Suvarnabhumi After One Year

[rogerdee123]

After about a year of using Suvarnabhumi (maybe 80 times including arrivals and departures) I honestly and frankly have the following conclusions :

- Departing thru Suvarnabhumi is not so bad. OK I have a Thai Gold Card and don't have to wait in the long snaking lines. But for me, I can get thru check-in and immigration and get to the gate in about the same amount of time as it took at Don Muang. OK sometimes it's very slow. But also sometimes Don Muang was very slow.

- Arriving thru Suvarnabhumi is MUCH slower than Don Muang was. On average it takes at least twice as long to get the plane parked, do the long walk, immigration lines, luggage wait, taxi lines and into a taxi at Suvarnabhumi as it took in Don Muang. In a year of traveling (about 40 arrivals) about 10 arrivals (25%) have been real frustrations. In Don Muang I probably had about 2 of these a year with the same number of trips.

A lot of things have been corrected at Suvarnabhumi since the beginning nightmare days. But I still have to say they haven't fixed enough and in terms of efficiency and my own experiences, Don Muang still beats Suvarnabhumi.

[wileycoyote]

After about a year of using Suvarnabhumi (maybe 80 times including arrivals and departures) I honestly and frankly have the following conclusions :

A lot of things have been corrected at Suvarnabhumi since the beginning nightmare days. But I still have to say they haven't fixed enough and in terms of efficiency and my own experiences, Don Muang still beats Suvarnabhumi.

Dear rogerdee123,

I am also disappointed in Suvarnabhumi,the designers have constructed a cold cathedral with no heart.

I feel that the monotonous shops add to my depression and the distances are unacceptable considering the number of children and elderly passengers using this airport.

I also feel blackmailed into using certain carriers as the onward domestic connections are so infrequent.

I think that unless things improve significantly ,KUL & SIN will increase their hub business as traffic to Phuket & Chiang Mai as their destination look for better connections ,just like me people are fed up with the Suvanabhumi/Don Muang connections.

I feel that had the airport been big enough to contain both international/domestic flights I could have grown use to it.whereas now I try to avoid it !

Sadly

Wiley Coyote

[wintermute]

The major problems that I have with the new airport:

inefficient and incompetent personnel working queues

lack of good dining options with overpriced thai brand cafes serving low quality food.

too many rip off artists and corrupt customs guys have made the airport their nesting ground.

baggage theft by airport employees

lack of bookstores.

lack of clean bathroom facilities

the new airport's windows all have a dingy filthy look.

confusing signs

The Hong Kong airport and Changi in Singapore are both a few hundred times better than sloppypoon airport in Thailand.

[tartempion]

The major problems that I have with the new airport:

The place was not designed with the traveller in mind.

What they did though was to concentrate on making money.

A typical mistake ???

Edited August 3, 2007 by tartempion

[totlanh]

With the utmost respect i think you are all talking twaddle!!The new airport surpasses DM in all areas i just cant understand how you can think different.

[jackmuu]

Compared to Hong Kong / KL etc. it sucks, but then it isn't Hong Kong, it is Thailand, what do you expect.

Having said that, it is much better than DM and when traveling with the Mrs they always allow me to go through the Thai passport holders lines which are much quicker.

Can't complain at that.

[Cheeky Farang]

I have travelled though the airport no less than 20 times since its opening.

I have a Thai Gold Card but even with this check-in late at night can still take an hour. Mid morning a breeze, immigration is hit and miss both in and out.

HAVE ANY OF YOU NOTICED HOW MANY BROKEN/CRACKED WINDOWS HAVE DEVELOPED OVER THE YEAR? On my last trip from check-in to gate C there are 4, and 1 in the gate lounge. How many have cracked on routes to other areas of the airport? Are the windows cracking due to building movement / stress? All other windows are filthy and water stained, the place is starting to look like 10 years old let alone 1.

I always get a plane that’s in C-gate on departure and arrival - now that is a long walk.

The Thai lounge on level 3, ie the main lounge SUCKS, the smaller lounges near the gates are better.

