Arrival In Bangkok Suvarnabhumi

[libya 115]

I arrived this morning into Suvarnabhumi. It was very busy at passport control with many unmanned immigration desks. However I noticed that all immigration staff were women and the woman who stamped my passport was very friendly, and did not bother to check and flick through my passport, just prefering to give me a 30 day stamp.

Baggage claim was easy and customs almost non-existant. Then a surprise; no touts; well none except when I changed some wonga at Siam bank a lady whispered in my ear if I would like transport. Apart from that, no hassle.

Went to Thai Limousine and booked a 2600 taxi to Pattaya: no traffic took just 80 minutes to Pattaya 3rd Road.

Good experience.

[britmaveric]

2600bht???

[libya 115]

2600bht???

Yes, a bit steep but I get a receipt and my company pays.

At least with Thai Limousine I get a decent car, a half decent driver and won't end up face down in a ditch on the outskirts of Chon Buri with my throat cut, and my baggage looted and wallet and watch stolen. .....Like a certain gentleman from Liverpool a year or two back..............

[britmaveric]

Well firm is paying for it - explains all.

[FBN]

Arrived from Kazakhstan yesterday afternoon and selected a line for immigration. My usual "luck" prevailed. Landed in a line "serviced" by a K. Jenjira (I took time out to note her name for reasons to be revealed shortly..). On a perfectly legal Non Imm O visa, working here now for 7 years and doing lots of international travel on consulting jobs; I go through this process approximately 20 - 25 times per year.

It is quite apparent that lines for immigration are getting longer and taking longer to clear over the past 3-4 months.

K. Jenjira took approximately 3-7 minutes per passport; I know this because I had ample opportunity to to time her; I was 20th in line...

She had a problem with nearly every passport. I have never had any problems but this time had to explain my residential address, which was clear on my immigration card, then had to explain why I was coming back. This I did in Thai to the best of my ability and with all the politeness that I could manage after having been exposed to the rigors of Kazakhstan for 3 weeks and 36h of sleep deprivation..

K. Jenjira just pouted; she was one of those "shool marm" types. Small mouth, pouting lips, perpetual frown, glasses, the lot.. Only about 30 ish.. Poor husband..

So, fellow travellers, be warned, K. Jenjira is out there, it may be your turn next!!

My advice is to go to the front of the line, check out the name and the face of the person in the booth at the serving end of it and then either come back the next day (most of the same faces will still be in her line) or try your luck with a male officer..

[Thanyaburi Mac]

Arrived from Kazakhstan yesterday afternoon and selected a line for immigration. My usual "luck" prevailed. Landed in a line "serviced" by a K. Jenjira (I took time out to note her name for reasons to be revealed shortly..). On a perfectly legal Non Imm O visa, working here now for 7 years and doing lots of international travel on consulting jobs; I go through this process approximately 20 - 25 times per year.

It is quite apparent that lines for immigration are getting longer and taking longer to clear over the past 3-4 months.

K. Jenjira took approximately 3-7 minutes per passport; I know this because I had ample opportunity to to time her; I was 20th in line...

She had a problem with nearly every passport. I have never had any problems but this time had to explain my residential address, which was clear on my immigration card, then had to explain why I was coming back. This I did in Thai to the best of my ability and with all the politeness that I could manage after having been exposed to the rigors of Kazakhstan for 3 weeks and 36h of sleep deprivation..

K. Jenjira just pouted; she was one of those "shool marm" types. Small mouth, pouting lips, perpetual frown, glasses, the lot.. Only about 30 ish.. Poor husband..

So, fellow travellers, be warned, K. Jenjira is out there, it may be your turn next!!

My advice is to go to the front of the line, check out the name and the face of the person in the booth at the serving end of it and then either come back the next day (most of the same faces will still be in her line) or try your luck with a male officer..

Hey, don't you have a digital camera, hopefully with a zoom lens so she doesn't notice that you're taking a picture?

I can just see it now, TV having a rogues gallery on line???

Mac

[Jimjim]

Is there a place to change money after you arrive before you go through immigration?

[onzestan]

Is there a place to change money after you arrive before you go through immigration?

