Suvarnabhumi Airport: A Bad Experience For Travellers

[Oberkommando]

I went through over the weekend and they have new seats before the gates now; sofas and loungers in front of flat screen TVs.

Still no free wi-fi which is an annoyance.

I agree that food is far too expensive but again there's no control over pricing because it is not controlled by the government or AoT as the disappearance of the corruption and encroachment charges against Vichai and King Power Duty Free prove, now that he is good friends with and a sponsor of this government.

Nice to have friends or maybe he has something on them, we can only speculate as to why they have allowed the King Power illegal monopoly to continue.

I flew to Phnom Penh which despite being 'Third-World' has always been a very pleasant and approachable experience for me. No hassles with anyone there ever in my 30+ trips. They have expanded the airport there slightly with an extra shopping area and a few more gates.

[true blue]

i love suvarnabhumi airport,you no youve arrived in los, the buzz is fantastic,its a heavenly experience,the imm officers, the taxi touts,the food stall holders,all there to provide for you if you want,love it love it.

[yesdavy]

And the snakes, not the swampy slithery ones, the King Power ones that see you to the ransom room to buy a ticket to freedom.

Worst episode that comes to mind--nay, never left the mind--is having to pay almost six thousand baht over-stay fees to a laughing immigration supervisor last year because the passport was in an embassy on Wireless Road at the peak of the protest mayhem when all the embassies on wireless road were closed, as was Wireless Road itself barricaded from traffic for nearly a week.

[sunnyrolfe]

How long did the duty free scamming go on with nothing done about it? And if you all remember there was an outcry from several countries over that so I don't expect much to be done in a hurry about toilets or food prices etc.

[rubl]

Nice to have friends or maybe he has something on them, we can only speculate as to why they have allowed the King Power illegal monopoly to continue.

KP Group has been at it for so long, by now it almost their God given right

[Guest mascot]

I think most of the corresponders have not been to many airports. Certainly Singapore is in a different class. If you think suvarnabhumi is expensive then try Sydney, 2 hrs parking is 500bht, long walks are normal as is the wait for immigration and the very long wait to clear customs and quarrantine and then another long walk to the taxi rank or car park. There are very few airports like Singapore and BKK is definitely not the worst by far. If you care to arrive BKK at 0100, you are out of the airport in 30 mins and in Sydney arrive 1200hrs for a good run. All airports have their peak periods when things are slow.

Standard practice in Sydney is for the taxi to take the long way into the city.

[steve C]

Definately the worst airport in the world

What a lot of nonsense, Swampy is a great airport in comparison with other busy airports.. There are 7/11 shops where everything is very reasonable.. where else in the world can you find a 7/11 in an airport..? As for the walk to immigration, for a small fee you can be picked up in one of the small electric carts and taken through fast-track immigration. As for taxis, go upstairs to Departures same as in any airport and take a cab that has just dropped someone off.. easy.. Also the BTS is great now , fast and cheap to the city. If you have a lot of luggage, a taxi is needed.. Same as anywhere in the world, you cannot take many bags onto a train.. thats a personal choice..! Some people like to complain about anything.. Well done the Swampy management team... immigration are a law unto themselves but at least you can make your re-entry visa there now... And the Duty Free is the cheapest in Asia... at least for Jonnie Walker and Jack Daniels... Has anyone been to Charles DeGaulle... now that is a problem airport... try it..! and as for walking ...try Schipol Airport in Amsterdam, thats walking..!!!

Where and how for electric carts and fast track immigration ?