Never been bothered by customs, but the Taxi touts are a F-in nightmare. Even last month I was approached by 4 who were very touchy/pushy. I have one tout who would just not go away even thou I can speak Thai (a bit) In the end, as I passed a police officer I told him these people are a disgrace to airport. He just smiled and said YES (tea money source I expect)

Never bought anything in duty free, but there are plenty of threads here on TV on how bad/expensive it is.

Toilets, ok in lounges

The ban on liquids has also make an issue for long haul, I for one always take 2 bottles of water with me on a flight. At every other airport I go to that has this rule you can always buy water etc after the security check, but non on offer at Suvarnabhumi. A tip for you who like to carry water with you, put 2 empty bottles in your carry-on bag then when you get to the gate fill them from the drinking water fountain. I have done this many times, but once even on the plane a cabin crew member got waxy and wanted to know how I got through security with them. I explained what I did, and the fact I need to take medication 3 times throughout the flight so I need water to hand. The silly bitch still took them off of me and came back with a litre bottle !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Main bitch, is the location; not good for those of us that travel north by taxi the new airport has added at least 45 – 60 mins to my journey.

C F

[TheWalkingMan]

The major problems that I have with the new airport:

...

lack of good dining options with overpriced thai brand cafes serving low quality food.

...

The Hong Kong airport and Changi in Singapore are both a few hundred times better than sloppypoon airport in Thailand.

You got that right. I strolled through a restaurant on the Domestic side of the airport and did not see one Thai customer. There were plenty of westerners but no Thais. I then looked at the prices of the food and was shocked... The prices were so far out of wack that I had to laugh and shake my head.

I can understand a place wanting to make a profit, but dang! Don't be so greedy.

Next time I will try to take pictures and post for all to see.

TheWalkingMan

[samtam]

After using the airport numerous times since its opening nearly 1 year ago I cannot say that I have experienced anything overly bad about the operation (function) of the facility, (check in, immigration, boarding). The main gripe remains that this hugely priced building (the structure and fabric) was never ready upon opening, and it has begun to deteriorate rapidly. Aesthetically it is a joke, (beach umbrellas above some immigration booths, inadequate filing, desks, storage at the same; badly placed shopping and food outlets; poorly maintained lavatories; non utilisation of travelator walkways because they are not switched on, to the furthest gate E10 for example; broken tiles, shoddy workmanship; inadequate airconditioning to name but a few, and all previously well catalogued by many. As we know it is not possible for these large building projects to be implemented in Thailand, (vide Paragon, Central World etc), where workmanship is of a poor standard, and durability will be short-lived; but even those are much much better than Suvarnabhumi. Anyway, people don't have high expectations of these things in Thailand, so it comes as no surprise; what is a surprise is when peoole claim it is beyond compare, superlative etc etc. Depends on what you are comparing it with really. The other obvious Asian comparisons are light years ahead, and were completed many years earlier, so there was a hugely missed opportunity to learn from these and to emulate.

[game4shame]

the new airport's windows all have a dingy filthy look.

wouldnt fancy being the in-house window cleaner tbh.

I actually like soo-wanna-poom. spacious (which i like), seems clean enough, ive found it quick and easy at check-in/immigration/baggage etc.....

...not sure about the prices in the sky loft though.

[tangoll]

However much one may complain, it is precisely the "This is Thailand", mai pen rai, etc attitude, that allows some of us, upon arrival, to head up to the departures level, to catch a taxi, who is happy to use the meter, to head back into town. The one good thing about Suwanna over DM is that the traffic into Sukhumvit/CBD is not nearly as bad as from DM. Traffic to and from DM could be frustratingly bad at times.

Suwanna > DM: traffic to and from, lighter more spacious feeling, much fewer instances of planes parking on apron and having to use buses for loading/off-loading, fewer instances of flights delayed

Suwanna < DM: long walks, I've never experienced the Suw to DM transfer - must be a nightmare

Both equally bad: getting thru immigration upon arrival, surly attitude of immigration officials, don't care attitude for long lines at immigration, despite complaints rarely see any improvements made to correct defects

Overall, I think Suwanna is an improvement over DM, but it's nowhere near as good as HK, Sing, or KL.

