Thai AirAsia Eyes Big Savings If It Can Move Back To Don Muang Airport

[OzMick]

Koh Samui is a "genuine" international airport with direct flights to Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong. Is 3 not enough?

Phuket has Airlines Destinations Terminal Aeroflot Seasonal: Moscow-Sheremetyevo 1 Air Berlin Abu Dhabi 1 Air China Beijing-Capital 1 AirAsia Kuala Lumpur 1 Asiana Airlines Seoul-Incheon 1 Bangkok Airways Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi, Koh Samui, Pattaya-U-Tapao 2 Blue Panorama Airlines Milan-Malpensa, Rome-Fiumicino 1 Business Air Busan, Seoul-Incheon 1 China Airlines Taipei-Taoyuan 1 China Eastern Airlines Kunming 1 China Southern Airlines Guangzhou 1 Condor Flugdienst Seasonal: Frankfurt 1 Dragonair Hong Kong 1 Eastar Jet Seoul-Incheon 1 Edelweiss Air Zürich 1 Finnair Seasonal: Helsinki 1 Firefly Penang 1 Hainan Airlines Beijing-Capital, Haikou, Hangzhou, Nanning, Sanya 1 Happy Air Bangkok-Don Mueang, Hat Yai, Hua Hin 2 Indonesia AirAsia Jakarta-Soekarno-Hatta 1 Jetairfly Seasonal: Brussels 1 Jetstar Airways Sydney 1 Jetstar Asia Airways Singapore 1 I-Fly Moscow-Vnukovo, Krasnodar 1 Korean Air Seoul-Incheon 1 Malaysia Airlines Kuala Lumpur 1 Mahan Air Tehran-Imam Khomeini 1 Nok Air Bangkok-Don Mueang 2 Nordwind Airlines Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk, Irkutsk 1 Novair Seasonal charter: Stockholm-Arlanda 1 Orient Thai Airlines Bangkok-Don Mueang 2 Qatar Airways Doha, Kuala Lumpur 1 Rossiya Seasonal: Saint-Petersburg 1 S7 Airlines Irkutsk, Novosibirsk, Khabarovsk, Vladivostok 1 Shanghai Airlines Shanghai-Pudong 1 Sichuan Airlines Chengdu, Chongqing 1 SilkAir Singapore 1 Thai AirAsia Denpasar/Bali, Hong Kong, Singapore 1 Thai AirAsia Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi, Chiang Mai, Ubon Ratchathani, Udon Thani 2 Thai Airways International Hong Kong, Perth, Seoul-Incheon

Seasonal: Copenhagen 1 Thai Airways International Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi, Chiang Mai [ends 1 August 2012] 2 Thai Smile Chiang Mai [begins 1 August 2012] 2 Thomas Cook Airlines Scandinavia Charter: Copenhagen, Gothenburg-Landvetter, Oslo-Gardermoen, Stockholm-Arlanda 1 Tiger Airways Singapore 1 Transaero Airlines Ekaterinburg, Moscow-Domodedovo, Saint-Petersburg

Seasonal: Moscow-Sheremetyevo 1 Travel Service Hungary Seasonal: Budapest, Prague 1 TUIfly Nordic Charter: Bergen, Billund, Copenhagen, Gothenburg-Landvetter, Oslo-Gardermoen, Malmö, Stockholm-Arlanda 1 UTair Aviation Charter: Kazan, Rostov-on-Don, Samara, Ufa, Yekaterinburg 1 Virgin Australia Perth 1 XL Airways France

Seasonal: Paris-Charles De Gaulle

Does that qualify?

[folium]

Koh Samui is a "genuine" international airport with direct flights to Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong. Is 3 not enough?

Phuket has Airlines Destinations Terminal Aeroflot Seasonal: Moscow-Sheremetyevo 1 Air Berlin Abu Dhabi 1 Air China Beijing-Capital 1 AirAsia Kuala Lumpur 1 Asiana Airlines Seoul-Incheon 1 Bangkok Airways Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi, Koh Samui, Pattaya-U-Tapao 2 Blue Panorama Airlines Milan-Malpensa, Rome-Fiumicino 1 Business Air Busan, Seoul-Incheon 1 China Airlines Taipei-Taoyuan 1 China Eastern Airlines Kunming 1 China Southern Airlines Guangzhou 1 Condor Flugdienst Seasonal: Frankfurt 1 Dragonair Hong Kong 1 Eastar Jet Seoul-Incheon 1 Edelweiss Air Zürich 1 Finnair Seasonal: Helsinki 1 Firefly Penang 1 Hainan Airlines Beijing-Capital, Haikou, Hangzhou, Nanning, Sanya 1 Happy Air Bangkok-Don Mueang, Hat Yai, Hua Hin 2 Indonesia AirAsia Jakarta-Soekarno-Hatta 1 Jetairfly Seasonal: Brussels 1 Jetstar Airways Sydney 1 Jetstar Asia Airways Singapore 1 I-Fly Moscow-Vnukovo, Krasnodar 1 Korean Air Seoul-Incheon 1 Malaysia Airlines Kuala Lumpur 1 Mahan Air Tehran-Imam Khomeini 1 Nok Air Bangkok-Don Mueang 2 Nordwind Airlines Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk, Irkutsk 1 Novair Seasonal charter: Stockholm-Arlanda 1 Orient Thai Airlines Bangkok-Don Mueang 2 Qatar Airways Doha, Kuala Lumpur 1 Rossiya Seasonal: Saint-Petersburg 1 S7 Airlines Irkutsk, Novosibirsk, Khabarovsk, Vladivostok 1 Shanghai Airlines Shanghai-Pudong 1 Sichuan Airlines Chengdu, Chongqing 1 SilkAir Singapore 1 Thai AirAsia Denpasar/Bali, Hong Kong, Singapore 1 Thai AirAsia Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi, Chiang Mai, Ubon Ratchathani, Udon Thani 2 Thai Airways International Hong Kong, Perth, Seoul-Incheon

