Low Cost Airlines And Domestic Flights To Move To Don Mueang Airport

[marquis22]

Will Thai Air domestic flights also move to Don Mueang? Or, is this a way to help Thai Air compete against the likes of Air Asia by moving them to DM and making it more difficult for connecting flights? Exactly which airlines are moving? My wish is for all domestic flights to move to DM - would make my life easier flying in-country.

I would think that Thai Air would stay at the International Airport just as they did in the initial time.Airlines like Nok Air were operating out of DM.Hopefully Air Asia, Tiger and Jetstar will be operating out of DM as a result of this.

Not happy if Jetstar move to DM. A long way to Ramkhamhaeng as I am now used to a 15 min ride on the airport link train from Swampy to Ramkhamhaeng station.

[bangon04]

This decision was evident from the beginning, anybody with a brain already knew that it would happen.

Seem to remember this was Thaksin's idea and just coincidentally it will give Air Asia more control of DM

[BarryM]

The biggest loser will be TG. The biggest gainers Malaysian and Singapore Airlines.

A big chunk of TG revenue into Bkk is low cost transiting passengers who will find it more convenient to tf from klia to Kllcc or simply tf at changi onto regional connections

[KED]

I live at Krung Thon Buri and when I go to Swampy, I always take the airport link when possible. For early flights that leave before 0700 then Don Meaung or Swampy doesn't matter. However, during the day - I would pay up to 500-600 baht to fly from Swampy because I can avoid traffic by taking the airport link.

[BarryM]

Of course the idea of tourists visiting Langkawi, Penang, Hanoi, siem reap et al will be lost on Thais as we all know that tourists flock to Thailand and only grudgingly visit other se Asian destinations to fill in time

[robanywhere]

I have always preferred DMK over BKK... I can arrive at Don Muang 10 min before the flight and still make it on the plane. Coming home on arrival, I can be in my house in about 35 min after touchdown. At BKK, I'd still be waiting for my bag to come out of the horrible mess they call a baggage claim.

BTW, it will also make the flights cheaper. I was paying an extra 100 baht surcharge when Thai Orient moved to BKK, and I'm sure the airlines also pay AOT a lot more for gates at BKK. than DMK.

As far as inter-airport transport goes, I remember Thai Air do a fairly good job of checking ppl in at the Ladprao Metro station and taking them by bus directly to Don Muang, when Thai still had a few domestic flights operating from DMK. I think the inter-airport solution will happen, either on a per-airline basis or as an AOT initiative.

[IsaanUSA]

Which 14 airlines will be at DM airport? I can barely even name 14 airlines.

I love all the complainers here. Personally this will have nearly zero effect on me. As an American, my flights into Thailand land around midnight and require me to stay at a hotel if I want to continue on domestically. My flights out of Thailand depart so early that I have to stay at a hotel the night before anyways. So it basically has no effect on me (maybe 1 in 20 times).

Don't forget Phuket and Chiang Mai have international flights that do not connect through Bangkok. So you can skip Bangkok all together.

[robanywhere]

Of course the big beneficiaries in all this are the shuttle companies, gypsy taxis, and outlaw taxi mafia, who will be shuttling passengers between the two airports for twice the meter rate...

Edited June 19, 2012 by robanywhere

[robanywhere]

Don't forget Phuket and Chiang Mai have international flights that do not connect through Bangkok. So you can skip Bangkok all together.

And Air Asia has a stated goal to develop its major international hubs at Phuket and Chiang Mai, so the Don Muang move will have little effect on their own inernational regional connections...

[Kripe]

Look at the voting 22 v 65 at the moment - and then please provide just one good reason having domestic in one airport and international in another - beside the personal preferences.

[starkey_rich]

This will be a transfer nightmare in BKK for most travelers.

I am able to leave Chiang Mai at 2100 to catch a flight to Europe at midnight, if moved to DMK I'll have to add luggage collection, traffic jam, check in and would have to leave CNX in the afternoon.

I wonder if people are thinking before they propose changes.

One positive thing for Thailand though:

A few hundred jobs and additionlal income related to the transfer.

Also another few hundred opportunities to rip off and scam travelers.

[EvilDrSomkid]

Transport won't be a problem. They'll start the flights between the airports again.

THAI Begins Flights From Don Muang To Suvarnabhumi

BANGKOK – Thai Airways today announced the launch of service between Bangkok’s Don Muang Airport and Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport. Beginning April 30, passengers can fly six times daily from one side of Bangkok to the other in under an hour.

http://notthenation....o-suvarnabhumi/

Or you can just take this route by taxi/car: https://maps.google....=1,0&sz=15&z=11

45minutes on the nr.7, then the Don Muang expressway

Edited June 19, 2012 by EvilDrSomkid

[IsaanUSA]

Look at the voting 22 v 65 at the moment - and then please provide just one good reason having domestic in one airport and international in another - beside the personal preferences.