[chinthee]

Overall, I think Suwanna is an improvement over DM, but it's nowhere near as good as HK, Sing, or KL.

This pretty much sums it up, though I'm not impressed with KL. The thing that really has me scratching my head though is that with all the attention that Thailand gives to considering its competitive position in so many ways vis-a-vis SG and HK, (TAT considering how to attract more and more of the tourist and MICE trade, for example, the stated goals of making BKK an airlines hub, etc..). And with all the careful study Thailand should have given to HK & SG airports, studying them, their efficiencies, and more importantly, given that this airport is the last major one built in Asia, and should be latest generation, and therefore, presumably best current airport, how terribly miserably they have failed. Judged against that standard, it is a national embarrassment.

This was a chance to demonstrate that Thailand ran with the big dogs in Asia. Singapore has taken the bold step of legalizing gambling and several Las Vegas and foreign goliaths are building state of the art entertainment complex casino destinations. SG, a tiny island state the size of Phuket, with no natural resources, continues to come up with big and innovative ideas to attractive foreign tourists, foreign corporations, and foreign investment. At the same time, not only do HK and SG have the two best airports in Asia, but universally rated the two best airlines as well. Must be some message there.

[wintermute]

This pretty much sums it up, though I'm not impressed with KL. The thing that really has me scratching my head though is that with all the attention that Thailand gives to considering its competitive position in so many ways vis-a-vis SG and HK, (TAT considering how to attract more and more of the tourist and MICE trade, for example, the stated goals of making BKK an airlines hub, etc..).

The Thai government has always been good at making public statements about grand plans and ambitions but they have a very poor track record of following up on it. The problem is the airport was plagued with graft and corruption from the start. The scanner machines, King Power's greedy claws in every corner, and the design of the airport which is geared towards marketing king power crap to travel weary tourists. They did all this while sacrificing efficiency, safety, ergonomics, and cost effectiveness.

This was a chance to demonstrate that Thailand ran with the big dogs in Asia. Singapore has taken the bold step of legalizing gambling and several Las Vegas and foreign goliaths are building state of the art entertainment complex casino destinations. SG, a tiny island state the size of Phuket, with no natural resources, continues to come up with big and innovative ideas to attractive foreign tourists, foreign corporations, and foreign investment. At the same time, not only do HK and SG have the two best airports in Asia, but universally rated the two best airlines as well. Must be some message there.

IMO, the day of Thailand ever coming close to beating Singapore and Hong Kong has long elapsed. Thailand may be better at some things like tourism and growing rice but that is mostly due to natural environment rather than any kind of ingenius marketing or business acumen. Singapore and Hong Kong are basically competing with each other at this point with the various SE Asian nations trailing far behind with Malaysia being second to Singapore. Hong Kong has a direct link to Macau as well and it's also heavily invested by Las Vegas moguls. These new asian gambling cities will bring even more prosperity to the two.

Edited August 5, 2007 by wintermute

[tartempion]

With the utmost respect i think you are all talking twaddle!!The new airport surpasses DM in all areas i just cant understand how you can think different.

1) Drop-off zone is miserable: each time I get there taxi driver has problems to let me out and security intervenes all but nicecely shouting at driver.

2) check-in hall is miserable: difficult to locate check-in counter unless you're a frequent user, long walk and LOUD place.

3) useless (duty free-joke) shops, they just stand in the way

4) mostly very long walk to your gate

5) once past last security check you better don't be hungry or thursty: there is noting out there

6) Have a nice seat waiting boarding: hard and cold on your a**

7) miserable archtitecture of metal and glass

8) toilets: have a nice pee, especially on arrival

9) access to lounges, try to find them, good luck

10) arrivals: wait for luggage, has improved lately

11) arrivals: welcome AOT limo thiefs before you collect your luggage

12) arrivals: welcome from the touts when you get rid of AOT touts

13) arivals: when you manage to get past the touts where are the taxis if they have any???

Why would you need a taxi anyway since the AOT and touts are there to scam you???

14) arrivals: where's the meeting point? One floor up? andthe taxis are two floors down then? Brilliant

15) arrivals: where are the buses to town and country side???

16) want some more?

Must be the easiest airport to find your way around EVER!!!