Seasonal: Copenhagen 1 Thai Airways International Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi, Chiang Mai [ends 1 August 2012] 2 Thai Smile Chiang Mai [begins 1 August 2012] 2 Thomas Cook Airlines Scandinavia Charter: Copenhagen, Gothenburg-Landvetter, Oslo-Gardermoen, Stockholm-Arlanda 1 Tiger Airways Singapore 1 Transaero Airlines Ekaterinburg, Moscow-Domodedovo, Saint-Petersburg

Seasonal: Moscow-Sheremetyevo 1 Travel Service Hungary Seasonal: Budapest, Prague 1 TUIfly Nordic Charter: Bergen, Billund, Copenhagen, Gothenburg-Landvetter, Oslo-Gardermoen, Malmö, Stockholm-Arlanda 1 UTair Aviation Charter: Kazan, Rostov-on-Don, Samara, Ufa, Yekaterinburg 1 Virgin Australia Perth 1 XL Airways France

Seasonal: Paris-Charles De Gaulle

Does that qualify?

But how physically will they expand the airport to boost traffic at HKT given the constraints of the site? Are there any other potential airport sites?

[ginjag]

Just a pity we couldn't get some major carriers to link with Air Asia, (Emirates-Etihad-come to mind) form an alliance with them Air Asia. Between you you will capture a big market at Don M.

[iang]

Thai International & Bangkok Airways must be rubbing their hands with glee at the prospect of losing the only low cost carrier out of Suvarnabhumi! The loss of a significant competitor!

Air Asia are guaranteed to lose pretty much all interconnecting domestic to international & international to domestic traffic - except when changing from Air Asia to another Air Asia flight!

This feeder business is worth millions (and not of Baht!) and the loss of this business could very well offset any financial gains from the lower landing & passenger fees applicable at the old Don Muang. Indeed a significant revenue loss could lead to increased fares with Air Asia and not the savings being promoted.....

Another significant complication is that Air Asia would also require international handling facilities at Don Muang - Immigration officers, customs officers, bonded warehousing etc. Whilst the physical buildings still exist from times past (but in what condition?), at a time when Immigration personnel appear to be under so much pressure & criticism at Suvaranabhumi, can they truly afford to split these already stretched services / resources between two airports?

I used to be a regular flyer with Nok Air, but they lost me when they moved back to Don Muang. Sadly it'll be the same for Air Asia if they make the move too & will result in higher fares with Thai Airways & Bangkok Airways on domestic services out of Suvarnabhumi - in a market with no other real competition.

[OzMick]

Koh Samui is a "genuine" international airport with direct flights to Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong. Is 3 not enough?

Phuket has Airlines Destinations Terminal Aeroflot Seasonal: Moscow-Sheremetyevo 1 Air Berlin Abu Dhabi 1 Air China Beijing-Capital 1 AirAsia Kuala Lumpur 1 Asiana Airlines Seoul-Incheon 1 Bangkok Airways Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi, Koh Samui, Pattaya-U-Tapao 2 Blue Panorama Airlines Milan-Malpensa, Rome-Fiumicino 1 Business Air Busan, Seoul-Incheon 1 China Airlines Taipei-Taoyuan 1 China Eastern Airlines Kunming 1 China Southern Airlines Guangzhou 1 Condor Flugdienst Seasonal: Frankfurt 1 Dragonair Hong Kong 1 Eastar Jet Seoul-Incheon 1 Edelweiss Air Zürich 1 Finnair Seasonal: Helsinki 1 Firefly Penang 1 Hainan Airlines Beijing-Capital, Haikou, Hangzhou, Nanning, Sanya 1 Happy Air Bangkok-Don Mueang, Hat Yai, Hua Hin 2 Indonesia AirAsia Jakarta-Soekarno-Hatta 1 Jetairfly Seasonal: Brussels 1 Jetstar Airways Sydney 1 Jetstar Asia Airways Singapore 1 I-Fly Moscow-Vnukovo, Krasnodar 1 Korean Air Seoul-Incheon 1 Malaysia Airlines Kuala Lumpur 1 Mahan Air Tehran-Imam Khomeini 1 Nok Air Bangkok-Don Mueang 2 Nordwind Airlines Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk, Irkutsk 1 Novair Seasonal charter: Stockholm-Arlanda 1 Orient Thai Airlines Bangkok-Don Mueang 2 Qatar Airways Doha, Kuala Lumpur 1 Rossiya Seasonal: Saint-Petersburg 1 S7 Airlines Irkutsk, Novosibirsk, Khabarovsk, Vladivostok 1 Shanghai Airlines Shanghai-Pudong 1 Sichuan Airlines Chengdu, Chongqing 1 SilkAir Singapore 1 Thai AirAsia Denpasar/Bali, Hong Kong, Singapore 1 Thai AirAsia Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi, Chiang Mai, Ubon Ratchathani, Udon Thani 2 Thai Airways International Hong Kong, Perth, Seoul-Incheon