Yes

onzestan

[zink]

Is there a place to change money after you arrive before you go through immigration?

Yes

onzestan

Really? I recall that money exchange booths are AFTER immigration in the baggage claim area, I don't remember seeing them before immigration.

[colino]

When you are walking to immigration you can nip up the escalaters and there are exchange booths there

[B-BOY]

Immigration lines on September 1st at 12.45pm were some of longest and worst I have ever seen since travelling to Thailand, not even at Don Muang was it that bad.

I arrived from Vietnam and couldnt believe what I was seeing, people queing all way down to duty free shops.

Immagration booths just with 1 person staffed and at least 50people in each line. I was lucky to get through within 60 minutes due to kindess of some Vietnamese people, which recognised me from airplane, standing in faster moving queue, and didnt mind me joining them. Otherwise, I would be still standing there and waiting for my turn - it was apalling and unbeliavable. Others were in line for at least 2 hours to get through.

I understand that it was lunch time, but still something is wrong here, badly....

Mess at the baggage claim was immense, as no one was able to collect their stuff, more suitcases were thrown from belts from incoming flights and i was lucky to find everything.

What h...is going on??

[UnknownPoster]

They need to get some outside help in managing this place. A foreigner with experience from a successfully managed airport.

The locals can't handle it.

[cclub75]

They need to get some outside help in managing this place. A foreigner with experience from a successfully managed airport.

The locals can't handle it.

I don't know about foreign management. But one thing is clear : AOT is totally... out of space.

The "acting" president has resigned.

"Acting Airports of Thailand president Kulya Pakakrong quietly tendered her resignation last week after coming under fierce internal pressure, a highly-placed source disclosed yesterday." (Bangkok Post)

The chairman of the board, General Saprang, wants to resign too.

Add to this : huge problem about corruption, a dozen of investigations, problem with King Power for the duty free, about STR for the train line, etc.

To summarize : this company is like a plane without pilot... A total mess. So what happens in the airport is not very surprising.

[FBN]

Immigration lines on September 1st at 12.45pm were some of longest and worst I have ever seen since travelling to Thailand, not even at Don Muang was it that bad.

I arrived from Vietnam and couldnt believe what I was seeing, people queing all way down to duty free shops.

Immagration booths just with 1 person staffed and at least 50people in each line. I was lucky to get through within 60 minutes due to kindess of some Vietnamese people, which recognised me from airplane, standing in faster moving queue, and didnt mind me joining them. Otherwise, I would be still standing there and waiting for my turn - it was apalling and unbeliavable. Others were in line for at least 2 hours to get through.

I understand that it was lunch time, but still something is wrong here, badly....

Mess at the baggage claim was immense, as no one was able to collect their stuff, more suitcases were thrown from belts from incoming flights and i was lucky to find everything.

What h...is going on??

Definitely getting worse over the past 3 mths. It creates such a bottleneck that baggage handling is becoming a problem. The luggage belts get overloaded as passengers are stuck in the immigration section, unable to collect luggage in time so you have consecutive flights' baggage lining up for the same belt.

Perhaps they have K. Jenrira cloned..

"Smething is gotta give..."

Anywhere to lodge a formal "but anonymous!!!" complaint??

[sumrit]

Immigration lines on September 1st at 12.45pm were some of longest and worst I have ever seen since travelling to Thailand, not even at Don Muang was it that bad.

I arrived from Vietnam and couldnt believe what I was seeing, people queing all way down to duty free shops.

Immagration booths just with 1 person staffed and at least 50people in each line. I was lucky to get through within 60 minutes due to kindess of some Vietnamese people, which recognised me from airplane, standing in faster moving queue, and didnt mind me joining them. Otherwise, I would be still standing there and waiting for my turn - it was apalling and unbeliavable. Others were in line for at least 2 hours to get through.

I understand that it was lunch time, but still something is wrong here, badly....

Mess at the baggage claim was immense, as no one was able to collect their stuff, more suitcases were thrown from belts from incoming flights and i was lucky to find everything.

What h...is going on??

Arrived at 7pm on the same day and the queues were just as bad. My Thai wife had gone through the Thai desk and retrieved our bags and I was still in the queue waiting. Definately the worst I have known it.