DM???

At least they had a Burger King passed the handbag checkpoint and there was a nice relaxing waiting area with nice seating at domestic terminal, compare that with domestic at Savanaboum???

Seems that Burger King is no longer there?

[thwock]

despressing battleship grey colour scheme

unused central areas in the leaving channels with centre areas devoid of any sensible usage

with pax crammed into the outside areas all clustered around the gate

shops selling everything but what pax really need ,leaving the shop tills silent and empty .

[bendix]

With the utmost respect i think you are all talking twaddle!!The new airport surpasses DM in all areas i just cant understand how you can think different.

1) Drop-off zone is miserable: each time I get there taxi driver has problems to let me out and security intervenes all but nicecely shouting at driver.

2) check-in hall is miserable: difficult to locate check-in counter unless you're a frequent user, long walk and LOUD place.

3) useless (duty free-joke) shops, they just stand in the way

4) mostly very long walk to your gate

5) once past last security check you better don't be hungry or thursty: there is noting out there

6) Have a nice seat waiting boarding: hard and cold on your a**

7) miserable archtitecture of metal and glass

8) toilets: have a nice pee, especially on arrival

9) access to lounges, try to find them, good luck

10) arrivals: wait for luggage, has improved lately

11) arrivals: welcome AOT limo thiefs before you collect your luggage

12) arrivals: welcome from the touts when you get rid of AOT touts

13) arivals: when you manage to get past the touts where are the taxis if they have any???

Why would you need a taxi anyway since the AOT and touts are there to scam you???

14) arrivals: where's the meeting point? One floor up? andthe taxis are two floors down then? Brilliant

15) arrivals: where are the buses to town and country side???

16) want some more?

Must be the easiest airport to find your way around EVER!!!

DM???

At least they had a Burger King passed the handbag checkpoint and there was a nice relaxing waiting area with nice seating at domestic terminal, compare that with domestic at Savanaboum???

Seems that Burger King is no longer there?

Points 1-16 are too trite to respond to. They are subjective and you are obviously happier being miserable about the airport.

But Burger King? Do you walk around in a daze? There are several Burger King outlets at the new airport (for good or for bad).

[DirkGently]

It's an airport! They are never nice! Some are just less awful than others! DM was a concrete bunker and Suvanawhatever is as poorly designed and maintained as only the Thais can manage!

[chinthee]

Most of you are lucky never to have pulled hardship duty in the former Soviet Union. I spent 6 years living in Moscow and traveling extensively in just about every corner of that crumbled empire. The stories I could tell about airports (and airplanes) would make you all cringe.

[tornado40]

After leaving Heathrow airport - arriving at Suvarnabhumi is a joy by comparison

LHR has been compared to the stress levels of being mugged!

No sign on any improvement soon

Only aiport to get Thai airways direct so no choice

Still looking forward to my trip in October though

[Spee]

With the utmost respect i think you are all talking twaddle!!The new airport surpasses DM in all areas i just cant understand how you can think different.

1) Drop-off zone is miserable: each time I get there taxi driver has problems to let me out and security intervenes all but nicecely shouting at driver.

2) check-in hall is miserable: difficult to locate check-in counter unless you're a frequent user, long walk and LOUD place.

3) useless (duty free-joke) shops, they just stand in the way

4) mostly very long walk to your gate

5) once past last security check you better don't be hungry or thursty: there is noting out there

6) Have a nice seat waiting boarding: hard and cold on your a**

7) miserable archtitecture of metal and glass

8) toilets: have a nice pee, especially on arrival

9) access to lounges, try to find them, good luck

10) arrivals: wait for luggage, has improved lately

11) arrivals: welcome AOT limo thiefs before you collect your luggage

12) arrivals: welcome from the touts when you get rid of AOT touts

13) arivals: when you manage to get past the touts where are the taxis if they have any???

Why would you need a taxi anyway since the AOT and touts are there to scam you???

14) arrivals: where's the meeting point? One floor up? andthe taxis are two floors down then? Brilliant

15) arrivals: where are the buses to town and country side???

16) want some more?

Jeez ..... there are alternatives ya know? You could fly into Hanoi or Vientianne and do the rest by bus and train.