[tingtongfarang]

The long walks or the temperature never bothered me too much and have zero interest in duty free there or any kind of shopping, I did once consider picking up a bottle of bells or something at kingpower but decided the risk of getting hit by a scam just was'nt worth it so as usual marched right through keeping my eyes straight ahead,

I travel through swampy on average 20+ times per year but got so sick with the taxi drivers not wanting to turn the meter on {live about 10 minutes drive away so many dont want such a short fare ) that i friend and i both agreed it would be easier to do the drive the drop off and pick up for eachother....works fine mostly,

The real peeve i have is the unfriendly immigration who often give a scowl as they open my passport not even looking what page or where they stamp,

Always on arrival in HK the immigration officer flics through the visa pages and shakes his head in dismay at the random and hap hazard way the thais have gone about placing the stamps and searches for a space to put his stamp where it saves space then greets me with a smile and enjoy your stay in hongkong sir,

what is it with these thai immigration people?

Edited March 2, 2011 by tingtongfarang

[konungrid]

Perfectly describes Heathrow Terminal 3 - which I don't mind actually even when the information desk tried to flog me a minicab ride into London for £75! It's just an airport and you just have to know how to travel.

Edited March 2, 2011 by konungrid

[SomTumTiger]

The airport is pure sh%t. You go there, and never get on your plane. Have to go home. When you come back, you can't get off your plane, have to go back where you started from. No one gets in or out. Ever.

Oh? What? Not like that? I never would have guessed.

[Beechboy]

Basically OK for me too. It's only a place to pass through after all, my holiday is set for Cha-Am not Swampy. I don't need to eat, maybe just a beer.

Sometimes the wait at Immigration can be a bit longer than necessary. You feel you cannot delay your plane to immigration walk as if there is a queue it is possible to have luggageproblems. I was so late once after a toilet stop and big queue that my carousel was empty when I got there and my case had been put on a trolley in a corner. Needless to say, there was no indication of this and it took me ten more minutes to locate it.

The taxi situation works fine for me: turn right when you come out, down the moving stairs, join the short queue, get your ticket, get your taxi (who is recorded on their ticket in case of a problem.) Always had the meter and always pay for the toll in advance. The trick of getting a taxi that has dropped off at arrivals back-fires, as these are the driversmore likely to try the no meter scam. This is usually to a hotel on Suk. and I reckon on 5-600 including a decent tip. This ain't bad. Compare with London?

[DumFarang]

I'm going to stand by my food whinge. I caught my international flight after travelling direct from Pattaya. For such a long trip and with non-refundable tickets it's important to get their early, so I've departed the hotel at 8am for a 1pm flight (the Bells bus departs every 2 hours, you take the one which suits). So you get to the airport early hungry and have a few hours to kill.

Other travellers have long stopovers, 4-6 hours not uncommon.

People need to eat.

In a country where meals can be bought for 50 baht we shouldn't have to pay 300 baht for the same thing inside an aiport. When we talk about high food prices at other airports I think you'll find in many cases the markup isn't in the order of 500 %, that's fiscal rape.

That said other people have mentioned a cheap food court though if that sits out of the check-in area then it's still not good enough. And it doesn't seem much effort is made to advertise its location.

But in no way would I say Suvarnabhumi is racked with problems. Had no problems taking a sh*t there and aren't the least interested in duty free anyway. You don't go to Thailand to shop at the airport. Waiting times no problem.

At Melbourne was given a baggage carousel run-around and my lift paid 1200 baht just to park the car. Had to line up at customs to get my two sea shells checked, they were fine.

How can you say there is a 500% markup? If you go to a dirty street stall in Bkk you can still eat for 50 B. and maybe a nice bacterial infection, but I wouldn't compare the airport to the dirty street stalls. Just making a very basic comparison like say KFC where the sets are in the 100 B. range, then you're looking at approx. 300% markup. I think this is more in the neighborhood of standard airport markups. It's really not strange or out of whack, at least not this specific issue.

[atyclb]

55 baht for a bottle of ordinary local water is a bargain compared with 80 baht at Bully's Pub to go along with their quite good 200 baht hamburger.