Seasonal: Copenhagen 1 Thai Airways International Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi, Chiang Mai [ends 1 August 2012] 2 Thai Smile Chiang Mai [begins 1 August 2012] 2 Thomas Cook Airlines Scandinavia Charter: Copenhagen, Gothenburg-Landvetter, Oslo-Gardermoen, Stockholm-Arlanda 1 Tiger Airways Singapore 1 Transaero Airlines Ekaterinburg, Moscow-Domodedovo, Saint-Petersburg

Seasonal: Moscow-Sheremetyevo 1 Travel Service Hungary Seasonal: Budapest, Prague 1 TUIfly Nordic Charter: Bergen, Billund, Copenhagen, Gothenburg-Landvetter, Oslo-Gardermoen, Malmö, Stockholm-Arlanda 1 UTair Aviation Charter: Kazan, Rostov-on-Don, Samara, Ufa, Yekaterinburg 1 Virgin Australia Perth 1 XL Airways France

Seasonal: Paris-Charles De Gaulle

Does that qualify?

But how physically will they expand the airport to boost traffic at HKT given the constraints of the site? Are there any other potential airport sites?

I plead ignorance and apathy - I don't know and I don't care. Surat might not be much, but it is close enough to me and without the extortionate fees charged by Bangkok Air.

[OzMick]

Thai International & Bangkok Airways must be rubbing their hands with glee at the prospect of losing the only low cost carrier out of Suvarnabhumi! The loss of a significant competitor!

Air Asia are guaranteed to lose pretty much all interconnecting domestic to international & international to domestic traffic - except when changing from Air Asia to another Air Asia flight!

This feeder business is worth millions (and not of Baht!) and the loss of this business could very well offset any financial gains from the lower landing & passenger fees applicable at the old Don Muang. Indeed a significant revenue loss could lead to increased fares with Air Asia and not the savings being promoted.....

Another significant complication is that Air Asia would also require international handling facilities at Don Muang - Immigration officers, customs officers, bonded warehousing etc. Whilst the physical buildings still exist from times past (but in what condition?), at a time when Immigration personnel appear to be under so much pressure & criticism at Suvaranabhumi, can they truly afford to split these already stretched services / resources between two airports?

I used to be a regular flyer with Nok Air, but they lost me when they moved back to Don Muang. Sadly it'll be the same for Air Asia if they make the move too & will result in higher fares with Thai Airways & Bangkok Airways on domestic services out of Suvarnabhumi - in a market with no other real competition.

AA is an aggressive and fast growing business.Could be that they are planning Air Asia X long-haul flights direct into DM as well as KUL, and compete with Thai on international as well as domestic routes.

They have done a good job with the LCCT at KL, might be prepared to lay out the dollars at DM as well.

[ratcatcher]

I believe Tony Fernandes is a shrewd businessman, and if he has anything to do with this plan, I am sure all factors have been considered.

If they've been mentioned on TVF, I am sure they've been brought up at HQ in Bangkok or KL.

[ginjag]

Thinking ahead, as another poster mentioned, get amongst them --get International-L.Heathrow. Manchester. Amsterdam. Frankfurt (example). You can kill off Thai to Europe, cheaper flights, newer aircraft......go for it.

[folium]

Having said that Fernandes' deal with Malaysian Airlines has come spectacularly unstick due to union/ political issues. No one's perfect and he bought QPR just to prove the point just before he dropped the KUL- LGW flights!!

Edited June 12, 2012 by folium

[dantilley]

Thai International & Bangkok Airways must be rubbing their hands with glee at the prospect of losing the only low cost carrier out of Suvarnabhumi!

You're forgetting Orient Thai Airlines, they're still at Suvarnabhumi and probably aren't moving back to Don Muang,

[ginjag]

Off topic a little, Who's is that ancient Jumbo at Udon Airport stood at the terminal??? was it a ONE TO GO, or an Orient Thai. will the owner be paying parking fees ??? Maybe it could be repaired at D.M....(it cannot be older than the Thai Airways Jumbo fleet.)

[firestar]

Koh Samui is a "genuine" international airport with direct flights to Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong. Is 3 not enough?

Koh Samui is a privately owned airport who charges extortionate fees to anyone but it's owners Bangkok Airways. It's almost impossible for airlines to increase capacity and stay profitable.

[TheGhostWithin]

The partner has flights booked to Hat Yai in July. The Airasia ticket simply states "Bangkok Airport" - she used to work at Suvarnabhumi, and the staff there know a change is coming but do not know when.

