Better Passenger Facilities, Efficiency Will Help Suvarnabhumi Get To Top

[george]

SUVARNABHUMI AIRPORT, BANGKOK:

Better passenger facilities, efficiency will help Suvarnabhumi get to top: Incheon exec

Suvarnabhumi Airport can become of the world's best airports if it invests heavily on facilities and IT, an executive from Seoul's Incheon International Airport said.

Opened nine years ago, Incheon has been named one of the world's best airports for five consecutive years.

The airport's executive vice president, Younggeun Lee, said yesterday that this achievement was due to improved passenger amenities along with technology. He was in Bangkok to attend AOT's workshop "Stepping Forward to the Forefront through Sister Airport Agreement: Increasing Passenger Satisfaction".

He said Suvarnabhumi Airport could catch up by making passengers feel comfortable and all procedures convenient and easy. In addition, he said, the time spent at the immigration counter should be shortened and kept in line with the International Civil Aviation Organisation's recommendations.

Lee also advised AOT to invest more on passenger amenities such as free showers, free Internet, indoor garden, cable TV, rest area as well as shopping areas.

"Many European airports already offer these facilities," he said.

The Incheon International Airport Corporation has signed an agreement with AOT to help improve Suvarnabhumi's general services, operation, technical transfer, human resources and marketing to help it become one of the top airports.

"At Incheon, all 35,000 members of staff from 570 organisations work towards one goal - making our airport the best in the world," he said, adding that in order to do that, Suvarnabhumi needed feedback from both customers and staff.

"This will help us evaluate our service performance and maintain high levels," he explained.

AOT president, Serirat Prasutanond, said the company had announced its plan to enhance passenger satisfaction and service via airport development. This should make the airport competitive and also become a regional aviation hub, which will also help boost the country's economy.

Suvarnabhumi was ranked 10th in Skytrax's latest review of world airports.

According to Serirat, AOT aims to service 56 million to 57 million passengers at its six airports, namely Suvarnabhumi, Don Mueang, Chiang Mai, Hat Yai, Phuket and Chiang Rai.

The company has also maintained its revenue at Bt24 billion this year despite the recent political unrest.

Currently, 108,000 passengers go through Suvarnabhumi Airport per month - a number that is very close to the normal level. AOT hopes that the aviation business will recover within the third quarter of this year as tourists start returning to the country.

-- The Nation 2010-07-24

[dom samui]

Bangkok travel agencies report declines:

According to ATTA statistics, visitors handled by member companies at Bangkok airport in June decreased 18% to 76,040 from 93,029 guests, during the same month last year.

Currently, 108,000 passengers go through Suvarnabhumi Airport per month - a number that is very close to the normal level. AOT hopes that the aviation business will recover within the third quarter of this year as tourists start returning to the country.

[SomTumTiger]

I think the title goes under the "No really?" sarcastic category...

[Colabamumbai]

Some good news about the airport.

[kevinf]

108,000 passengers per month. Surely there are some zeros missing!

[Jimi007]

Lee also advised AOT to invest more on passenger amenities such as free showers, free Internet, indoor garden, cable TV, rest area as well as shopping areas.

I think there's plenty of shopping already! It would be nice if the Toilet area could hold more than about 6 people at a time! Free showers are nice. They used to have one at the Taipei airport, but no longer... They do have free internet there now though.

[BSJ]

Getting from the plane to the terminal in the big red bus p1sses me off! How about more Jetways (jet bridge), yes? A jet bridge (also termed loading bridge, aerobridge/airbridge, Jetway, or passenger boarding bridge) is an enclosed, movable connector which extends from an airport terminal gate to an airplane, thereby enabling passengers to board and disembark without having to go outside.

And why the he11 didn't the airport get built with more in the first place? It was built less than a decade ago and Jetways have been around for 40 years!

[Basil B]

I think the thing that annoys most people is the long queues at immigration.

[asia_pilot]

I think the thing that annoys most people is the long queues at immigration.

Strongly agree. But you cant blame AOT for this. Much more the slow Immigration people ( who think they are above all and everybody). Swampy has many Passport control counters, but the stuff behind is simply arrogant and worse.

[Wozzit]

I think the title goes under the "No really?" sarcastic category...

