Surin Airport To Reopen

[JoeInSurin]

http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/econom...zons-for-pb-air

[mizzi39]

http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/econom...zons-for-pb-air

Good to hear. Will save me the drive to Buriram.

[Dave the Dude]

Wonder why they renewed the perimeter fencing and repainted the lines in the runway.

GREAT NEWS FOR SURIN but I cannot see how Satuk/Buriram can co-exist so near to this airport served by the same airline?

Dave

Edited August 28, 2009 by Dave the Dude

[tso310]

I have a Bangkok Airways timetable from around 1985 and there were plans back then for them to fly to Surin. The border problems with Cambodia probably put paid to that as the airbase at Surin was heavily used by a/c like Cessna for artillery spotting. Check http://www.thai-aviation.net/accidents4.htm for RTAF a/c shot down by the Vietnamese during the 80s. I remember back in 1986/7 seeing lots of troops on short R&R from the border taking in the bright lights and wild entertainment of Phra Khon Chai. Also back then there were also long running arguments between the RTAF and AAT over civilian flights from places like Korat and even over use of the of the east runway at Don Muang.

The siting of Buriram airport had very little to do with a good geographic/economically viable position and more to do with who owned the land but then logical thinking has never been a strong point with Thai thought processes.

The use of the Saab 340 does make good economic sense and bearing in mind that Surin is much larger than Buriram perhaps this will prove to be more successful. Still think that they should have built an airport in a place like Krasang which would have given it a immediate catchment area and then given it some uber grandiose name like Isaan International Airport.

[tso310]

Wonder why they renewed the perimeter fencing and repainted the lines in the runway.

GREAT NEWS FOR SURIN but I cannot see how Satuk/Buriram can co-exist so near to this airport served by the same airline?

Dave

If PB Air pay for getting the airport operational then it should be no problem.

[barryofthailand]

Their use to be flights by Andaman Airways from Bangkok to Surin with a stop in Korat. When Andaman ceased to exist korat and Surin went dead.

Barry

[Dave the Dude]

Their use to be flights by Andaman Airways from Bangkok to Surin with a stop in Korat. When Andaman ceased to exist korat and Surin went dead.

Barry

Wot, all of it, Barry

[farangconnection]

Their use to be flights by Andaman Airways from Bangkok to Surin with a stop in Korat. When Andaman ceased to exist korat and Surin went dead.

Barry

Wot, all of it, Barry

Well, we've broken all records this year. The dead are certainly spending their money.

[Dave the Dude]

Their use to be flights by Andaman Airways from Bangkok to Surin with a stop in Korat. When Andaman ceased to exist korat and Surin went dead.

Barry

Wot, all of it, Barry

Well, we've broken all records this year. The dead are certainly spending their money.

Good on yer,mate

You deserve a holiday

Dave

[farangconnection]

Their use to be flights by Andaman Airways from Bangkok to Surin with a stop in Korat. When Andaman ceased to exist korat and Surin went dead.

Barry

Wot, all of it, Barry

Well, we've broken all records this year. The dead are certainly spending their money.

Good on yer,mate

You deserve a holiday

Dave

Yeah.............like another three days on my back, with a drip poking out my arm, starting tomorrow.

A funny thing happened this week. Nee has been really looking after me, spending all her free time with me, taking me to Korat & Ubon hospitals. She was sick of the sight of hospitals, so I said take a week off, relax and come back when I'm due to go again. She spent most of the weeks holiday in Ruam Phet, cause her little one caught a bug.

[johnsurin]

http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/econom...zons-for-pb-air

This will save you and the wife having to drive us to Buriram now Joe.

John.....

[Magoomba]

This is good, as Burriram airport is out in the middle of nowhere and difficult to get to and from. Surin with the airport nearly in the middle of town to me is an attractive alternative.

Hopefully the flight times will be more useful than a mid morning / lunch time flight on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

[473geo]

Reply from PB Air a couple of days ago

Thank you for your mail regarding Surin flight. We planed to operate from SVB to secondary airport such as Surin, Chumporn by SAAB 340. The first aircraft will be at BKK on October and the 2nd aircraft will delivery 40 days later. If everything is in function we then hopefully run the schedule as planed on New Year.