[ginjag]

I think most of the corresponders have not been to many airports. Certainly Singapore is in a different class. If you think suvarnabhumi is expensive then try Sydney, 2 hrs parking is 500bht, long walks are normal as is the wait for immigration and the very long wait to clear customs and quarrantine and then another long walk to the taxi rank or car park. There are very few airports like Singapore and BKK is definitely not the worst by far. If you care to arrive BKK at 0100, you are out of the airport in 30 mins and in Sydney arrive 1200hrs for a good run. All airports have their peak periods when things are slow.

Standard practice in Sydney is for the taxi to take the long way into the city.

Why are people talking about the cost-and comparing with USA-EUROPE airports--its not the same. wages in the west are 12 x per month-give and take..............so the cost of food ,taxis are going to be more expensive..... but at Swampy the difference is LITTLE.......so its a rip off here the average food to buy---can of coke 7-11.. 14 bht why at airports 40 bht----food is cheapish here so why international charges ??? flights are increasing in price , but the benefit is the weather..low prices yes ( but airport NO) so many ex pats here can live on their pensions and can live a good standard................Again my point is DO NOT compare this with higher standard countries.....................compare USA-and Europe yes..................As everyone says "this is Thailand" so should be realistic prices. profit margins are astronomical compared with Europe...... do king power pay european wages ????????

[chuang]

I hate hate hate going through the immigration....it sucks...

[leelewadee]

Well fair enough, everybody agrees there are many problems that need fixing at Swampy. Could we now have a Nation article that focuses on what exactly is being done to address them, please?

FINALLY A PRODUCTIVE COMMENT!

There are still many problems at S. No points in denying them and definitely no points in comparing with worse airports!!

Recognizing and admitting that there are some very basic, recurring issues such as the long immigration lines, the taxis headache or the outrageous food pricing (for Thailand OBVIOUSLY not for Switzerland...let's please keep things in the correct context) is step 1...brainstorming the best solutions to those issues step 2.

When Swampy first opened there was barely any toilets and lighting was a real disaster. Both of those issues have been fixed...A positive example of what can be achieved...

Edited March 2, 2011 by leelewadee

[SunsetT]

Sorry, I don't get it.

I've never had a long wait at the airport clearing immigration and customs in Suvaranabhumi. Rather the contrary - it's about the fastest I've ever cleared. Try the lines in New York. And in China they met us with drug-sniffing dogs.

And I've never had a hard time getting a metered taxi there, once you know where they are - and they've always been in the same place every time I've gone through the airport for the last three years.

As for the food, I've never seen an airport where food wasn't grossly overpriced compared to the local economy. A cup of coffee at the airport in Miami is $5.00.

If you think the touts are bad here, you should try the airport in Delhi or Mumbai. You haven't experienced what a real tout is like until you've been to India.

I totally agree.

Immigration queues and number of desks open are the same , and certainly no worse, I would say, relative to the numbers arriving, as most other large international airports I have been through. I hope the dummies complaining on here are not expecting the same speed of immigration clearance as they get when returning to their home countries, because nationals returning home are usually fast-tracked through in separate queues as obviously, they do not need to be checked and recorded as thoroughly as foreigners; which we obviously are when arriving at Soowaannaphoom.

I concur on taxi-meters too. And last time I arrived in October I was not beseiged as previously by touts, taxi drivers, and official agency staff offering me taxis for 700 baht between the Arrivals floor and the Taxi-meter desk on Level 1. I also noted new signs directing you there. So there have been some improvements.

Always take the same precautions with taxis wherever you are in Bangkok., and state clearly "taxi meter" pointing at the meter when you get in. If there is any argument immediately get out and flag down another, or in the airport, go back to the booking desk/booth. I have never had a problem with this at S. , but was conned just once on arrival by an English speaking driver when I queried the meter starting at 39 baht (it should start at 35 baht), who told me the fares had gone up. His meter went up much faster too, to over 400 baht for a journey which should, I think, have been about 250 baht.

Food and drink is very expensive everywhere once you go through to Departures. But at least cheap and varied food is available in the food hall on the lowest floor, which is not the case in most big international airports.

