Another Positive Arrivals Experience

[PattayaParent]

My wife's flight arrived on time Saturday night at 21:50 and she was deplaned, through immigration, collected bag from carousel, bought me a bottle of vodka in duty free and walked out through the door into the arrivals hall at 22:05.

Can she claim this as a world record????

PS. NO taxi touts in sight.

Edited December 31, 2007 by PattayaParent

[onzestan]

My wife's flight arrived on time Saturday night at 21:50 and she was deplaned, through immigration, collected bag from carousel, bought me a bottle of vodka in duty free and walked out through the door into the arrivals hall at 22:05.

Can she claim this as a world record????

PS. NO taxi touts in sight.

Good for you and your wife.

However just because it hasn't happened to you, it doesn't mean it never happens.

I've had mostly positive experiences myself, but on 2 occasions I've had a long wait at immigration, arriving

together with chinese. They don't seem to able to fill out the arrival cards beforehand. They should not be allowed to do it at the immigration desk while every one is waiting and be redirected.

cheers

onzestan

[pampal]

15 minutes is great, it's more like 30-45 minutes in my experience.

[tw25rw]

My wife's flight arrived on time Saturday night at 21:50 and she was deplaned, through immigration, collected bag from carousel, bought me a bottle of vodka in duty free and walked out through the door into the arrivals hall at 22:05.

Can she claim this as a world record????

PS. NO taxi touts in sight.

Good for you and your wife.

However just because it hasn't happened to you, it doesn't mean it never happens.

I've had mostly positive experiences myself, but on 2 occasions I've had a long wait at immigration, arriving

together with chinese. They don't seem to able to fill out the arrival cards beforehand. They should not be allowed to do it at the immigration desk while every one is waiting and be redirected.

cheers

onzestan

That's my big gripe.. And not only do they do that, but they have a family group waiting out of sight until the designated queuer gets to the front so they can materialise from nowhere to fill in their cards.

Should be sent away and made to queue again.

Edited December 31, 2007 by tw25rw

[Rinrada]

When travelling without checked in baggage 15 minutes or less can/is fairly normal

Also time of arrival helps.

[yorkman]

That's my big gripe.. And not only do they do that, but they have a family group waiting out of sight until the designated queuer gets to the front so they can materialise from nowhere to fill in their cards.

Should be sent away and made to queue again.

Thats very true but let's try to put a spirit of New Year spin on it.

On every flight I have flown in on, from various other countries, the cards are still in English and Thai (and on some flights they were not available)

It's not just the Chinese BTW, Indians, Japanese etc etc the same problem. So put yourself in their shoes.

So, just imagine the confusion you might have, if you were not told you had to fill in a card, it was presented to you in Chinese, and you were told to go away and fill it in, and then go to the back of the queue

You might have a Victor Meldrew (or ET) like moment I would imagine, all the evils of the world are in Swampypoom.

Me? I just look at who is in the queue in front of me, and swap queues. If the queues are long and I am with my wife, I go to the Thai National counter with my wife and put both passports down together, no problems.

In both sets of circumstances, the Immigration people , charmless as they usually are (and who can blame them) are just avoiding confrontation and getting the job done.

On the matter of timing, worst I had was 1 1/2 hours the day it opened, usually 30 - 45 minutes with checked in baggage, without 20 minutes or so is normal in my experience

[Trevor]

In Moscow they've only just started printing immigration cards with English -- previously Cyrillic only. World aviation authorities agreed in the 1940s that English would be the lingua franca for air travel and air traffic control. Otherwise there would be arrival cards (and Kamikaze-wish pilots) in over 50 different languages. Can't read basic English? Tough ... stay at home ... your troubles are only just BEGINNING at the airport!

I would choose the queues with the most Caucasians, avoiding Arab women who need to have their covered faces checked by a female immigration officer.

Thai airports are an absolute breeze compared to arriving in London as a non-EU/Swiss citizen.

Edited December 31, 2007 by Trevor

[Shrubbery]

On the several airlines I have used to Thailand I have always been given an immigration form during the flight.

Peronally, I will complete that form or any others that I may need to, straight away.

If a passenger is unable to complete the form for some reason, I have often seen the cabin crew help the passenger.

There is no excuse for someone to be in the immigration queue with an incompleted form.