How about the best reason of them all? To reduce congestion at Suvarnabhumi.

Hopefully enough traffic is moved to Don Mueang so that the arriving airplanes can park at the jetways and we don't have to ride those silly busses to the terminal anymore.

I mean come on. You guys complain every single day about how terrible "swampy" is and then when the cabinet votes to move traffic over to DM you guys have an even bigger hissy fit. There's no pleasing you guys at all. Unbelievable.

[SantiSuk]

So does that mean lower cost flights if the airlines are getting incentives.

Somehow I do not think so.

Brilliant that has just added an extra 3 hours to my traveling time when I fly from Phuket to the UK or NZ

'Incentives', in Thailand means more JW black and free nookie for the local execs; customers see nowt.

[lonewolf99]

Waiting for U-tapao to be redeveloped for charter airlines: common sense may finally prevail, but the Navy will want a cut of the action, along with Air Force at DM

It is already used by charter airlines - SCAT airlines from Kazakhstan and other ex soviet locations - Vladivostoc is another location that has charter flights to here.... Yinluk S has been in Pattaya over the last couple of days and there are plans afoot to expand this former U.S. base that helped in the carpet bombing of the neighbours to the North and East.......

[blazes]

The worst is coming. What a bad decision. Time to sale my house, move definitively to Chiang Mai and never come back to BKK.

Let me assure you, before you wax too lyrical, that CM, already heavily congested, will soon have traffic every bit as gridlocked as BKK. Welcome to Pollution City.

[RichardinBKK]

All kidding aside, please explain what this all means. Here is a normal day for me. Wake up in BKK, fly to Hong Kong, fly back, connect to a domestic flight, return to BKK.

Does this mean I need to leave Suvarnabhumi Airport and find my way to Don Mueang International Airport to go domestic?

I think (hope) I am getting that Thai will operate both domestic and international from Suvarnabhumi? If so, probelm solved.

Again, sorry to be so dim, but either this is so incomprehensibly stupid, or i am missing the basic point. Please help.

[brianP]

Good,maybe the wife's family can get their jobs back from 8 years ago at DM. Give my pocketbook a rest.

[blazes]

This will be a transfer nightmare in BKK for most travelers.

I am able to leave Chiang Mai at 2100 to catch a flight to Europe at midnight, if moved to DMK I'll have to add luggage collection, traffic jam, check in and would have to leave CNX in the afternoon.

I wonder if people are thinking before they propose changes.

One positive thing for Thailand though:

A few hundred jobs and additionlal income related to the transfer.

What nonsense this is. The solution is easy: just stop using cheapo airlines. What you save by not flying CNX-BKK is about the price of a cup of coffee in Paris.

[ginjag]

The poll says it all, It's a NO NO. Just proves what sums the government are capable of. If most passengers are from Asia, thats what TAT are telling us, then all asian International flights -Swampy---Western international D. Mueang. domestic mix between the two or a.n. other. Survey international flights for the Eastern seaboard, Pattaya Rayong Samet etc-U Tapao. The Russians know what to do--their flights/charter are in at Sattahip/U.Tapao-for Jomptien-Pattaya-thats the way to do it. All in all I can see some hidden sinister motive in this decision, as it;s against what WE WOULD DO if we were in charge. Ha Ha. but when does Thailand favour whats good for all---No sure--only the 20%.

[Kripe]

Look at the voting 22 v 65 at the moment - and then please provide just one good reason having domestic in one airport and international in another - beside the personal preferences.

How about the best reason of them all? To reduce congestion at Suvarnabhumi.

Hopefully enough traffic is moved to Don Mueang so that the arriving airplanes can park at the jetways and we don't have to ride those silly busses to the terminal anymore.

I mean come on. You guys complain every single day about how terrible "swampy" is and then when the cabinet votes to move traffic over to DM you guys have an even bigger hissy fit. There's no pleasing you guys at all. Unbelievable.

To avoid congestion you should move airlines operating ONLY domestic to DMK, and then airlines that want to operate out of DMK - but you should not split internatiol and domestic between two airports.

If you fly into Thailand on TG you are likely to continue on TG or their partners - if you fly in on PG most travelers will continue domestic on PG or their partners etc.

If Thai was to move their flights to DMK they should move both INT and DOM flights NOT only DOM.

First step to avoid congestion in BKK is however to have both runways operational for both IFR and VFR and at full runway length.

[almavro]

This is a windfall for certain international airlines flying into SIN/KUL. By now, I assume Air Asia has tied up the KUL or SIN runs to CNX, KKC, UTH, and UBP, among others. If I am flying in from Europe heading to KKC, I will now look for an airline that flies to KUL and connect by walking across the concourse directly to a flight to Khon Kaen. Otherwise, I would have to fly to BKK, then get my bags and my bod over to DM (a major hassle as we all know) to catch a KKC flight. Much more convenient just to switch gates and connect directly in KUL.

