Eat Some Humble Pie Swampy Bashers

[Shrubbery]

Dear Swampy Bashers,

Problems don't just occur at "Swampy" they also happen at T5 LHR. Opened around 2 years after Swampy.

Baggage problems Hit T5: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7314816.stm

I'll bet a Tenner that this will not be the only problem over the coming months.

[jeffer]

So? Still doesn't change the fact that Suvarnabhumi still struggles to get things right two years down the track. If you want to draw comparisons between Suvarnabhumi and other new shopping malls then you should try comparing it to KLIA, Singapore T3, Hong Kong. I think most people would rate Suva number 4 in that group.

Just a thought, Thaksin goes to live in England and now another new airport has problems... hmmm

[britmaveric]

Heathrow is rather efficient compared to Swampy. They did far better at Don Muang!!

[Shrubbery]

So?

Still doesn't change the fact that Suvarnabhumi still struggles to get things right two years down the track. If you want to draw comparisons between Suvarnabhumi and other new shopping malls then you should try comparing it to KLIA, Singapore T3, Hong Kong. I think most people would rate Suva number 4 in that group.

Just a thought, Thaksin goes to live in England and now another new airport has problems... hmmm

Ok, I'll re-word it. It's not just BKK that had problems when it went live. If memory serves me correctly, I recall KUL also had problems when it went live.

I'm sure there will be other highlited problems over the coming weeks/months. Which will be rectified as they are at BKk, though not as quickly as perhaps they could be.

[Theyreallrubbish]

Heathrow is rather efficient compared to Swampy. They did far better at Don Muang!!

You have to be kidding me? Heathrow is a nightmare and comes up in survey after survey of travellers as one of the worst airports to have to travel through. Suvanaboom is a far far easier experience.

Seperately, it seems that T5 cost $5.8 billion for a single terminal which is about what the whole new airport cost here. Who says Thailand isn't cheap anymore?

[Shrubbery]

Heathrow is rather efficient compared to Swampy. They did far better at Don Muang!!

You have to be kidding me? Heathrow is a nightmare and comes up in survey after survey of travellers as one of the worst airports to have to travel through. Suvanaboom is a far far easier experience.

Seperately, it seems that T5 cost $5.8 billion for a single terminal which is about what the whole new airport cost here. Who says Thailand isn't cheap anymore?

Have to agree with you about LHR. I hate the place. The Mrs and I are going to the UK to see some snow !! in a couple of months.There is no way we are even going to entertain LHR. I'd rather fly in to Redhill on a hanglider than use LHR.

[britmaveric]

Don't mind LHR - only gripe I have is usually the long walk to passport control.

[PanzerJohn]

The past 5 times I've used swampy I have had no probs at all, two of those times were at Christmas when one could expect probs. I like the place, its 10 times better than Heathrow.

[Lucifer]

Heathrow is the busiest international airport in the world. Therefore it's bound to have more complaints than any other airport.

Once I leave London for Thailand, I don't give a monkeys how bad BKK is. Happy days.

[geriatrickid]

Don't mind LHR - only gripe I have is usually the long walk to passport control.

Angry scenes have also been developing in the airport's airside arrivals area, with pushing and shoving in "chaotic" passport control queues, the BBC's Priya Patel reported

Guess you gave something to look forward to.

20 years in the making, the most expensive Terminal ever built, and an unmitigated disaster.Despite all the testing, the baggage system still failed courtesy of the BAA. Of course British Airways couldn't even unload the bags from the airplanes as this required a bit of planning and forthought. Makes Thai baggage services look efficient "gulp".

My fave quote? German businessman, Hertz Merkel, flying to Dusseldorf, was left waiting in the long queues at the terminal's check-in desks stated, "This is real British organisation for you. I've only got hand baggage but I still have to stand in the same queue. It doesn't look like I'll be getting home today."