We travel in 3 weeks time, it is a huge hassle that there is no confirmation on the airport, as we want to book a hotel near to the airport and avoid Bangkok. I wonder if Thai Airasia know how much the rumors they are helping to create are costing them? I am sure non-Thais are thinking twice before booking.

Do your sums to most destinations, add 500 baht (the cost of travel in a taxi do DM) to the ticket price - I'm sure you will see only a few hundred baht difference in most cases between Thai Airways and Thai Airasia. This is the administrations way of bolstering domestic support for the national carrier which is backed and funded by the state, at the expense of private business (e.g. Nok Air, and curiously Bangkok Airways which has been declared a discount carrier by little miss Red Riding Hood).

Essentially giving TG an unfair advantage, being the only domestic carrier left at Suvarnabhumi. Nords and Americans won't waste their time traveling across town for a few dollars - only Thais would, as they are more price conscious. Another way to silently extract more money from tourists moving throughout the kingdom, so it seems. It would also double as an attack against Malaysian Airlines, which now consistently rates above Thai for performance, service and quality of travel (and are therefore the preferred full service carrier to TG) - MAS is a large shareholder of Airasia international, which set up Thai Airasia (a different company managed by the same body and sharing the same fleet and staff in some cases).

[TheGhostWithin]

Off topic a little, Who's is that ancient Jumbo at Udon Airport stood at the terminal??? was it a ONE TO GO, or an Orient Thai. will the owner be paying parking fees ??? Maybe it could be repaired at D.M....(it cannot be older than the Thai Airways Jumbo fleet.)

It belongs to, or belonged to, 1-2-Go, I remember seeing it, and seeing it, and seeing it, every year that I return, rusting a little more and a little more. Believe it or not, you could actually once read the logo on the rear dorsal wing.

Surely it could at least be used in training by the army for anti-terrorist activity, the fire department for hazard clean up, or some other constructive use? Oh well, they don't need the old, they have U D Town right? Ick!

[theblether]

Koh Samui is a "genuine" international airport with direct flights to Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong. Is 3 not enough?

Phuket has Airlines Destinations Terminal Aeroflot Seasonal: Moscow-Sheremetyevo 1 Air Berlin Abu Dhabi 1 Air China Beijing-Capital 1 AirAsia Kuala Lumpur 1 Asiana Airlines Seoul-Incheon 1 Bangkok Airways Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi, Koh Samui, Pattaya-U-Tapao 2 Blue Panorama Airlines Milan-Malpensa, Rome-Fiumicino 1 Business Air Busan, Seoul-Incheon 1 China Airlines Taipei-Taoyuan 1 China Eastern Airlines Kunming 1 China Southern Airlines Guangzhou 1 Condor Flugdienst Seasonal: Frankfurt 1 Dragonair Hong Kong 1 Eastar Jet Seoul-Incheon 1 Edelweiss Air Zürich 1 Finnair Seasonal: Helsinki 1 Firefly Penang 1 Hainan Airlines Beijing-Capital, Haikou, Hangzhou, Nanning, Sanya 1 Happy Air Bangkok-Don Mueang, Hat Yai, Hua Hin 2 Indonesia AirAsia Jakarta-Soekarno-Hatta 1 Jetairfly Seasonal: Brussels 1 Jetstar Airways Sydney 1 Jetstar Asia Airways Singapore 1 I-Fly Moscow-Vnukovo, Krasnodar 1 Korean Air Seoul-Incheon 1 Malaysia Airlines Kuala Lumpur 1 Mahan Air Tehran-Imam Khomeini 1 Nok Air Bangkok-Don Mueang 2 Nordwind Airlines Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk, Irkutsk 1 Novair Seasonal charter: Stockholm-Arlanda 1 Orient Thai Airlines Bangkok-Don Mueang 2 Qatar Airways Doha, Kuala Lumpur 1 Rossiya Seasonal: Saint-Petersburg 1 S7 Airlines Irkutsk, Novosibirsk, Khabarovsk, Vladivostok 1 Shanghai Airlines Shanghai-Pudong 1 Sichuan Airlines Chengdu, Chongqing 1 SilkAir Singapore 1 Thai AirAsia Denpasar/Bali, Hong Kong, Singapore 1 Thai AirAsia Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi, Chiang Mai, Ubon Ratchathani, Udon Thani 2 Thai Airways International Hong Kong, Perth, Seoul-Incheon

Seasonal: Copenhagen 1 Thai Airways International Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi, Chiang Mai [ends 1 August 2012] 2 Thai Smile Chiang Mai [begins 1 August 2012] 2 Thomas Cook Airlines Scandinavia Charter: Copenhagen, Gothenburg-Landvetter, Oslo-Gardermoen, Stockholm-Arlanda 1 Tiger Airways Singapore 1 Transaero Airlines Ekaterinburg, Moscow-Domodedovo, Saint-Petersburg

Seasonal: Moscow-Sheremetyevo 1 Travel Service Hungary Seasonal: Budapest, Prague 1 TUIfly Nordic Charter: Bergen, Billund, Copenhagen, Gothenburg-Landvetter, Oslo-Gardermoen, Malmö, Stockholm-Arlanda 1 UTair Aviation Charter: Kazan, Rostov-on-Don, Samara, Ufa, Yekaterinburg 1 Virgin Australia Perth 1 XL Airways France

Seasonal: Paris-Charles De Gaulle

Does that qualify?

