Passenger charges soar at six major Thai airports

[paulbrow]

Wow! Less than a dollar increase! That will stop me from buying a ticket for sure!!

[hotchilli]

2 hours ago, Skipalongcassidy said:

And airports and other businesses shouldn't make profits... right???

Profits yes, but not gouging.

[Skipalongcassidy]

4 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

Profits yes, but not gouging.

Who gets to say what is gouging and what is the proper return on investment... if it is the marketplace it seems as though... so far judging by the number of travelers... that threshold hasn't been reached yet... the planes are full.

[ujayujay]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

Passenger service charges (PSC) at six major Thai airports have seen an increase, as announced by the Airports of Thailand Plc. The charges, applicable on both domestic and international departing flights, have been raised at Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Don Mueang, Hat Yai, Phuket and Suvarnabhumi airports.

 

For international flights, the fees have been increased from 700 to 730 baht, while for domestic flights, a rise from 100 to 130 baht has been implemented.

 

AOT President Kerati Kijmanawat announced the change today, April 1, explaining that the increase in the service charge would cover the cost of AOT’s Common Use Passenger Processing System (CUPPS). The CUPPS includes automatic services such as Common Use Terminal Equipment (CUTE), which handles boarding passes, Common-Use Self Service (CUSS) for airport check-ins, and Common Use Bag Drop (CUBD).

In related news, the General Manager of Don Mueang International Airport, Wichit Kaewsaitiam, has forecasted a significant surge in traffic through the Bangkok airport during the Songkran festival, taking place from April 11 to 17.

It is predicted that Don Mueang Airport will serve 89,362 travellers daily during this period, marking an increase of 14.81% compared to the previous year. Moreover, the airport is expected to handle 590 flights each day, a rise of 10.58%.

 

Last week, to enhance passenger convenience and elevate service standards, the Airports of Thailand (AoT) unveiled the latest addition to Suvarnabhumi Airport: Grab taxi services.

 

Positioned at Gate 4 on the first floor of the terminal, the newly inaugurated Grab service centre stands ready to cater to passengers around the clock, announced AoT Director Kirati Kitmanawat.

 

Echoing Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin’s vision to propel Suvarnabhumi into the echelons of the world’s top 20 airports, Kirati highlighted the strategic move as a testament to AoT’s commitment to fostering seamless transport connectivity.

 

This initiative follows AoT’s successful collaborations with Grab at Don Mueang, Chiang Mai, and Phuket airports. Kirati underscored the significance of this partnership.

 

by Mitch Connor 

 

Source: The Thaiger 2024-04-02

 

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A tax increase of 30% for domestic flights is unbelievable! Again, inflation is cited as the reason, but this usury actually fuels inflation!

[herfiehandbag]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

AOT President Kerati Kijmanawat announced the change today, April 1, explaining that the increase in the service charge would cover the cost of AOT’s Common Use Passenger Processing System (CUPPS). The CUPPS includes automatic services such as Common Use Terminal Equipment (CUTE), which handles boarding passes, Common-Use Self Service (CUSS) for airport check-ins, and Common Use Bag Drop (CUBD).

So take away people to check you and your bags in, and issue you with a boarding card, replace them with a machine, and charge you more!

 

Common use baggage drop off does rather sound like the precursor to the old British Airways joke, breakfast in New York, dinner in London, luggage in Rio De Janeiro!

[mfd101]

1 hour ago, crazykopite said:

Flying is becoming unaffordable to most Thais

Flying has been unaffordable to MOST Thais since Adam & Eve departed the Garden of Eden. At the present rate of progress, it's likely to remain so for most of the next 50 years.

[itsari]

Typical gutter press storey.

[itsari]

Typical gutter press storey.

[arick]

That is what you call soring . Who writes this s*** it's gone up by 90 cents hasn't sort.

[Bday Prang]

If we all stopped responding to items like this maybe we would see a lot less of them

[mikebell]

4 hours ago, morning glory said:

Since when would an increase of 30 baht be considered “soaring”?

My maths isn't very good but 30 baht on a 100 baht price is a 30% jump which sounds like soaring to me.

[Yagoda]

Barfines are uniformly 300 baht more than before COVID, thats a charge thats soaring and actually means something.