No doubt the poor local English and EU staff all gave wonderful service with the usual sneer & scowl. At least at BKK they manage a smile when they bungle your plans.

The last screw up like this was at Denver International when it took over a year to fix the baggage system. BKK gets such a ripping by folks that conveniently forget the airport meltdowns in the USA as recently as last summer or the Christmas fiasco at Toronto Pearson 3 yrs ago, or the multiple service disruptions caused by labour unrest in the EU over the past two years.

Thai Airways and the Thai airport authority may now be as smooth as burlap, but British Airways and the BAA is threadbare and might as well employ limbless lobotomized workers.

Edited March 27, 2008 by geriatrickid

[Ricardo]

Dear Swampy Bashers,

Problems don't just occur at "Swampy" they also happen at T5 LHR. Opened around 2 years after Swampy.

Baggage problems Hit T5: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7314816.stm

I'll bet a Tenner that this will not be the only problem over the coming months.

I agree 100% with you, any new airport/terminal will have teething-problems, which is why all those "I'm a poo-yai, there will be no problems here" statements were so ridiculous.

Almost as much fun as "I'm taking personal contol of the project ... to ensure that there is NO corruption" !

[geriatrickid]

I'll be willing to bet another crisp tenner that there won't be illegal mafia groups controlling over 2,000 illegally operated taxis outside T5 either.

they'll probably be too busy pilfering from luggage and cargo and making sure the smuggling of drugs continues....

[wilko]

Dear Swampy Bashers,

Problems don't just occur at "Swampy" they also happen at T5 LHR. Opened around 2 years after Swampy.

Baggage problems Hit T5: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7314816.stm

I'll bet a Tenner that this will not be the only problem over the coming months.

So let me get this straight......because Deathrow....a shithole of an airport is still a shithole, all criticisms of Swampy are invalid? please explain?

[Shrubbery]

I bet you a tenner that people arriving at Heathrow Terminal 5 won't be approached by strange men in the arrivals building or outside claiming to be excise officials, threatening and intimidating arriving passengers as happened to me after a gruelling flight from the UK and that all inspections at Heathrow T5 will be carried out by proper Customs officials in the appropriate Customs checkpoints.

I'll be willing to bet another crisp tenner that there won't be illegal mafia groups controlling over 2,000 illegally operated taxis outside T5 either.

And what about security "sexually assaulting" you.

It appears that you basically dislike everything about BKK no matter what.

But I usually have a chuckle reading your posts about it.

[Shrubbery]

Dear Swampy Bashers,

Problems don't just occur at "Swampy" they also happen at T5 LHR. Opened around 2 years after Swampy.

Baggage problems Hit T5: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7314816.stm

I'll bet a Tenner that this will not be the only problem over the coming months.

So let me get this straight......because Deathrow....a shithole of an airport is still a shithole, all criticisms of Swampy are invalid? please explain?

There was no mention of "all crticisms being invalid".

[samran]

I bet you a tenner that people arriving at Heathrow Terminal 5 won't be approached by strange men in the arrivals building or outside claiming to be excise officials, threatening and intimidating arriving passengers as happened to me after a gruelling flight from the UK and that all inspections at Heathrow T5 will be carried out by proper Customs officials in the appropriate Customs checkpoints.

I'll be willing to bet another crisp tenner that there won't be illegal mafia groups controlling over 2,000 illegally operated taxis outside T5 either.

minicab gov'nor?

Now geez, where have I heard that before???

I have an account in Putney. You can send my money there.

[tw25rw]

I live in central London and would generally prefer Gatwick than the stress of LHR, but the major airlines all insist on using LHR as their base. If the airlines I fly didn't share a terminal with airlines going to India, it would be better.

[Shrubbery]

This sums it up,

British Airways' chief executive Willie Walsh accepted the debacle had affected the reputation of BA and of Britain.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7318337.stm

[alanpartridge]

Humble pie ?

Does it come with custard or freshly whipped cream ?