Edited January 1, 2008 by Shrubbery

[Zpete]

QUOTE (PattayaParent @ 2007-12-31 12:17:20) My wife's flight arrived on time Saturday night at 21:50 and she was deplaned, through immigration, collected bag from carousel, bought me a bottle of vodka in duty free and walked out through the door into the arrivals hall at 22:05.

Can she claim this as a world record????

PS. NO taxi touts in sight.

______________________________________

UTTER CRAPPOLA

The above I DO NOT believe.

15 mins, get real, even without baggage, it would take 15 mins to do the walk.

I have no complaints about anything at Swampypool.

Air Asia has been fastest for me, strange it may seem, even after deplanning out in the wops.

[Ricardo]

Air Asia has been fastest for me, strange it may seem, even after deplanning out in the wops.

Is that somewhere behind the whoop-whoops ?

[PattayaParent]

When travelling without checked in baggage 15 minutes or less can/is fairly normal

Also time of arrival helps.

She even picked up checked baggage! Which is surprising as I've been through Immigration myself fairy fast only to be held up waiting for bags.

Guees time of arrival and gate helps, and that she was first off the 'plane?

[billp]

I got through the airport in 15 min. flat a few weeks ago WITH checked baggage. I was sitting in the 1st row of Economy Class, so I was one of the first out the door. At Immigration, I chose a line with only 2 ahead of me. Maybe 5 min. delay. My baggage was coming onto a belt in the next area, so it took maybe another 5 min. to get there. Lo and Behold! My baggage was already going round the belt. Grabbed it, straight through customs, out into the scrum. "Mai ao krap." "Mai ao krap." "No, thanks." "Mai ao krap." "Mai AO." Then just about straight into a taxi, no lineup at all. 15 minutes, I swear, from the time I hit the Skybridge to sitting in a cab heading for town.

[Zpete]

I got through the airport in 15 min. flat a few weeks ago WITH checked baggage. I was sitting in the 1st row of Economy Class, so I was one of the first out the door. At Immigration, I chose a line with only 2 ahead of me. Maybe 5 min. delay. My baggage was coming onto a belt in the next area, so it took maybe another 5 min. to get there. Lo and Behold! My baggage was already going round the belt. Grabbed it, straight through customs, out into the scrum. "Mai ao krap." "Mai ao krap." "No, thanks." "Mai ao krap." "Mai AO." Then just about straight into a taxi, no lineup at all. 15 minutes, I swear, from the time I hit the Skybridge to sitting in a cab heading for town.

I guess it may be possible, but half hour be my kwikest.

Good idea getting front seats......LOL

I usually use Air Asia priority seating, first on first off........LOL

Hassle having to get a bus, but hey, Thai makes ya get a bus at times.

[yorkman]

You might have a Victor Meldrew (or ET) like moment I would imagine, all the evils of the world are in Swampypoom.

I have had only one bad experience when landing at Suvarnabhumi and that was GLA BKK via DBX on Emirates. It was the occasion I was stopped by the so called Excise officials in the arrivals hall after clearing Customs. During that arrival I had a significant wait at Immigration, was bothered by taxi touts and had to wait for my luggage into the bargain. Not a pleasant experience and the unacceptable treatment by those 'officials' was the final straw.

Most of my experiences have been satisfactory.

And you had to wait for your luggage as well, shocking that, I agree. Ba****s. The final straw. But that was the incoming flight.

Was the outgoing experience with Security "satisfactory" then? You know what I mean?.. a nod is as good as a wink to a blind man

Edited January 1, 2008 by yorkman

[nidge]

On the several airlines I have used to Thailand I have always been given an immigration form during the flight.

Peronally, I will complete that form or any others that I may need to, straight away.

If a passenger is unable to complete the form for some reason, I have often seen the cabin crew help the passenger.

There is no excuse for someone to be in the immigration queue with an incompleted form.

I fly into Thailand 4-6 times every year, at least once per year the plane does not have immigration forms on board. I would say that's a pretty good excuse especially if you have never travelled to Thailand before.

[Zpete]

You might have a Victor Meldrew (or ET) like moment I would imagine, all the evils of the world are in Swampypoom.

