Airport In Khorat?

[Meridian007]

I'm planning on expanding my horizons a bit in December by getting out of Bangkok, and traveling to Khorat. I know about taking the 3-4 hour bus ride there, but I'd prefer to fly. I've checked around the net and only found a small chartered company that flies by the hour, rather than having scheduled flights (which means you have to rent the whole plane).

Are there no airlines that have scheduled flights from Bangkok into Khorat? I'm surprised as Khorat is the largest city in Issan (by population stats on Wikipedia), but there are flights to Ubon, Udon, Khon Kaen, and even Buriram!

I must be being blind, can anyone suggest an airline?

[Mrjlh]

It's one of the great blunders of a past adminstration. He a built a beautiful airport that has no carriers. Plus it is 40km's from town out in the boonies and so no taxis are there which means you'd need to call one, have them drive all the way there for a double fee.

Take the VIP bus from the Mo Chit bus station about 600B and you'll be there in 3 hours.

[Thanyaburi Mac]

It's one of the great blunders of a past adminstration. He a built a beautiful airport that has no carriers. Plus it is 40km's from town out in the boonies and so no taxis are there which means you'd need to call one, have them drive all the way there for a double fee.

Take the VIP bus from the Mo Chit bus station about 600B and you'll be there in 3 hours.

NOT a "blunder," quite deliberate, and the politician who owned that spot of land that was turned into an airport is quite satisfied with the outcome!

Even when there were flights into the "old" airport, the RTAF Base, they were not utilized all that much. Folks figured out that having to drive to Don Muang, check in early, wait for the flight, fly up, wait for bags, then just 10 minutes to downtown, it was just about as fast to take the bus.

But, yes, drive, bus, or train up to Korat and base out of there. Phi Mai, 50 km north, is always a good place to visit.

Mac

[Meridian007]

Thanks for the confirmation guys. That is what I was afraid was the case. Seems such a pity though, maybe once the express train is running to Suvarnabhumi there will be more interest in taking a short flight to Khorat.

[siam2007]

even I am an aviation-freak I really hope - for environment's sake - that there will never be a scheduled flight between BKK and Korat, as it is just 250 Km away from each other.

as other members have emphasized already, the airport is far away from Korat and it will take you more time to get to your point of origin's airport, check in for a flight, wait for the departure and then, once you have reached your destination, get to the downtown area from the airport again.

the simple reason why there are flights to secondary destinations such as Buriram, Roi Et, Nakhon Phanom is: It's a bigger distance from BKK and a hassle to get there other than by air (Nakhon Phanom!)

[barryofthailand]

I use to take a flight from BKK to Surin wit6h a stop over in Korat. The plain was always full, but that's when they utilized the Wing One Royal Thai Air Force Base. As soon as they built the new airport the flights stopped. Why would anyone want to land at an airport 40 kilometers from their destination, with absolutely no transportation available. The buses from BKK are very good for 198 Baht.

Barry

[siam2007]

I use to take a flight from BKK to Surin wit6h a stop over in Korat. The plain was always full, but that's when they utilized the Wing One Royal Thai Air Force Base. As soon as they built the new airport the flights stopped. Why would anyone want to land at an airport 40 kilometers from their destination, with absolutely no transportation available. The buses from BKK are very good for 198 Baht.

Barry

there are rumors SURIN will be open for scheduled flights soon......