A.Partridge.

[tolsti]

Maybe Willie Walsh should have listened to Monty Python....

http://www.last.fm/music/Monty+Python/_/I'm+So+Worried

[peter991]

At least you don't have to remove your nipple rings with a pair of pliers at Suvarnabhumi !!!

Woman forced to remove nipple ring at airport

Friday Mar 28 11:51 AEDT

A woman who claims she was ordered by federal airport screeners to remove her nipple rings with pliers demanded an apology from the US Transportation Security Administration.

Mandi Hamlin, 37, also called for an investigation into the February 24 incident in Lubbock, Texas, saying that snickering male agents violated TSA policy by forcing her to remove the jewelry.

"I felt surprised, embarrassed, humiliated, scared and angry," Hamlin told reporters at the offices of her Los Angeles attorney, Gloria Allred.

"This situation was totally out of control. I will not sit quietly. No one deserves to be treated this way."

The TSA, a unit of the Department of Homeland Security that was set up after the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States in 2001, said it was investigating the incident but that agents were trained to search people with piercings in "sensitive areas" with dignity and respect.

"TSA is well aware of terrorists' interest in hiding dangerous items in sensitive areas of the body, therefore we have a duty to the American public to resolve any alarm we discover," the agency said in a written statement.

The TSA said incidents of female terrorists hiding explosives in "sensitive areas" were on the rise and provided a picture of a "bra bomb" that was used in training its agents.

Allred said the incident began when Hamlin, who has a number of piercings, set off a hand-held metal detector and told a TSA officer that her nipple rings were the problem.

A small group of TSA officers gathered around Hamlin, Allred said, and told her she would have to remove the jewelry from her nipples if she wanted to board her flight.

Hamlin went behind a curtain and removed one of her nipple piercings but could not budge the other, tearfully telling the officers it could not be taken out without pliers, Allred said.

"As Ms. Hamlin struggled to remove the piercing behind the curtain, she could hear a growing number of predominantly male TSA officers snickering in the background," the attorney said.

Allred said TSA policy called for a pat-down under such circumstances but did not require the piercings to be removed.

Peter

[Naam]

Heathrow is...

the sh*ttiest airport i have encountered in a "civilized" country

[JacknDanny]

I bet you a tenner that people arriving at Heathrow Terminal 5 won't be approached by strange men in the arrivals building or outside claiming to be excise officials, threatening and intimidating arriving passengers as happened to me after a gruelling flight from the UK and that all inspections at Heathrow T5 will be carried out by proper Customs officials in the appropriate Customs checkpoints.

I'll be willing to bet another crisp tenner that there won't be illegal mafia groups controlling over 2,000 illegally operated taxis outside T5 either.

Come on !!!!!!!!!!

I dont like Suwanabhoom, when comparing it with the likes of Singapore and KL,but all this nonsense about "threatening and intimidating" upon arrival is way over the top. Yes you will get approached, but either ignore them or say No and there is no problem.

You really do seem to have a kind of phobia about Thailand

[Big A]

^^

You can't speak to an Emperor like that!!!

[Maestro]

Third day of flight misery at T5

Afflicted passengers are waiting out

delays, or giving up

Baggage problems are causing delays, cancellations and misery for a third day for British Airways passengers using Terminal 5 at Heathrow.

One fifth of flights from the troubled terminal were scrapped on Saturday - 67 out of the 330 scheduled.

Many passengers reported departing on flights after being told their luggage would not be travelling. A further 37 flights have been cancelled for Sunday.

The airline has also scrapped its £100 limit for delayed passengers' hotels.

Check-in was suspended for an hour after 0900 GMT on Saturday as airport workers attempted to deal with the backlog.

Some passengers were forced to

depart without their luggage

...

Continued here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7320497.stm

--

Maestro

[hotgeekus]

As a general FYI, this seems a little skewed or 'Thaivisa'-d......