I have had only one bad experience when landing at Suvarnabhumi and that was GLA BKK via DBX on Emirates. It was the occasion I was stopped by the so called Excise officials in the arrivals hall after clearing Customs. During that arrival I had a significant wait at Immigration, was bothered by taxi touts and had to wait for my luggage into the bargain. Not a pleasant experience and the unacceptable treatment by those 'officials' was the final straw.

Most of my experiences have been satisfactory.

TOUTS IN THE ARRIVAL HALL !!!!!!

Give over, noway.

I HAVE heard of bad experiences with by those, "Officials" whose job seems to be, "Make people miserable".

[Kerryd]

The fastest I've done it (from the moment the plane actually stopped at the gate, until I was out of the airport), was 22 minutes, and that included having to wait for a checked bag. That was at Don Muang in 2004 though.

I haven't been checking my times lately, but the last few times in through Swampy seems to have been fairly quick. Like many people, my TM card is filled out well before the wheels touch down. I usually fly Business Class, and book early so I can reserve an aisle seat as far forward as I can get. I can usually travel with just a carry-on, and just before the plane lands, I'll place my bag under the seat in front of me. That way, when everyone starts to get up and open the luggage compartments, I'm already standing by the door ready to go.

A few minutes of rapid power-walking from the plane to Immigration and I've beaten pretty much everyone else there (from my flight at least).

Even when I do have checked baggage, I don't mind waiting for it, as by that time you've made it through Immigration, so there aren't anymore annoying lines to have to stand in, while certain people ahead of you suddenly realise they can't remember which pocket of which bag they stuffed their passport into, they haven't filled out their TM, they don't have a pen, etc, etc.

No TM cards to fill out when going through Dubai, but the line ups at Immigration are almost always full to the max, no matter what time you arrive or how fast you get from the plane to immigration (never seems to be as bad when leaving the country though).

[jumnien]

The new airport has always been efficient for my arrivals; far better than my home country.

[endure]

No TM cards to fill out when going through Dubai, but the line ups at Immigration are almost always full to the max, no matter what time you arrive or how fast you get from the plane to immigration (never seems to be as bad when leaving the country though).

The thing that winds me up about Dubai is their refusal to use wands as a secondary measure on transit passengers. If you beep going through the loop you just have to go back, remove some stuff and try again. I've seen men reduced to holding up their trousers by hand because security insisted they take their belt off.

[denboy]

Compairing Don Muang to Suvarbabhumi, Dong Muang immigration layout wins hands down.

I've only arrived once in the new airport and it was a 1.45 hour wait at immigration.

Arrived 12.30 noon with a lot of of other airlines, as pointed out about the TM card issue certainly causes most of the delay.

The entrance to the immigration hall was just a mass of confused people jumpimg from queue to queue.

It would help if they had some lane barriers and someone checking that you had the correct docs before being allowed to the counter.

We are dicussing a supossedly futuristic airport, makea one wonder.

[Zpete]

Having been thru Swampy about 18 times since it opened, I fail to see any problems.

Immigration can be a pain, check the queues before choosing one, avoid what appear to be families, or groups.

I also avoid any with what appear to be chinese, they invariably have NOT filled in the forms properly.

I take a handful of immigration forms back to my travel agent from everywhere I go.

He appreciates that, as his clients can fill in when buying tickets. No probs.

Nuffin wrong with Swampypool.

[yorkman]

Having been thru Swampy about 18 times since it opened, I fail to see any problems.

Immigration can be a pain, check the queues before choosing one, avoid what appear to be families, or groups.

I also avoid any with what appear to be chinese, they invariably have NOT filled in the forms properly.

I take a handful of immigration forms back to my travel agent from everywhere I go.

He appreciates that, as his clients can fill in when buying tickets. No probs.

Nuffin wrong with Swampypool.

Entirely Agree. Try the experience at LHR in farangland for comparison. It is a nightmare of queues, shouting security people, dirty terminals and crowds. And being ripped off severely (it's all comparative to local pricing) for food, drink, taxis and everything else.

I have been through 12 times since it opened. On day +1 there were issues with baggage, since then no problems

[jackspratt]

I have had only one bad experience when landing at Suvarnabhumi and that was GLA BKK via DBX on Emirates. It was the occasion I was stopped by the so called Excise officials in the arrivals hall after clearing Customs. During that arrival I had a significant wait at Immigration, was bothered by taxi touts and had to wait for my luggage into the bargain. Not a pleasant experience and the unacceptable treatment by those 'officials' was the final straw.

