Foodless Gates At Suvarnabhumi (i.e. Holding Pens)

[eteune]

Just had a great 3 week vacation in Thailand with wife and kids.

I liked the old Don Muang airport, it was like a nice local, SE Asian airport and very manageable sizewise. But when you went to your gate, it was like a cattle pen and you had to sit there with no food or anything. So I thought the new Suvarnabhumi airport after being dazzled by the beauty of it and the cool sculptures and miles and miles and miles and miles of pretty duty free shops, the gates at Suvarnabhumi would be better.

<deleted>?? our gate was like 2 kilometers from the nearest food. We had to climb back out of the holding pit, ehrm, gate, and walk all the way back to get food for ourselves and our children. Soooooo many duty free shops and sooooo little food.

Incheon airport (our other stop) was sooo convenient! Food everywhere you looked, and right next to all the nice, open gates. The kids could roam freely and we could snack on anything we liked as we waited for our delayed flight.

Suvarnabhumi really really really sucks in this regard. It is a really inconvenient and uncomfortable airport. Nothing to do if your flight is delayed except maybe make a treck across country to get some refreshments, then use your GPS device to hike all the way back down a completely empty corridor to the empty, sterile pit, ehrm gate.

I asked the flight attendants in Thai why this was, and they apologized to me and said it was originally for security reasons (exploding hamburgers, perhaps?) that they made all the gates into lower level holding dungeons. What a waste of money the new airport is.

If you ever get to stop in Incheon on your way to Thailand, it is like heaven compared to Suvarnabhumi. A great free transit lounge and tons of restaurants, a cultural center, a nice transit hotel if you want to rent a room, etc. etc. AND all the gates are open and littered with great eateries.

So sad that Thailand spent so much money on such a huge airport only to treat travelers like prisoners when they use it.

[luangtom]

I fully concur with the observation that the lack of amenities at Swampy is a tragedy. Even Narita (Tokyo) has food-stands within a short distance of the gates where one sits and waits. It is especially a sad situation if one is unable to walk. Luckily, the airline does afford one an attendant to push the wheelchair for those that need it. Otherwise, it would be impossible for one to navigate their way from check-in to out-bound gates. Far too much space and area wasted at Swampy. Who made out like a bandit on this project?

[britmaveric]

Eat before you go the gates?

[thrilled]

Thats what I say.I get to the airport early.I check in then go to A restaurant.When I go to the gates ,food is the last thing on my mind

[smokie36]

I agree with you wholeheartedly. The airport should be there to serve the passengers needs not the other way around. It feels like a UK airport in this regard.

[garyh]

Once you cross that line you are in their control, try being on a plane and something is not right, you do as they say or you could end up being in a real jail.

[thaitot]

The walking thing yes.

But we stopped at the food court and the prices are Thai and I found the food to be good.

yes it is in one location but 30-50 baht is hard to beat. When coming from overseas this is a blessing.

Call me crazy but.

[tartempion]

Swampy was designed by people who knew what airplane travelers need for their comfort :

No food, no toilets, long walks (keeps you healthy), metal chairs (keeps your butt fresh), noisy check in hall (remember: Thais can't do without noise in shopping malls, restaurants), King Power "duty free" shops all around you before the long walk to your plane.

[KhunDave]

Swampy was designed by people who knew what airplane travelers need for their comfort :

No food, no toilets, long walks (keeps you healthy), metal chairs (keeps your butt fresh), noisy check in hall (remember: Thais can't do without noise in shopping malls, restaurants), King Power "duty free" shops all around you before the long walk to your plane.

Not forgetting the pitiful lack of adequate air conditioning - not necessary in the tropics is it?

I left from The Swamp last Sunday - end of CNY. Check in area was absolutely FULL of bodies, and the temperature was about 40 degrees. And it's not even the hot season yet.

[PattayaParent]

Eat before you go the gates?

Sometimes the most obvious solutions are the simplest.

Although I DO agree with the OP about Incheon.

[needforspeed]

Thats what I say.I get to the airport early.I check in then go to A restaurant.When I go to the gates ,food is the last thing on my mind

Yes traveling by yourself next time try it with children

[Spoonman]

Why would you wanna eat before you fly, bugger having to take a dump mid flight.

[PattayaParent]

Thats what I say.I get to the airport early.I check in then go to A restaurant.When I go to the gates ,food is the last thing on my mind

Yes traveling by yourself next time try it with children

Your children want to eat at the gate?

Mine is quite happy eating at the food court on the bottom level before getting on the flight.

[needforspeed]

Thats what I say.I get to the airport early.I check in then go to A restaurant.When I go to the gates ,food is the last thing on my mind

Yes traveling by yourself next time try it with children

Your children want to eat at the gate?

Mine is quite happy eating at the food court on the bottom level before getting on the flight.

I didnt tell that but yes, if you have delay and to get a snack or some bread with good ham and cheese would be nice.