[farangconnection]

Reply from PB Air a couple of days ago

Thank you for your mail regarding Surin flight. We planed to operate from SVB to secondary airport such as Surin, Chumporn by SAAB 340. The first aircraft will be at BKK on October and the 2nd aircraft will delivery 40 days later. If everything is in function we then hopefully run the schedule as planed on New Year.

Andaman air stopped the flights to Surin the week before thwe 'Elephant Festival" no reson to start them in time for it.

Their aging on the SAAB 340 are somewhat wrong though. They must be more than 10 years old. I was on the production team from the start, when it was called " SAAB-Fairchild 340" and that was 1985. I even flew on the first test flight,as a representative of the contract crew. After I left it became the stretched version, which was the SAAB 2000 .

[473geo]

Reply from PB Air a couple of days ago

Thank you for your mail regarding Surin flight. We planed to operate from SVB to secondary airport such as Surin, Chumporn by SAAB 340. The first aircraft will be at BKK on October and the 2nd aircraft will delivery 40 days later. If everything is in function we then hopefully run the schedule as planed on New Year.

Andaman air stopped the flights to Surin the week before thwe 'Elephant Festival" no reson to start them in time for it.

Their aging on the SAAB 340 are somewhat wrong though. They must be more than 10 years old. I was on the production team from the start, when it was called " SAAB-Fairchild 340" and that was 1985. I even flew on the first test flight,as a representative of the contract crew. After I left it became the stretched version, which was the SAAB 2000 .

I guess they are talking about the arrival of leased aircraft.......10 years old does not appear too bad...if they do the job it is good news........

I still remember getting the cheap train......79 baht or something.....hard wooden seats .....BKK to Surin.....my most memorable part of that trip was my mate saying over and over 'never again' and meant it every time. ....he even stopped drinking after about 2 hours...train was delayed took about 13 hours..

This should be a big improvement!!!!!

[TBWG]

Reply from PB Air a couple of days ago

Thank you for your mail regarding Surin flight. We planed to operate from SVB to secondary airport such as Surin, Chumporn by SAAB 340. The first aircraft will be at BKK on October and the 2nd aircraft will delivery 40 days later. If everything is in function we then hopefully run the schedule as planed on New Year.

Andaman air stopped the flights to Surin the week before the 'Elephant Festival" no reason to start them in time for it.

Their aging on the SAAB 340 are somewhat wrong though. They must be more than 10 years old. I was on the production team from the start, when it was called " SAAB-Fairchild 340" and that was 1985. I even flew on the first test flight,as a representative of the contract crew. After I left it became the stretched version, which was the SAAB 2000 .

Just a coincidence that it became a stretched version after your flight?

TBWG

[JanAndersLarsson]

Saab 340B Plus was an improved version of the Saab 340B. Some units have a wider wingspan. (340B-360 to 340B-459). The first one with the wider wingspan was delivered in 1995.

Production of all 340 models ended in 1999, and Saab ceased all civil aircraft production in 2005.

[dkstoney]

From the start in 1985?

Originally designated as the SF340, the aircraft first flew on 25 January 1983. When Fairchild exited the aircraft manufacturing business in 1985 after about 40 units, Saab continued aircraft production under the designation 340A and 159 units were built.

[Magoomba]

Interesting - I had a look at the PB Air website, and the current timetable is only from October 20 to October 27, so hopefully there will be some good news soon.

I truly hope that the schedule allows people to commute from Surin to BKK and back again, therefore enjoy the weekend in parts of Burriram and Surin and back to work just in time for Monday morning

[farangconnection]

From the start in 1985?

Originally designated as the SF340, the aircraft first flew on 25 January 1983. When Fairchild exited the aircraft manufacturing business in 1985 after about 40 units, Saab continued aircraft production under the designation 340A and 159 units were built.

That's correct.....it was 1983 when I joined the team not 1985. There were only four Fairchild men on the project, two from UK, Mickey Spiller, and his mate, who i forget his name, and two American from L.A. One of them Bruce, had a brother that played for Lakers at the time. It does not mention the SAAB 2,000 though, which was the stretched version.

Edited October 21, 2009 by farangconnection