Ozmick, No re Koh Samui, barely re Phuket, secondary hubs in the UK do more than that in a day than you are putting forward in a year, and eh, what do you do for a living? That was some answer you posted.

[OzMick]

Ozmick, No re Koh Samui, barely re Phuket, secondary hubs in the UK do more than that in a day than you are putting forward in a year, and eh, what do you do for a living? That was some answer you posted.

Medically Early - Retired. Easy as typing Phuket airport in google and opening wiki.

[mozzieslapper]

Thai Airways owned, new Thai Low Cost Carrier, Thai Smile, let me guess, operating out of Swampy

[simon43]

But how physically will they expand the airport to boost traffic at HKT given the constraints of the site? Are there any other potential airport sites

The government has already made the funds available for the construction of a new international terminal at Phuket. This will be built on the land currently used (actually not used!) as the second airport car park, just south of the main car park and north of the radio towers.

The new terminal will feature a flyover entrance from the airport road up to the departures floor, and in anticipation of this, the PTT petrol station opposite the existing terminal has been demolished, (which actually means the nearest petrol station for the airport is currently about 5km away... grrrr)

The land for the runway extension has already been prepared at the eastern end, where it now stops only about 100 metres from the main road. The previous low land was filled late last year

Right now, road crews are installing flood drains either side of the old airport road, (the road that runs directly by the runway)

Of course, I merely point out these developments that I noticed when driving past the area... I have no commercial interest in the airport expansion/more passengers...

Simon

[spacemand]

I-ve flown with AirAsia about 40 times without problem, if they move to Don Mueng they lose my business. There's no way I will be flying in from Swampy then traveling across to DM to get a domestic flight.

Too much aggravation. No thanks.

Same for me I fly 4-5 times a year outside Thailand and 90% of the time use AirAsia because they fit best with arrivaly/depature in Swampy. With Thai I have to wait 2-3 hours more in Swampy but rather that than going cross town.

Thai is only a few hundred baht more than Air Asia when you calculate all the fees so no big deal.

Correct, and not having to face dragging your case down to the taxi rank, getting a surly Somchai, then sweating about getting across the traffic to catch your connecting flight.

Really, no thanks. Thai Airways will sweep up, maybe that's the plan!!

I think Thai is hoping for this because a lot of the domestic passengers connecting in BKK will switch to them to avoid a cross city travel even with free air con airport busses its to long a trip to save a few baht.

If AA moves to DM Thai will be the winner.

Go to Swampy at 5am and look at the departures AA have at least double the amount of domestic flights compared to Thai. AA is crushing Thai on the domestic market only place Thai have the upper hand are on intercontinental flights.

[spacemand]

Thai International & Bangkok Airways must be rubbing their hands with glee at the prospect of losing the only low cost carrier out of Suvarnabhumi! The loss of a significant competitor!

Air Asia are guaranteed to lose pretty much all interconnecting domestic to international & international to domestic traffic - except when changing from Air Asia to another Air Asia flight!

This feeder business is worth millions (and not of Baht!) and the loss of this business could very well offset any financial gains from the lower landing & passenger fees applicable at the old Don Muang. Indeed a significant revenue loss could lead to increased fares with Air Asia and not the savings being promoted.....

Another significant complication is that Air Asia would also require international handling facilities at Don Muang - Immigration officers, customs officers, bonded warehousing etc. Whilst the physical buildings still exist from times past (but in what condition?), at a time when Immigration personnel appear to be under so much pressure & criticism at Suvaranabhumi, can they truly afford to split these already stretched services / resources between two airports?

I used to be a regular flyer with Nok Air, but they lost me when they moved back to Don Muang. Sadly it'll be the same for Air Asia if they make the move too & will result in higher fares with Thai Airways & Bangkok Airways on domestic services out of Suvarnabhumi - in a market with no other real competition.

AA is an aggressive and fast growing business.Could be that they are planning Air Asia X long-haul flights direct into DM as well as KUL, and compete with Thai on international as well as domestic routes.

They have done a good job with the LCCT at KL, might be prepared to lay out the dollars at DM as well.

AA tried long haul and failed, not the same money in it as with short haul, its a whole different business.

[OzMick]

AA tried long haul and failed, not the same money in it as with short haul, its a whole different business.

Not sure whether the problem was the airline or the economy of the countries they were flying to. Expanding in oz, now in SYD.

MEL-KUL is 9.5 hrs.

[sandrabbit]

Expand U-Tapoa, got a long runway & easy access to major roads plus could be used the same as Heathrow & Gatwick with transit passengers bus'd between airports as it's close to BKK. Also close to where I live, hmm. Don is wrong side of Bangkok for me so Air Asia would never be used again, just wish Bangkok Airways would expand out of U-T as it has Pattaya as a close neighbour and the industry of Rayong.