And is a extra service for travelers.

Edited February 17, 2010 by needforspeed

[londonthai]

the architects were the european company. They had a task to make a grandiose airport - more money for them, building contractors and the government officials involved in selling contracts.

in effect they all forgot about functionality and friendliness for the traveller.

my tactic is to check in, go to the gate and board the plane at the last moment, when the flight is closing. So far I hadn't got any departure delays, but the lack of food might be a problem if it happens.

before the flight I try not to eat much, but drink water as much as possible, to hydrate the body properly and avoid jet lag. The solution is to take own snacks and food.

[geriatrickid]

Some of these complaints are just so lame. Some of you need to think a bit. Here's why;

1. Yes, there are long distances from the gates to the entry & exit points. However, that is because of the high number of flights. If there were insufficient gates, then PAX would be waiting on the tarmac for a gate and flight options would be 1/2 of what they are now as is the case with many other airports.

2. Airconditioning complaints? Seriously, what are you people thinking? Bangkok is in a tropical climate zone with high temperature and humidity. What do you expect? The temperature is usually around 22-25 depending where one is in the terminal. Do you understand how expensive it is to cool and dehumidify an installation as big as the airport terminal with all the sources of heat and all the openings that bleed off the cool air? There are just as many people that complain that the terminal is too cold as it is too hot. Get a grip.

3. Oh boohoo there are not enough food options near the gates. The downside of offering food near gates is that it creates a gooey sticky mess with leftovers and debris strewn everywhere. You need only experience a US airport to understand how disgusting the situation is. I was sitting at LAX once and this family of slobs were busy chowing down on their fast food. The kids left ketchup, mustard, relish and spilled drinks all over the chairs. On a flight out of Phuket, I had some sow struggling to bring her Burger King garbage onto the plane. It stank up the plane. Eat before you go to the airport, or leave enough time and eat before going through the security. It's called planning.

[infernalman7]

^^ Very well put, geriatrickid. After seeing many other transit systems in the world, I understand why BTS and MRT ban people from eating in their ysstems.

[jdinasia]

I like the layout of swampy ....

Other than the immigration queues entering the country that is!

The place is easy to keep clean. Decent for security issues simply because of that fact etc etc.

For those of you that want to feed your kids a ton of sugar before getting on a plane ..... well I for one am glad that the tykes will have to walk some distance to burn off that energy!

[KhunDave]

Some of these complaints are just so lame. Some of you need to think a bit. Here's why;

1. Yes, there are long distances from the gates to the entry & exit points. However, that is because of the high number of flights. If there were insufficient gates, then PAX would be waiting on the tarmac for a gate and flight options would be 1/2 of what they are now as is the case with many other airports.

2. Airconditioning complaints? Seriously, what are you people thinking? Bangkok is in a tropical climate zone with high temperature and humidity. What do you expect? The temperature is usually around 22-25 depending where one is in the terminal. Do you understand how expensive it is to cool and dehumidify an installation as big as the airport terminal with all the sources of heat and all the openings that bleed off the cool air? There are just as many people that complain that the terminal is too cold as it is too hot. Get a grip.

3. Oh boohoo there are not enough food options near the gates. The downside of offering food near gates is that it creates a gooey sticky mess with leftovers and debris strewn everywhere. You need only experience a US airport to understand how disgusting the situation is. I was sitting at LAX once and this family of slobs were busy chowing down on their fast food. The kids left ketchup, mustard, relish and spilled drinks all over the chairs. On a flight out of Phuket, I had some sow struggling to bring her Burger King garbage onto the plane. It stank up the plane. Eat before you go to the airport, or leave enough time and eat before going through the security. It's called planning.

I don't think number 2 holds water. The temperature on level four at The Swamp is often intollerable - go down to level three or two and you can actually feel the temperature falling. This is a major design failure.

Changi and KLIA are also in the tropics, and if anything have higher levels of humidity to cope with, but they are always pleasant inside.

[neverdie]

Eat before you go the gates?

Yeah its hardly rocket science, is it. Interestingly many of the worlds greatest airports dont have food at the gates either.

Anyway, I guess some people will have a whinge about anything, of course if there was food at the gate it would be the wrong type, size, smell or price

[SantiSuk]

I agree that holding pens are boring as hel_l, but that's the design of 90% of gates worldwide.

Don't go to the gate until it says 'final call'. The airlines would not agree, but many frequent travellers do that - and anyone in the air miles lounges (you don't get called from most airline lounges until late in the process). Of course this does not apply if you are infirm or en famille or cannot keep a weather ( or should that be 'whether'? answers on a postcard) eye on the flight screen.

[hhgz]

"why is all the food so far from the gates?"

Why would we know this? Next time, plan ahead.

[thornybird]

Suvarnabhumi has been specifically planned so that you need to forage far and wide for your food. This slims down your butt so you can fit into a low cost carrier seat.