A tip on water. Empty and keep your water bottle at security and then refill it at drinking water fountains outside the toilets in Departures. You can do this at Heathrow and Gatwick , as well as at S. and Don Muang, probably at most big airports.

The walk does not seem longer to me than sometimes at Heathrow, especially T4, and you fat, lazy, and unhealthy B's , after sitting on your <deleted> for 12 hours or more, can similarly choose the conveyor belts to speed you on to your next beer!

[TheWalkingMan]

Now I remember. The next time people pass through the domestic side of Suvarnabhumi, please take a look at the food court to see the customers. My non-scientific study shows that less than 10% of people eating there are locals. That points out to me a couple of possibilities 1) the food is of poor quality or 2) the Thai people view the prices as being totally out of sync as far as value for money goes.

I think a can of coke was 90-100 baht.

TheWalkingMan

[fishhooks]

They may be a METRE away from you but they are actually METERS

"Taxis no problem, last time we came in to TL on a late flight and arranged a taxi for a 3 hr trip, sure would not do it on the metre but the price he gave us was fair, have done the same trip on metre before and that was about the same"

Edited March 2, 2011 by fishhooks

[leelewadee]

55 baht for a bottle of ordinary local water is a bargain compared with 80 baht at Bully's Pub to go along with their quite good 200 baht hamburger.

you can always compare with worse...not sure what it brings though

[skorchio]

I think the airport is the shame of Thailand. They had an opportunity to build whatever was conceivable; remember that most intetrnational airports are on their original site, added to, rebuilt, extended over decades etc. Few developers get a clean slate to work with. They could have built the showpiece of Asia, the pride of a nation, they could have made it better than Singapore. But they reverted to type, predictably, and built it Thai style, where the customer/passenger is the last person considered. So predictable!! Absolutely in line with the rest of the nation.

But I must admit I live here because of the chaos (I love it). So I ought not complain, I just see a wasted opportunity. I know Singaporeans are proud of their airport, Thais could have been too ...

[bullonparade]

Now I remember. The next time people pass through the domestic side of Suvarnabhumi, please take a look at the food court to see the customers. My non-scientific study shows that less than 10% of people eating there are locals. That points out to me a couple of possibilities 1) the food is of poor quality or 2) the Thai people view the prices as being totally out of sync as far as value for money goes.

I think a can of coke was 90-100 baht.

TheWalkingMan

Welcome to any airport, any ferry or any other place where there will be a limited amount of competition as travellers are stuck inside for some time.

Here in Vietnam where living costs can be even lower than Thailand, you pay like 2 usd (60 thb) for a noname-brand water 33 cl bottle in HCMC airport, or 6 usd ( 185 THB ) for a bad sandwich. And as mentioned before you could mention any airport in europe or elsewhere where its the same situation.

And I would rather spend my money in Suvarnabhumi airport than in HCMC airport, as they got a magnificant selection of things you can eat or drink compared to many other airports.

[KarenBravo]

When are they actually going to finish the ceilings to hide the pipes and paint the interior?

The place looks like it hasn't been finished.

[bartender100]

Just be thankful that Khun Taksin had the foresight to push for the airport to be finished, Don Meung, as cute as it was, would never been able to handle the traffic.

Airports worldwide are expensive for food and drinks. If you travel you should know this.

Personally i don't have a problem with Suvarnabhumi, if you travel a lot you get used to waiting at immigration, recently at Schiphol i waited more than 45 minutes to clear passport control. Paris Orly is a nightmare.

The free internet is ok, they only give 15 minutes, but you can have as many as you want.

I could give you a list as long as my arm of the worst airports i have personally been to, google worst airports in the world, and be thankful for Suvarnabhumi

I am assuming a lot of the posters on here have not traveled much.

[bartender100]

I went through over the weekend and they have new seats before the gates now; sofas and loungers in front of flat screen TVs.