[sfbandung]

The sooner the better. Air Asia clogs up the airport. BKK is better put to use by the full service airlines that need the baggage facilities, and that would benefit from efficient landing and departure slots. I do not deny that the LCC meet a need and provide a valuable service to some travelers. However, it is more important if the big planes are not subjected to the congestion caused by carriers like Air Asia. PG and TG can take care of the pax in transit. The cost savings offered by a Air Asia to pax transiting has never been there once all the additional fees and hidden costs were added up so a move shouldn't cause airfares to jump.

By all means get those low cost peasants out of the way, so that the IMPORTANT people are not inconvenienced.

Your casual dismissal of AA flies in the face of the economic facts - it is succeeding like few other businesses in the region. Fares are significantly lower even with the costs beyond their control, and for those wishing to make bookings well in advance, the difference can be spectacular.

In my own case, I used promo sales to book Gold Coast - KUL - Surat - KUL - Gold Coast for around B10,000. If I had not chosen to have the best seats on all 4 flights, that could have very close to B7000.

As an alternative, I could have flown to BKK with Bangkok Air, only B9000 return. Then flown Thai to Bribane return for only another B40,000.

We did this once. And we saved a load as you point out.

However, our original point of origin was Port Moresby so we had to fly into Brisbane. Then commute to Gold Coast and stay in a hotel overnight. That was all good and the AA flight was ok, brand new plane. Packed but freezing cold for some reason. Perhaps to sell "comfort packs", the only way to get a blanket. They should be called a survival kit. 45 kg Thai missus nearly froze to death. After buying two comfort packs.

Arrive LCC terminal KUL. Now that is truly a crap airport to transit at. We had to overnight anyway as no connection to BKK same day. Next day massive queue to the KUL BKK flight. One check in counter. Short hop to BKK all good. It was a pleasure to arrive at Swampy.

Return. Check in for AA at BKK a nightmare. Nowhere near enough staff, 1 hour in the check in queue. Back to KUL. Another nightmare check in queue, another hour lined up with all the associated aggro, turds jumping the queue etc. About a 3 hour wait in the scungy, alcohol free terminal. Then head to the boarding area past the, "There are no toilets past this point" sign. What's that? Then jamming into the buses to get to the plane. Arrive early morning at Cooloongatta, along with another 3 large planes. An hour and a half to get our luggage. One carousel clearly designed for smaller domestic aircraft.

Never again. We use them on domestic (BKK UTH) flights occasionally because they have a late flight. And at Udon there is rarely a queue.

And let's not talk about their website. Slow. And the default is always for buying the insurance. You have to cancel it twice, it must be lucrative for them. Add all the fees, even without picking a "premium" seat, luggage etc and the crap service at check in and I'll pay the difference. I'm not important I just couldn't bear to do it again.

They have their place for sure, mostly for really budget conscious holidaymakers. KUL Phuket may have been better but that budget terminal is just depressing.

Sorry for long post...

[Ricardo]

AA tried long haul and failed, not the same money in it as with short haul, its a whole different business.

Not sure whether the problem was the airline or the economy of the countries they were flying to. Expanding in oz, now in SYD.

MEL-KUL is 9.5 hrs.

IMO it's not the airline or the destination-country, but the model itself, which works very-well-indeed for short-haul by cutting turn-round times and focusing intensely on direct-costs such as baggage-handling fees or catering-costs or efficient use of flight/cabin-crew. This squeezes more flying-hours, which earn the airline its profits, and eliminates charges except where the passenger is willing to pay the extra.

It's truly impressive that Air Asia can turn an A320 round in just 25 minutes, and are racing for the runway, to get back in the air again ! In the European holiday-charter airlines we used to aim for 30-45 minutes, which beat the legacy-carriers taking a leisurely hour-plus. We packed more seats into the same airframe, fed a more-basic free-meal, and got load-factors of up-to 90%. But the new LCCs can do even better !

When you come to long-haul, the aircraft are already generating more flying-hours per-day, operating on longer sectors. There are fewer turnrounds on which time can be saved. And long-haul passengers find it less-easy to avoid taking hold-baggage, or eating/drinking during their flight, you definitely must refuel the plane & empty the honey-tanks & clear/reload meal-trolleys after every landing, no option to just straighten the seat-belts & rush the new self-loading cargo onboard !

So while the US/European low-cost short-haul model works equally-well here in Asia, the attempt to find a new low-service long-haul version is challenged by slowly-increasing levels of efficiency at legacy-carriers, and the (IMO likely to win in-the-end) highly-efficient hub-and-spoke operations being built by the Gulf-based newbies. The history of low-cost airlines across the Atlantic is similarly littered with brave/failed-attempts like Sky-Train or People-Express.

The recent increase in ADT in the UK can't have helped AAX to make enough profit either, they've simply realised that there are plenty of other routes for their (small but growing) fleet of longer-haul planes, closer to home. And switched out of routes to London & Brussels, with relatively little warning to people who'd already booked, part of the risk one takes in buying a cheaper ticket with a less-established airline like AAX.