I have to agree. Long immigration lines at peak hours (it once took me 50 minutes at 07:30 in the morning), too much King Power shopping with near rip-off pricing and not enough special interest shops, more non-airbridge 'gates' than I have seen at any other major international airport, signage that is often positioned too low and so cannot be seen through a crowd - these are all easily identifiable failings. The most glaring, however, is the arrival 'experience'. I recall reading that the long pavement area outside arrivals was originally due to be covered in and made part of the building. That at least would have assured plenty of space in an area that desperately needs space, and make it rather like Hong Kong's stunning airport - but the idea was scrapped to save money. As it stands, arrivals is near chaos, with the AOT's own rip-off taxi service and touts being the only one permitted inside the customs hall (who on earth wants to pays 1,200 Baht for a taxi in to the city?), the public taxi queues being difficult to find and their poor staff having no cover and no air-conditioning.

Even worse, have you ever tried to meet family or friends at the airport? You can get nowhere near customs exit doors, and so have no idea if they will miss you by taking a wrong turning, going out a wrong exit, or mistakenly going up or down a floor.

What about departures? Every major airport has large signs on the roads leading to the terminals to advise passengers well in advance which entrance to take for all the different airlines. Suvarnabhumi once had the smallest signs I've ever seen, and then took them away. Now there's nothing. Every vehicle has to crawl to find the right entrance.

Asia has some stunning airports opened over the last dozen or so years. I can never work out why Incheon gets such high marks. I found it plain boring, but I guess it works. Changi, Hong Kong, Beijing Terminal 3 and Kuala Lumpur International are so far ahead of Suvarnabhumi, I hate to think how much it will cost to bring it up to those standards.

Edited July 24, 2010 by Wozzit

[TheWalkingMan]

Lee also advised AOT to invest more on passenger amenities such as free showers, free Internet, indoor garden, cable TV, rest area as well as shopping areas.

I bet the Thai official nearly gagged when the guy mentioned so many free items.

But seriously, nice to see the Thai team looking into improving the facilities. That being said it is a wonder why they did not emulate these niceties earlier.

TheWalkingMan

[salty]

No mention of free gifts at duty free with the possibility of free lodging for the night in some cell.

[MJo]

I have to agree. Long immigration lines at peak hours (it once took me 50 minutes at 07:30 in the morning), too much King Power shopping with near rip-off pricing and not enough special interest shops, more non-airbridge 'gates' than I have seen at any other major international airport, signage that is often positioned too low and so cannot be seen through a crowd - these are all easily identifiable failings. The most glaring, however, is the arrival 'experience'. I recall reading that the long pavement area outside arrivals was originally due to be covered in and made part of the building. That at least would have assured plenty of space in an area that desperately needs space, and make it rather like Hong Kong's stunning airport - but the idea was scrapped to save money. As it stands, arrivals is near chaos, with the AOT's own rip-off taxi service and touts being the only one permitted inside the customs hall (who on earth wants to pays 1,200 Baht for a taxi in to the city?), the public taxi queues being difficult to find and their poor staff having no cover and no air-conditioning.

Even worse, have you ever tried to meet family or friends at the airport? You can get nowhere near customs exit doors, and so have no idea if they will miss you by taking a wrong turning, going out a wrong exit, or mistakenly going up or down a floor.

What about departures? Every major airport has large signs on the roads leading to the terminals to advise passengers well in advance which entrance to take for all the different airlines. Suvarnabhumi once had the smallest signs I've ever seen, and then took them away. Now there's nothing. Every vehicle has to crawl to find the right entrance.

Asia has some stunning airports opened over the last dozen or so years. I can never work out why Incheon gets such high marks. I found it plain boring, but I guess it works. Changi, Hong Kong, Beijing Terminal 3 and Kuala Lumpur International are so far ahead of Suvarnabhumi, I hate to think how much it will cost to bring it up to those standards.

This sums it up quite well, the arrival experience is a pain compared to other airports in the region. It would also help if they removed all crowd control fencing, opened all exit doors, escalators and lifts. In other words simply letting the building work as it was planned.