[tartempion]

But Burger King? Do you walk around in a daze? There are several Burger King outlets at the new airport (for good or for bad).

Bendix,

can't you read?

See point 5: at SVB there is nothing beyond any of the security checkpoints besides steel, glass and metal chairs. ( was that a subjective comment?)

What I was saying is that DM was nicier en better overall.

Sorry for the 150 billion baht spent , I know they could have done more that a better job, you obviousely NOT.

[tartempion]

Jeez ..... there are alternatives ya know? You could fly into Hanoi or Vientianne and do the rest by bus and train.

Thanks for that, since I live near Udon Thani I really consider flying to Changi and onwards to Udon with Tiger Airways. Avoiding Bangkok all togerther....

BTW, do you think that Changi is worse than SVB?

[macduff]

I've been to the airport 3 times in the last 12 months from manchester and waited for connecting flights to udon thani. I must say i have never experienced any major problems,only the usual trying to find a seat in the domestic departures. But apart from that no problems. As far as the airport is concerned it's thailand, what do you expect. Build quality will always be an issue. There's too many back handers going on. Once that's been eliminated thailand might go get in line with the rest of the western airports. But somehow i think that's a long way off yet.

[Captain Chaos]

Jeez ..... there are alternatives ya know? You could fly into Hanoi or Vientianne and do the rest by bus and train.

Thanks for that, since I live near Udon Thani I really consider flying to Changi and onwards to Udon with Tiger Airways. Avoiding Bangkok all togerther....

BTW, do you think that Changi is worse than SVB?

Are you having a 'giraffe'?

In my opinion, Changi is far, far better than SVB ... it's an older airport and that is starting to show a little in some ways, but it's immaculately maintained and efficiently managed.

Even my missus commented on how much better run Changi is compared to BKK

CC

[Spee]

Jeez ..... there are alternatives ya know? You could fly into Hanoi or Vientianne and do the rest by bus and train.

Thanks for that, since I live near Udon Thani I really consider flying to Changi and onwards to Udon with Tiger Airways. Avoiding Bangkok all togerther....

I was kidding. I never had any issues with DM. I don't have any issues with Suv. It just seemed to me that if one had so many issues with one alternative then they might seek another. The grass is not always greener on the other side.

[tartempion]

Jeez ..... there are alternatives ya know? You could fly into Hanoi or Vientianne and do the rest by bus and train.

Thanks for that, since I live near Udon Thani I really consider flying to Changi and onwards to Udon with Tiger Airways. Avoiding Bangkok all togerther....

BTW, do you think that Changi is worse than SVB?

Are you having a 'giraffe'?

In my opinion, Changi is far, far better than SVB ... it's an older airport and that is starting to show a little in some ways, but it's immaculately maintained and efficiently managed.

Even my missus commented on how much better run Changi is compared to BKK

CC

Sorry, I am a French native speaker, What's "having a giraffe"? (I don't keep one in my garden...)

To clarify: In a previuos life I worked 10 years for an airline and spent severall months at Changi and have seen many many more airports. Changi was one of my preferred airports.

Strange many intelligent posters on this board have no clues on what a good airport should offer to passengers, they just praise Suvarnaphumi because the place is Thai made, ignoring any critical sense, not unlike falling in love with aThai woman...

That airport is a shame to those who ordered the building of such a place, a bunch of incompetent ----- (fill in the gap)

BTW, there is an excellent food court off the terminals at Changi (for airport workers) If all SV has is the lower level Magic food court then we have an other shame at SV.

[wintermute]

Strange many intelligent posters on this board have no clues on what a good airport should offer to passengers, they just praise Suvarnaphumi because the place is Thai made, ignoring any critical sense, not unlike falling in love with aThai woman...

Well, this is a forum that is highly moderated and anything vaguely "critical" of thailand is censored to a huge degree. This stringent thought policing has a direct effect on the opinions of some of the members.

Suwarnabumi would be considered an abject failure in any other country considering that it's expensive, impractical, and filled with deficiencies when compared to its nearest rival airpots (HKIA, CHANGI.) Even the airlines hate it because it's more expensive but they have little choice in the matter because it's really the only choice in Thailand. The other alternative is to bus in tourists from neighboring countries like Malaysia or connect them with discount short distance flights.