Still no free wi-fi which is an annoyance.

I agree that food is far too expensive but again there's no control over pricing because it is not controlled by the government or AoT as the disappearance of the corruption and encroachment charges against Vichai and King Power Duty Free prove, now that he is good friends with and a sponsor of this government.

Nice to have friends or maybe he has something on them, we can only speculate as to why they have allowed the King Power illegal monopoly to continue.

I flew to Phnom Penh which despite being 'Third-World' has always been a very pleasant and approachable experience for me. No hassles with anyone there ever in my 30+ trips. They have expanded the airport there slightly with an extra shopping area and a few more gates.

Free wifi all over the airport

[gilfhunter]

obviously none of you lot have been to heathrow.. if you think this airport's bad try terminal 3 heathrow,what a dump..

[DumFarang]

I think the airport is the shame of Thailand. They had an opportunity to build whatever was conceivable; remember that most intetrnational airports are on their original site, added to, rebuilt, extended over decades etc. Few developers get a clean slate to work with. They could have built the showpiece of Asia, the pride of a nation, they could have made it better than Singapore. But they reverted to type, predictably, and built it Thai style, where the customer/passenger is the last person considered. So predictable!! Absolutely in line with the rest of the nation.

But I must admit I live here because of the chaos (I love it). So I ought not complain, I just see a wasted opportunity. I know Singaporeans are proud of their airport, Thais could have been too ...

Maybe you just don't get it. Even if they had built the dream airport you describe it wouldn't serve Thai pride in any meaningful way. I'm sure you know that they're a lot more concerned with benefiting (making money) from it somehow.

Yes, it could be more beautiful, and there are designs that could work better perhaps. Although I find that it's somewhat similar to Incheon which so many people have quickly vaulted as the far superior airport. The entrance with all the alphabetized checkin alleys for kiosks is practically a copy of Incheon's. It just seems to me like a lot of people love to bash the country, but prefer to stay in it anyway. It reminds of PADI divers which make up the majority of all divers, and a favorite pastime is bashing PADI but not getting certified by another organization, no never that.

Suvarnabhablabla is a pretty good airport that does its job: you get in and you get out in a relatively timely fashion. If you have complaints about it perhaps you haven't traveled much and, therefore, haven't been in an outdated really bad one, which the former Don Muang was along with hosts of others around the world.

[ding]

Good article. Just subsidize Thai Air to get us there and we'll make our way out -no worries.

[harrycallahan]

How can you say there is a 500% markup? If you go to a dirty street stall in Bkk you can still eat for 50 B. and maybe a nice bacterial infection, but I wouldn't compare the airport to the dirty street stalls. Just making a very basic comparison like say KFC where the sets are in the 100 B. range, then you're looking at approx. 300% markup. I think this is more in the neighborhood of standard airport markups. It's really not strange or out of whack, at least not this specific issue.

I don't believe that is in the range of standard markups. The KFC/McDonalds etc are a pretty good yardstick. The meals are consistent across the country and rest of world.

I know in Australia the markup is actually very low or non-existent. We pay about $7-8 and at the airport the price is in the same range. If they followed Thailand's pricing system we'd be paying $20 for a Big Mac meal deal which would be outrageous. Actually I believe the Suvarnabhumi airport price for the same meals are more than in Australian airports, and yet the same meals outside of the airport are roughly half what they cost in Australia.

Big Mac Index

http://www.oanda.com/currency/big-mac-index

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Mac_Index

Out of 44 nations Thailand is the 6th cheapest place to buy a Big Mac. And yet go to the airport and you find the price more than the Australian price and Australia is the 8th dearest place out of those 44!

[Kilgore Trout]

It's one of the better airports. Of course, minor problems will always happen. Somehow most people in this forum only want to critizise anything here in Thailand. Why do you come here?

There will always be foreigners complaining in Thailand about Thailand; TIT If you don't like it you can leave.