[OzMick]

The sooner the better. Air Asia clogs up the airport. BKK is better put to use by the full service airlines that need the baggage facilities, and that would benefit from efficient landing and departure slots. I do not deny that the LCC meet a need and provide a valuable service to some travelers. However, it is more important if the big planes are not subjected to the congestion caused by carriers like Air Asia. PG and TG can take care of the pax in transit. The cost savings offered by a Air Asia to pax transiting has never been there once all the additional fees and hidden costs were added up so a move shouldn't cause airfares to jump.

By all means get those low cost peasants out of the way, so that the IMPORTANT people are not inconvenienced.

Your casual dismissal of AA flies in the face of the economic facts - it is succeeding like few other businesses in the region. Fares are significantly lower even with the costs beyond their control, and for those wishing to make bookings well in advance, the difference can be spectacular.

In my own case, I used promo sales to book Gold Coast - KUL - Surat - KUL - Gold Coast for around B10,000. If I had not chosen to have the best seats on all 4 flights, that could have very close to B7000.

As an alternative, I could have flown to BKK with Bangkok Air, only B9000 return. Then flown Thai to Bribane return for only another B40,000.

We did this once. And we saved a load as you point out.

However, our original point of origin was Port Moresby so we had to fly into Brisbane. Then commute to Gold Coast and stay in a hotel overnight. That was all good and the AA flight was ok, brand new plane. Packed but freezing cold for some reason. Perhaps to sell "comfort packs", the only way to get a blanket. They should be called a survival kit. 45 kg Thai missus nearly froze to death. After buying two comfort packs.

Arrive LCC terminal KUL. Now that is truly a crap airport to transit at. We had to overnight anyway as no connection to BKK same day. Next day massive queue to the KUL BKK flight. One check in counter. Short hop to BKK all good. It was a pleasure to arrive at Swampy.

Return. Check in for AA at BKK a nightmare. Nowhere near enough staff, 1 hour in the check in queue. Back to KUL. Another nightmare check in queue, another hour lined up with all the associated aggro, turds jumping the queue etc. About a 3 hour wait in the scungy, alcohol free terminal. Then head to the boarding area past the, "There are no toilets past this point" sign. What's that? Then jamming into the buses to get to the plane. Arrive early morning at Cooloongatta, along with another 3 large planes. An hour and a half to get our luggage. One carousel clearly designed for smaller domestic aircraft.

Never again. We use them on domestic (BKK UTH) flights occasionally because they have a late flight. And at Udon there is rarely a queue.

And let's not talk about their website. Slow. And the default is always for buying the insurance. You have to cancel it twice, it must be lucrative for them. Add all the fees, even without picking a "premium" seat, luggage etc and the crap service at check in and I'll pay the difference. I'm not important I just couldn't bear to do it again.

They have their place for sure, mostly for really budget conscious holidaymakers. KUL Phuket may have been better but that budget terminal is just depressing.

Sorry for long post...

I take it this adventure was a few years back. Temp problem has been fixed, though I still carry on a light jumper on board.

Check in no longer a major problem, with most using free-standing computer consoles/printers for boarding pass. You still have to queue, but time spent at counter reduced by at least half.

LCCT at KUL has improved out of sight. Bar, duty free shops and free wi-fi and charging stations. Even installed a thermostat.

There are also flights leaving GC at ~21:00 a few days/week, and only wed/thu lines up with Surat flights (so far). I am going to try Surat as a departure later this year, arrival was slow with what looked like a temporary immigration set-up.

Earlier this year was offered "free" very much advance-purchase flights, only pay taxes. Surat -BKK for B320 - the bus/ferry to the airport costs B350.

[sfbandung]

The sooner the better. Air Asia clogs up the airport. BKK is better put to use by the full service airlines that need the baggage facilities, and that would benefit from efficient landing and departure slots. I do not deny that the LCC meet a need and provide a valuable service to some travelers. However, it is more important if the big planes are not subjected to the congestion caused by carriers like Air Asia. PG and TG can take care of the pax in transit. The cost savings offered by a Air Asia to pax transiting has never been there once all the additional fees and hidden costs were added up so a move shouldn't cause airfares to jump.

By all means get those low cost peasants out of the way, so that the IMPORTANT people are not inconvenienced.

Your casual dismissal of AA flies in the face of the economic facts - it is succeeding like few other businesses in the region. Fares are significantly lower even with the costs beyond their control, and for those wishing to make bookings well in advance, the difference can be spectacular.

In my own case, I used promo sales to book Gold Coast - KUL - Surat - KUL - Gold Coast for around B10,000. If I had not chosen to have the best seats on all 4 flights, that could have very close to B7000.

As an alternative, I could have flown to BKK with Bangkok Air, only B9000 return. Then flown Thai to Bribane return for only another B40,000.

We did this once. And we saved a load as you point out.

However, our original point of origin was Port Moresby so we had to fly into Brisbane. Then commute to Gold Coast and stay in a hotel overnight. That was all good and the AA flight was ok, brand new plane. Packed but freezing cold for some reason. Perhaps to sell "comfort packs", the only way to get a blanket. They should be called a survival kit. 45 kg Thai missus nearly froze to death. After buying two comfort packs.