 

Oh, you want an extra 75 cents at the airport? Is this before or after you overweighted my bags and sold me a burger at LAX prices and extracted every last dime from me.?

 

Actually the one who suffers is the poor cleaner who usually gets my bag of baht change when I leave. 30 baht less now.

[kimamey]

5 hours ago, Nigeone said:

Given those figures , surely there not correct. That’s around average of 150 passengers per flight . The bigger planes can carry around 600 . Another case of Thai maths not being a strong point . Everytime I’ve been on a plane into or out of Suvarnabhumi  there pretty much full. 

And don’t think those increases are going to stop anyone traveling. 

The A380 can carry over 800 but is normally outfitted for about 580 I think.  There aren't many of those though. The rest are around 250 - 360, so most aren't around 600. I've no idea if the figures quoted in the article are correct. It wouldn't surprise me if they were wrong,  as they seem to be good at that. 

[sambum]

6 hours ago, ezzra said:

Could it be an  April fools day announcement? and if not, it means that ' we need more

tourists/passengers' equals more revenue/income...

 

 

"Could it be an  April fools day announcement?" On April 2nd?

 

And "we need more tourists/passengers' equals more revenue/income..." so we start charging them more? That'll bring them flocking in!

 

 

[Cabradelmar]

The only other things more certain than death and taxes is increasing cost and prices (fees). 

[Jonathan Swift]

4 hours ago, daveAustin said:

It’s still a 30% increase no matter how you try to dress it up. One should keep an eye on stuff like this—air authorities and governments in particular are sly dogs for extra charges on this and that. As with many things here, prices don’t tend to go up in-kind with inflation. It is opportunism. 

I believe it was the west who taught the Asians capitalism. 

[NoshowJones]

4 hours ago, Skipalongcassidy said:

And airports and other businesses shouldn't make profits... right???

There is a big difference between being a greedy capitalist and giving customers a fair deal.

[georgey]

3 hours ago, sabai-dee-man said:

 

Seems you're English is as bad as there maths! 🙄🙄🙄 

....and your punctuation and spelling!

[spidermike007]

Another incredibly misleading article. A 700 baht fee being increased to 730 baht is slightly over a 4% increase. Though this is a sign of inflation it is certainly not a sign of soaring fees as the article falsely indicates. It is drama queen journalism.

[AhFarangJa]

3 hours ago, Ralf001 said:

 

Whats wrong with the acronyms ?

 

 

 

 

 

LOL.........CUTE.....CUSS........CUPS........Do I need to say more.......

[mogandave]

Let the people that want use the airport, pay for the airport. Makes sense to me.

[mogandave]

1 hour ago, NoshowJones said:

There is a big difference between being a greedy capitalist and giving customers a fair deal.

What’s a fair margin? 

[orchis]

"Passenger charges soar."

They soar by 30 thb. 😲

[NoshowJones]

7 minutes ago, mogandave said:

What’s a fair margin? 

Depends on what business the greedy capitalist is in.

[mogandave]

4 minutes ago, NoshowJones said:

Depends on what business the greedy capitalist is in.

But for capitalists there would be no airport for lazy leftists to whine about. 

[p414]

4 hours ago, sabai-dee-man said:

 

Seems you're English is as bad as there maths! 🙄🙄🙄 

THEIR

[PETERTHEEATER]

5 hours ago, Ralf001 said:

 

Whats wrong with the acronyms ?

 

 

 

 

 

They omitted Services Helping International Travellers.

[PETERTHEEATER]

Ironically, the OP image shows infrastrure for moving passengers down whilst their costs go up. 😋

[KannikaP]

8 hours ago, morning glory said:

“Passenger service charges soar” Huh? Since when would an increase of 30 baht be considered “soaring”? It’s just clickbait!! Whoever writes these headlines is deliberately trying to provoke a negative reaction and raise our blood pressure! Don’t fall for it, keep smiling 😁

30 baht increase on the domestic charge of 100 is a 30% increase. 30 baht on 700 isn't worth worrying about. It will possibly cost more to collect this money.

[richard_smith237]

6 hours ago, zzzzz said:

a 30 baht additional fee is hardly "soaring"   5555

 

Exactly, the pathetic exaggeration of the headline dilutes the integrity of the article to such a degree it becomes nothing more than trashy tabloid standard news.