The new airport in Bangkok has nothing to do with the taxis outside or the customs lines.... You are comparing apples to oranges....

As the OP said, the new airport here had its share of issues, however, it ain't that bad. You need to seperate the management of the airport from the opening of the airport.

No matter what you say, I, too have flown from and to both airports, but 12 years ago when I was 25 and landed in Heathrow, it cost me 45 pounds to get to Bond Street. I am not complaining, just showing that 12 years later, my 45 pounds would get me to Chiangmai in a TG flight......

I am not a hater or a liker, but when I have been in and out of the airport so many times, I see that it is simply mismanaged, no worse than the police who control the traffic lights between 7:30 and 9:00 am here in bangkok. Traffic fast one way, still means slow the other....

Only gripe I have is the immigration lines, however, if you walk an extra 30 seconds to the bank directly inside international baggage claim 1-8, you see, never, ever, have there been more than 2 people in line, while the other side has minimum 60 people in line. Also with the passport control leaving, 1/3 of all people don't fill out their immigration cards and hold up everything. If AOT had a person to control these two things, it would go lots smoother, but they don't, so it doesn't.....

but hey, if everything here worked, I wouldn't have a job....

[Zpete]

For want of a word......

Swampypool would be the most concise airport anywhere, despite the size.

My only complaint is not enuff padded seats to use when kipping over from a late arrival and early departure....... and long walks airside, not unusual anyway, many others just as bad.

Great café near gate 8, Magic Food Point......cheap Thai food.

Most airports are rabbit warrens, Swampy is open and easy to navigate.

In my eyes, also one of the easiest to exit.

I have been thru swampy only about 20 times, but never a problem anywhere, for any reason.

Only good things about KLIA - HONKERS and CHANGIi, is sleeping over comfort.

Gee, in Sydney, they kick ya out into the cold nite.

[JacknDanny]

I bet you a tenner that people arriving at Heathrow Terminal 5 won't be approached by strange men in the arrivals building or outside claiming to be excise officials, threatening and intimidating arriving passengers as happened to me after a gruelling flight from the UK and that all inspections at Heathrow T5 will be carried out by proper Customs officials in the appropriate Customs checkpoints.

I'll be willing to bet another crisp tenner that there won't be illegal mafia groups controlling over 2,000 illegally operated taxis outside T5 either.

Come on !!!!!!!!!!

I dont like Suwanabhoom, when comparing it with the likes of Singapore and KL,but all this nonsense about "threatening and intimidating" upon arrival is way over the top. Yes you will get approached, but either ignore them or say No and there is no problem.

You really do seem to have a kind of phobia about Thailand

You obviously don't know what I am referring to and that is the intimidation and bullying tactics I suffered at the hands of men who claimed to be Excise Officials after I had passed through Customs and was on my way to get a taxi after a flight from the Middle East.

I was treated like a common criminal and had my bags rifled through. All this happened after I had passed through Customs Green Channel and was in the arrivals area itself. I had no excess Duty Free or any other infringing items.

Their behaviour and conduct was most definitely unacceptable.

You can read my thread about it here.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?sh...130325&st=0

Obviously you thought I was referring to the numerous taxi touts but if you'd bothered to read my original post before jumping to conclusions you'd clearly see that wasn't the case.

I stand by my original comments.

It has never happened to me. It has never happened to any friends or colleagues. I have not heard this happening to anybody else.

You give the impression that it is of common occurrence, which it is not.

Hope that makes it clearer for you.

[britmaveric]

Don't fly BA and problem solved.

[marcortez]

Heathrow is the busiest international airport in the world. Therefore it's bound to have more complaints than any other airport.

Once I leave London for Thailand, I don't give a monkeys how bad BKK is. Happy days.

Wiki says:.....Atlanta's Hartsfield airport is the worlds busiest, followed by Chicago O'Hare and then Heathrow in 3rd place.

Just for the record!!!