Arrive LCC terminal KUL. Now that is truly a crap airport to transit at. We had to overnight anyway as no connection to BKK same day. Next day massive queue to the KUL BKK flight. One check in counter. Short hop to BKK all good. It was a pleasure to arrive at Swampy.

Return. Check in for AA at BKK a nightmare. Nowhere near enough staff, 1 hour in the check in queue. Back to KUL. Another nightmare check in queue, another hour lined up with all the associated aggro, turds jumping the queue etc. About a 3 hour wait in the scungy, alcohol free terminal. Then head to the boarding area past the, "There are no toilets past this point" sign. What's that? Then jamming into the buses to get to the plane. Arrive early morning at Cooloongatta, along with another 3 large planes. An hour and a half to get our luggage. One carousel clearly designed for smaller domestic aircraft.

Never again. We use them on domestic (BKK UTH) flights occasionally because they have a late flight. And at Udon there is rarely a queue.

And let's not talk about their website. Slow. And the default is always for buying the insurance. You have to cancel it twice, it must be lucrative for them. Add all the fees, even without picking a "premium" seat, luggage etc and the crap service at check in and I'll pay the difference. I'm not important I just couldn't bear to do it again.

They have their place for sure, mostly for really budget conscious holidaymakers. KUL Phuket may have been better but that budget terminal is just depressing.

Sorry for long post...

I take it this adventure was a few years back. Temp problem has been fixed, though I still carry on a light jumper on board.

Check in no longer a major problem, with most using free-standing computer consoles/printers for boarding pass. You still have to queue, but time spent at counter reduced by at least half.

LCCT at KUL has improved out of sight. Bar, duty free shops and free wi-fi and charging stations. Even installed a thermostat.

There are also flights leaving GC at ~21:00 a few days/week, and only wed/thu lines up with Surat flights (so far). I am going to try Surat as a departure later this year, arrival was slow with what looked like a temporary immigration set-up.

Earlier this year was offered "free" very much advance-purchase flights, only pay taxes. Surat -BKK for B320 - the bus/ferry to the airport costs B350.

Thanks Mick, it was 3 years ago. My cousin lives in KL and said the LCCT has improved. I get AA's promo emails and they had specials again recently. Out of GC at 9pm means after an overnighter we'd have a few hours layover then we'd make Udon Thani same day. If KL LCCT has improved I might be tempted ...

[folium]

Thanks Mick, it was 3 years ago. My cousin lives in KL and said the LCCT has improved. I get AA's promo emails and they had specials again recently. Out of GC at 9pm means after an overnighter we'd have a few hours layover then we'd make Udon Thani same day. If KL LCCT has improved I might be tempted ...

LCCT is a converted cargo shed (built to take 10million pax pa, now running at about 18million) and is due to be replaced by a dedicated LCCT(KLIA2) at some stage (March 2013 seems to be a popular date but it has slipped a few times already. AA is still haggling over charges etc and has faced political issues as Air Asia X becomes a greater threat to MAS.

Personally I am a huge fan of AA and have just hit my half century of flights over the past 2 years.

LCCT can be a bit of a scrum first thing in the morning as the initial bank of flights departs, but overall it has improved considerably in the past 2 years alone, but it is still a converted cargo shed.

Have a series of flights with AA in the next few days, including my first taste of Air Asia X (KUL-OOL for $94!!). Will let you know if there are any dramas.

[sfbandung]

Thanks Mick, it was 3 years ago. My cousin lives in KL and said the LCCT has improved. I get AA's promo emails and they had specials again recently. Out of GC at 9pm means after an overnighter we'd have a few hours layover then we'd make Udon Thani same day. If KL LCCT has improved I might be tempted ...

LCCT is a converted cargo shed (built to take 10million pax pa, now running at about 18million) and is due to be replaced by a dedicated LCCT(KLIA2) at some stage (March 2013 seems to be a popular date but it has slipped a few times already. AA is still haggling over charges etc and has faced political issues as Air Asia X becomes a greater threat to MAS.

Personally I am a huge fan of AA and have just hit my half century of flights over the past 2 years.

LCCT can be a bit of a scrum first thing in the morning as the initial bank of flights departs, but overall it has improved considerably in the past 2 years alone, but it is still a converted cargo shed.

Have a series of flights with AA in the next few days, including my first taste of Air Asia X (KUL-OOL for $94!!). Will let you know if there are any dramas.

Thanks. Let me know how you go with baggage collection. That was our drama on return to OOL.

[Gary A]

Changing airports would be another reason for me to use Air Asia. I much prefer Don Muang. Nok Air already uses the old airport. When Leaving the country, I seldom can get a timely connecting flight anyways. I usually stay in Bangkok one night to avoid any scheduling problems.

[PattayaParent]

I-ve flown with AirAsia about 40 times without problem, if they move to Don Mueng they lose my business. There's no way I will be flying in from Swampy then traveling across to DM to get a domestic flight.

Too much aggravation. No thanks.

They don't do domestic flights to Pattaya so no problems for me.

I hope they'll re-open the BrewHouse in DM!