Which takes more pressure off of Swampy, to be sure!

[joboss]

Nice one, Don Juan just down the road for me, no

need to endure the big airport experience just

to catch a local flight.

Anyone else here got a big affection for the Don,

happy mongering days and lots of never forget

you goodbyes......what were their names now.

Happiness is a empty sack.. a soft kiss is a sweet antidote for an empty wallet.

[Kripe]

This will be a transfer nightmare in BKK for most travelers.

I am able to leave Chiang Mai at 2100 to catch a flight to Europe at midnight, if moved to DMK I'll have to add luggage collection, traffic jam, check in and would have to leave CNX in the afternoon.

I wonder if people are thinking before they propose changes.

One positive thing for Thailand though:

A few hundred jobs and additionlal income related to the transfer.

What nonsense this is. The solution is easy: just stop using cheapo airlines. What you save by not flying CNX-BKK is about the price of a cup of coffee in Paris.

Not nonsense - I always fly TG, because I don't want all the hassle with excess baggage and check in fees etc. However the headline state:

Low cost airlines AND AND AND domestic flights to move to DMK

TG operate at a resonable cost, the rest is either too cheap and will be broke sooner or later, or their maintenance is at minimum requred or they pay their staff too little or a combination of those things.

[IsaanUSA]

The original post is so generic in nature and knowing how big government decisions usually turn out in Thailand, I would safely bet that not much will actually happen. I highly doubt 14 airlines will move "their base" to DM. Seriously, can they just give us a list of 8 or 10 of those 14?

I believe this is the third time that the "move low cost carriers to DM" decision has been made, however this is the first one from the cabinet. I haven't been to DM lately, but has anything actually changed in the last couple of months?

For the record, I would be happy if Air Asia moved their entire operation to DM.

Edited June 19, 2012 by IsaanUSA

[notime]

When will you wingers realise that this country doesn't make her policies for the convenience of few Farang? To Thais who live here it's not going to make much difference. When they fly to visit family or on a business trip to Chiang Mai, Udon Thani or Suratthani they are going to go to Don Muang. When they go on international excursion or when their kids leave for an overseas study they are going to go to Suvarnabhumi. No big deal. Of course those Farang who need to change flights from international to domestic or vice versa are going to be inconvenienced. But nobody cares about them here. If they have to spend extra money for transportation between airports or for an overnight stay it's good for the local economy. They still are going to come no matter how many airports they will need to use. Look at London. It has about 5 airports and where are the complains about the distance between them, the loss of travel time, the cost of connecting? So, why Bangkok cannot have two? Yes, it would be easier to have just one big hub airport for all flights. Yes, they probably screwed up the design of SB if it's too small just few years after opening but having the old airport sitting there, gathering dust doesn't look like a bright idea to me either.

[IsaanUSA]

100% agreed notime

[whybother]

Transport won't be a problem. They'll start the flights between the airports again.

THAI Begins Flights From Don Muang To Suvarnabhumi

BANGKOK – Thai Airways today announced the launch of service between Bangkok’s Don Muang Airport and Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport. Beginning April 30, passengers can fly six times daily from one side of Bangkok to the other in under an hour.

http://notthenation....o-suvarnabhumi/

Or you can just take this route by taxi/car: https://maps.google....=1,0&sz=15&z=11

45minutes on the nr.7, then the Don Muang expressway

IF it's NOT peak hour and IF it's NOT raining.

[blazes]

This is a windfall for certain international airlines flying into SIN/KUL. By now, I assume Air Asia has tied up the KUL or SIN runs to CNX, KKC, UTH, and UBP, among others. If I am flying in from Europe heading to KKC, I will now look for an airline that flies to KUL and connect by walking across the concourse directly to a flight to Khon Kaen. Otherwise, I would have to fly to BKK, then get my bags and my bod over to DM (a major hassle as we all know) to catch a KKC flight. Much more convenient just to switch gates and connect directly in KUL.

Which takes more pressure off of Swampy, to be sure!

What kind of fantasy routing is this? You "assume" that Air Asia has tied up this and that, but I can't imagine that there'd be enough traffic for a daily flight, non-stop, from KUL to KKC. (I just looked up Air Asia, and they do not even have KKC as a destination for domestic flights, let alone international.)

But by all means change at KUL if that fulfils your fantasy....

[pomchop]

not all that different then flying into laguardia or newark and having to go to JFK...pain in the butt but it has been going on for a long long time and people adjust because they have to...

for strictly domestic trave DMt is likely less congested and less overall hassle for most...

no matter what they do it will never ever please everyone.