[Captain Chaos]

Immigration lines on September 1st at 12.45pm were some of longest and worst I have ever seen since travelling to Thailand, not even at Don Muang was it that bad.

I arrived from Vietnam and couldnt believe what I was seeing, people queing all way down to duty free shops.

Immagration booths just with 1 person staffed and at least 50people in each line. I was lucky to get through within 60 minutes due to kindess of some Vietnamese people, which recognised me from airplane, standing in faster moving queue, and didnt mind me joining them. Otherwise, I would be still standing there and waiting for my turn - it was apalling and unbeliavable. Others were in line for at least 2 hours to get through.

I understand that it was lunch time, but still something is wrong here, badly....

Mess at the baggage claim was immense, as no one was able to collect their stuff, more suitcases were thrown from belts from incoming flights and i was lucky to find everything.

What h...is going on??

Arrived at 7pm on the same day and the queues were just as bad. My Thai wife had gone through the Thai desk and retrieved our bags and I was still in the queue waiting. Definately the worst I have known it.

Certainly something going amiss - I arrived at around 10.45pm on a Friday a couple of weeks ago - the immigration queues weren't as bad as described here but enough to reach back to the where the entry ramp joins the immigation concourse - certainly the worst I've seen for such a late night arrival time ...

... when my wife and I flew out to Sing' at around 3.00pm the following Monday we could see that the queues were very bad at arrivals immigration as we walked past.

I seem to recall that Don Muang was pretty busy from mid-morning until the early evening as a rule - not routinely as bad as SVB seems to have become - was it?

CC

[PhilHarries]

I arrived 12th July and the queues were back out to the shops and it took me 1 hour 20 minutes to get through and all the desks were manned. For a while I thought it must be just a bad time with several 747's arriving same time but the crowds were just as bad when I finally got to the desk. The baggage carousel was stationary and the remaining bags hauled off and left in the middle of the floor, nice pickings for anyone with a dishonest streak.

Left on the 17th and it took me a good half hour to get through passport control but I will say the officer was a jolly sort who couldn't resist taking the p1ss out of my PB Air boarding card. I used the time to survey the green algae growing on that nice glass roof and the water streaks running down it where they can't get good access to clean.

Arrived again on 1st September, but this time was through immigration in no more than ten minutes and when I left on the 4th passport control was equally slick (no p1ss taking this time as I was on Thai).

So the service is patchy, you pays yer money and takes yer chance.

[FBN]

Immigration lines on September 1st at 12.45pm were some of longest and worst I have ever seen since travelling to Thailand, not even at Don Muang was it that bad.

I arrived from Vietnam and couldnt believe what I was seeing, people queing all way down to duty free shops.

Immagration booths just with 1 person staffed and at least 50people in each line. I was lucky to get through within 60 minutes due to kindess of some Vietnamese people, which recognised me from airplane, standing in faster moving queue, and didnt mind me joining them. Otherwise, I would be still standing there and waiting for my turn - it was apalling and unbeliavable. Others were in line for at least 2 hours to get through.

I understand that it was lunch time, but still something is wrong here, badly....

Mess at the baggage claim was immense, as no one was able to collect their stuff, more suitcases were thrown from belts from incoming flights and i was lucky to find everything.

What h...is going on??

Arrived at 7pm on the same day and the queues were just as bad. My Thai wife had gone through the Thai desk and retrieved our bags and I was still in the queue waiting. Definately the worst I have known it.

Certainly something going amiss - I arrived at around 10.45pm on a Friday a couple of weeks ago - the immigration queues weren't as bad as described here but enough to reach back to the where the entry ramp joins the immigation concourse - certainly the worst I've seen for such a late night arrival time ...

... when my wife and I flew out to Sing' at around 3.00pm the following Monday we could see that the queues were very bad at arrivals immigration as we walked past.

I seem to recall that Don Muang was pretty busy from mid-morning until the early evening as a rule - not routinely as bad as SVB seems to have become - was it?

CC

Just returned from a weekend in Phuket via Don Meuang; fortunately domestic so no problem but "Phuket Gazette" reports that an "electronic visa" checking system is on the cards for Thai airports..

Is there any other confirmation/information on this??