[Captain Chaos]

Sorry, I am a French native speaker, What's "having a giraffe"? (I don't keep one in my garden...)

Giraffe = laugh = thought you were joking

Apologies, my strange 'Rosbif' humour got carried away there Tartempion

Anyway, agree with your comments regarding the relative merits of Changi and Suwannathingy

CC

[jumnien]

After one year of daily flights landing and taking off at the new airport, the total number of large passenger jets plunging into the depths of the large cracks in the runway is far less than predicted by some members of this forum.

[technocracy]

Well I was going to post a similar thread regarding my views on the 1 year of SV but you beat me to it. But here's my take on things.

I first travelled into SV unfortunately 2 days after it opened and then out of it 2 days later. Now I frequently use business class and am a Thai gold card member so I may take a different view from people who normally use economy (no slight intended here - I've been in Econ class for a long time myself!).

On this first journey in and out in general it was bloody shocking!

The Whinges:

Bags took forever to come

The lounge (just one) was overcrowded with crap food

Absolutely no internet in the lounge

Lounges also make no announcements

The huge crowd of touts and limos were about 6ft from the arrivals door

Two entry air bridges had disappeared (so in Business class you could relax until the whordes of Econ class had passed through)

Arriving in the airport was very badly signed - you didn't really know if you were going right or not they had staff out just to guide people to immigration!

The seats at the gates (not much more needs to be said here!)

Asthetically it was ugly - just bare metal and glass we assumed it wasn't finished!

At the gates calls the only have one door for all passenger to go through - so folk with priority boarding have to fight through the crowd and people obviously think you're pushing in.

The Good:

Business Check-in was very good and quick.

erm thats about it!

I then travelled in and out SV last week Econ but with gold card priviledges and in general it wasn't a bad experience however there is still a lot of things which aren't right.

The Whinges:

The lounges still provide dire selection of food - for the supposed based of a Thai carrier you would expect they might have some Thai food available even if it's just dried noodles (hel_l they only cost about 5baht in 7-11). Instead they still insist on this pastry and cake crap which is bloody awful! Take a look at Changi Kris Lounge - warm food, selections of different teas etc. The lounges just don't cut the mustard. I mean even the lounge in lil'ole Vientiane Wattay airport has better food on offer than the Thai lounges in SV.

One of the lounges I went in last week still didn't have working wireless internet

Calls aren't made - and they aren't going be either it seems, I flew out from Sydney to SV where the NZ air lounge I used there was bang on with announcements. Some folks don't like calls but for me when there isn't even a screen in the lounge a call is pretty much a requirement.

It still isn't signed well

The limo touts are now inside of the arrivals doors!

Gate seat haven't changed - still butt ugly and uncomfortable

The metal and glass is the finished article . .. . as welcoming as a kick in the gonads

Econ experience - a long wait in immigration

Still one door at the gate for aircraft access - priority boarding is only via a fight through the crowd, not pleasant

The Good:

Gold card check-in nicely segregated so speed check-in - I did notice an incredibly long line waiting for standard check-in.

Lounge Wi-fi Internet in the big main lounge quick and no intervention required to connect - very good!

Bags cames through very quick.

The crowds on arrival are now well away from the doors and you get a bit of breathing space.

In addition our initial flight from Vientiane to BKK (transiting) the plane taxied for about 10 minutes to basically the middle of nowhere. Before we disembarked to a bus to be taken back to the airport - for a newly built airport the apparent lack of a airbridge gate was surprising considering it was a fully loaded 737.

All in all the whinges of the 1 year later are really more of the icing on the cake stuff but things which would put it up in the Changi/HK bracket, although somehow I just don't ever see it happening. But as it stands it's an adequate and functional airport which you can pass through with relative easy, which is more than it was when it opened.

On a personal note I still don't understand what possessed them to go down the design route they did, why didn't they just look at what are the best airports in the world (SG/HK/AMS (yes Amsterdam)) then just copy them! But that's just the way my simple mind works!