueang to Chiang Rai. Everything ran completely smoothly as though the airport had never been shut down. Plus, it was so convenient getting out to the airport for my flight. 20-25 minutes from Siam to the check in gate. I for one am pleased with the return to DM.

[khunandy]

I have decided I have had enough of this Bangkok airport drama for a while, at least until they sort themselves out. I was disappointed in the facilities, the service and the basic lack of comfort, especially getting in at midnight on an international and waiting until 5 am for the domestic check- in to open. It is just not a good airport, I wanted it to be and hope it can become one.

I decided to go back to using Singapore as my Asian hub, so from now on its Tiger Airways from Singapore to Udon Thani instead of dicking around in Bangkok to Khon Kaen. To have to travel across town to Don Muaeng would only add to my frustration.

Yep, a beer and a smoke in Harry's bar at Changi followed by a session on a free leg massage machine and a movie. If I want I can just have a nap on one of the sleeping chairs in a quiet corner somewhere.

I wish they had simply purchased the blue prints from Singapore Changi Airport and built something that works.

Khun Andy

Edited March 25, 2007 by khunandy

[aonangkrabi]

Now if they'd decide to get settled with some of the other variations:

Wittiyu/Vittiyu

Chatuchak/Jatujak

etc.

The most logical transcription is from Mary Haas: Then it should be written Catucak