[zzaa09]

I still believe the idea of having two working 'international airports' is a practical and sound device for handling the overflowing. and subsequent, problems that develop when relying on a singular facility to handle it all. Many large metro areas worldwide will have a couple of international airports to direct the tide. Reopen Don Muang for half of the international flights and all of the dwindling domestic traffic.....since DM is closer and more convenient to the Bangkok destinations. Naturally, there would be argument towards transfers and distances. People would have to live with such inconveniences.

[jackr]

Suvarnabhumi Airport can become of the world's best airports if it invests heavily on facilities and IT, an executive from Seoul's Incheon International Airport said.

Perhaps, if it were brought up to speed and run in another country.

108,000 passengers per month. Surely there are some zeros missing!

That'd be only a bit over 3k a day, or about 10 flights. More like a million a month...

Getting from the plane to the terminal in the big red bus p1sses me off!

Yep, major peeve along with touting and crap shopping.

Lets face it, Swampy is the best Muang Thai could every hope to have at this juncture. It'll never be all that guy says it could be. That'd require hard thinking and everybody pulling in the same direction for the good of the USER.

[Wozzit]

I still believe the idea of having two working 'international airports' is a practical and sound device for handling the overflowing. and subsequent, problems that develop when relying on a singular facility to handle it all. Many large metro areas worldwide will have a couple of international airports to direct the tide. Reopen Don Muang for half of the international flights and all of the dwindling domestic traffic.....since DM is closer and more convenient to the Bangkok destinations. Naturally, there would be argument towards transfers and distances. People would have to live with such inconveniences.

Entirely agree. But I do think it makes more sense to have Don Muang as the domestic and designated low cost carrier hub. This would remove from Suvarnabhumi many of the small aircraft which cannot get airbridge space. It would also free up terminal and runway space (since the low cost carriers use smaller aircraft requiring many more take-off and landing slots). Last year I did a little research on small aircraft v. large aircraft runway movements at Suvarnabhumi. On a typical day, there would be approx. 160 narrow-body aircraft take-offs and 150 wide body - so virtually identical. My guess is you could move most of those narrow body flights to Don Mueang without much problem

Some domestic flights could still fly into Suvarnabhumi to facilitate international connections to full service carriers. Within the region, Tokyo's Narita and Haneda, Taipei's Taiyuan International and the in-city Songshan, and Seoul's Incheon and Kimpo airports are perfect examples of airports with different functions serving one major city. Worldwide, it's quite hard to think of capital cities with a population of over 6 million which operate with just one.

[mirthseeker]

As a person with a disability who uses Suvarnabhumi several times a year, this airport is the pits!

For example, last week I was carried bodily down the aircraft aisle because the aircraft I arrived on was short haul and did not carry an aisle chair. According to gate staff, there were no aisle chairs available in the terminal I arrived in, and I had no alternative, I was told. Yet the aircraft parked at an air bridge.

Then I was dragged into a Toyota Commuter bus, with no wheelchair facilities, to be taken to international arrivals.

Frequently on arrival at Suvarnabhumi on long haul flights, the ergonomically unfriendly in flight aisle chair is used to off load me, because there are none of the more suitable ground based aisle chairs, which other airports have. Staff refuse to bring my own specialised lightweight wheelchair to the gate. I have to use antiquated wheelchairs with fixed armrests, that are almost impossible to independently transfer into. Again I must be lifted, by staff who have no training, both into and out of these.

My experience at other airports is quite different. For example, I can't fault Singapore, where they appear to have a specific department with staff and equipment for people with special needs, and a special needs transit lounge.

Suvarnabhumi in the top 10? Not in the experience of this traveler!

[ExpatJ]

About time. Thailand lost an easy opportunity to become one of the worlds best airprots when they first opened swampy. biggest annoyances for me are a) the use of buses to transfer passengers to planes- how can Thai air resor tto this in their home base airport!! ugly cold metalic design which just makes passengers want to leave the building asap (compare to the carpeted, low ceiling Changi airport). c) poor aircon in hot weather makes it very uncomfortable to actually sit in sone of the food outlets.

For me- changi by the far best- someone mentioned Beijing above but i find that just as bad at swampy and there isnt even a bookshop at beijing airport and you have to be fairly retarded not to realise the demand for one of those in an airport!