Most of my experiences have been satisfactory.

Stopped/questioned by government officials, had to queue at immigration, bothered by taxi touts, and had to wait for your baggage.

OMG - when are they going to stop picking on you Tud?

Stay home - it is far safer

[yorkman]

Try the experience at LHR in farangland for comparison.

Why not compare like for like such as Hong Kong or Changi? Fairly new airports purpose built as Suvarnabhumi is.

Probably because they both knock Suvarnabhumi into a well cocked hat.

Heathrow, the busiest International Passenger airport in the World, was never built to handle so many passengers and as such is bound by constraints and is an ever expanding environment. It does the job as best it can.

Well it's not actually the busiest now, but it is still close I agree.

Of course Hong Kong and Changi (especially) are better than Suvarnabhumi. It's Thailand.....

To be quite honest though the UK has no excuse, its the 6th largest economy in the world. LHR is misery for the traveller. Any time I see a hiccup in BKK I just think how much worse it is flying into or out of London, and it puts matters into perspective.

[kiakaha]

My wife's flight arrived on time Saturday night at 21:50 and she was deplaned, through immigration, collected bag from carousel, bought me a bottle of vodka in duty free and walked out through the door into the arrivals hall at 22:05.

Can she claim this as a world record????

PS. NO taxi touts in sight.

I've done ~ 10 mins international from plane seat to car seat (use diplomat lane, no checked bags and own car/driver) , would be quicker if the plane parked a bit closer.

[samran]

plane parked right in front of immigration last friday morning on the TG flight from Melbourne.

5 mins and we were through immigration, bubs in tow - though admittedly using the Thai PP line and only a monk in front of us. Our bags were through about 10 mins later, including an oversized stroller, and we were in the AOT taxi for 850 baht no later than 10 mins after that (with the amount of luggage, it made sense otherwise we'd be looking at two taxi's).

[wanderer9020]

15 minutes is long. arriving december 17 at 2230H. The plane arrival gate at somwhere like C22 is exactly opposite the immigration counter.I was at seat 23 ,just behind business class section which is not full.So, I was theoritically first to get out from the plane.I was second on the queu at immigration counter.Got to the taxi stand in less than 10 minutes total.I dont have checked luggage.Next time I wil bring a stopwatch to be more accurate even up to nanoseconds,lol.

[Zpete]

15 minutes is long. arriving december 17 at 2230H. The plane arrival gate at somwhere like C22 is exactly opposite the immigration counter.I was at seat 23 ,just behind business class section which is not full.So, I was theoritically first to get out from the plane.I was second on the queu at immigration counter.Got to the taxi stand in less than 10 minutes total.I dont have checked luggage.Next time I wil bring a stopwatch to be more accurate even up to nanoseconds,lol.

I regularly travel Thai from Auckland.

Neva have I NOT had a marathon walk to immigration............

I am so envious........PMPL

Luck of the gate draw, I s'pose.

Cheers ya lucky so 'n so's........ LOL

[ray08]

Suvarnabhumi is very good , in most cases the luggage is very quick on the carosel and out fast , compared to Sydney where always a bit of a wait for luggage , them hassled by customs when you are waiting for luggage , after which the X-Ray and god forbid if you have mistakenly left a chocolate bar in your bag , they have a heart attack at customs , ( True happened last month in my friends carry on bag )

[kiakaha]

15 minutes is long. arriving december 17 at 2230H. The plane arrival gate at somwhere like C22 is exactly opposite the immigration counter.I was at seat 23 ,just behind business class section which is not full.So, I was theoritically first to get out from the plane.I was second on the queu at immigration counter.Got to the taxi stand in less than 10 minutes total.I dont have checked luggage.Next time I wil bring a stopwatch to be more accurate even up to nanoseconds,lol.

I regularly travel Thai from Auckland.

Neva have I NOT had a marathon walk to immigration............

I am so envious........PMPL

Luck of the gate draw, I s'pose.

Cheers ya lucky so 'n so's........ LOL

You can always fake a bout of DVT (Deep Vein Thrombosis) and get the golf cart to pick you up from the gate and drive you to immigration