AirAsia Will Move To Don Mueang On Oct 1

[IsaanUSA]

Great news!

[marstons]

Well AA may relocate to DM but i will not be going with them, from Pattaya it takes me an hour to get parked up in swampy, no way having th ehassle of going to DM. Bad enough getting to Impact Arena near Dm with no luggage.

i thought DM area was allowed to flood so as to save the area around swamppy flooding as part of the "control" planning. More tears from Yingluck, decisions desions swamppy or DM flooded or more likley both.

[NamKangMan]

I've actually emailed them via their "feedback- contact us" link and was highly critical of this decision.

Any advantage they had over Thai Airways is now lost. Most tourist flying in on their national carrier and then flying domestic with AirAsia to their holiday destination, will now just fly with Thai Airaways. I find it a very strange business decision and can only see a decline in their profits.

Even if they pass on their lower operating costs to the consumer, in the form of cheaper flights, you have the cost of transport and the time in traffic to go from one airport to the other which would negate any savings to fly with AirAsia. Many people may now also have to stay a night in a Bangkok hotel in order to get their connecting flight.

I would encourage others to also email their disapproval to them.

[OzMick]

There are 2 SRT stations (Makkasan and Petchaburi) on the Eastern line within a few hundred metres of Makkasan air rail station. How difficult would it be to organise a rail car shuttle from DM to one of the 2, and a linking bus?

The option is there at the moment, but it would involve a train change at Hualamphong.

[hellodolly]

The champagne most be flowing at Thai Airways headquarters today they just got back a lot of business they lost to AA.

I usually fly AA because it saves me a few hours at BKK connecting to my domestic flight, from here on out I am only flying Thai when you count all the fees and all Thai is not that more expensive and adding transport cost and time between DMK and BKK and I am guessing I am not the only one not wanting to go cross town.

Plus if you want to just forward your baggage AA will not do that. There is also Bangkok air still at swampy. A little cheaper than Thai and they will forward your luggage. I believe that many International travelers pay a lot of extra baht just for the luggage that is over 15 kilos. I know that when I fly back to the states with Thai air or Bangkok air to Bangkok they do not question my luggage weight as long as it is OK for Eva air.I also get servic on them as compared to buying a bottle of water. (cheap shot)

[pomchop]

Great news!

I also like it. I only fly air asia domestically with no flight connections so it works just fine for me. I am happy to avoid swampy congestion, circling around delays, etc. I remember very well when DM shut down and everything moved to swampy there were tons of people on thai visa that threatened to never use swampy.

If they landed on sukhumvit and carried passengers for free some would complain. My guess is that most of their customers will be just fine with DM. Love them or hate them they seem to be doing just fine financially and love them or hate them they do allow a LOT of people to be able to afford to fly. For those that hate air asia there are always buses or other airlines happy to take your baht.

[IsaanUSA]

Exactly. Nobody is being forced to use AirAsia. As far as I could tell THAI or Bangkok Airways fly to every airport in Thailand. So everybody here does have a choice whether to fly AirAsia or not.

I do very much remember when Suvarnabhumi first opened and everybody was upset that Don Mueang was closing.

Plus with the 10%-30% discounts that AoT is giving AirAsia, and with the fuel savings, I'm sure they will not be losing any money.

Edited June 25, 2012 by IsaanUSA

[JAG]

I wonder how much of Air Asia's traffic is made up of people connecting directly into other airlines?

I also wonder how much Thai International will jack their prices up when they have the monopoly on internal flights out of Suvarnabhumi?

​And finally, I wonder whether Air Asia really had any choice in the matter?

[LomSak27]

I'm sure there was some force involved in this move - I probably spend as much getting a flight on the spot, when I fly into the Swamp on air asia, as on their longer flights in a year.

They are going to lose that unless they get some public transport - say a bus every 15 minutes

[somtumlion]

Holy bitchy expats Batman! Bitch about the long lines at Swampy. Bitch about reopening DM to deal with the long lines at Swampy. Hey you darn kids, get off of my lawn!!!

[LomSak27]

So does this mean they are going to put in a bus to DM from the Swamp - or are you just bitching at expats somtumlion.

[techno]

Does this mean that Air Asia will be operating their international flights to say Phnom Penh or Perth from DMG or are they staying at Swampy?

[Ricardo]

would be great if air asia allowed baggage transfers at don muang on its flights from places like singapore to upcountry destinations like chiangmai. it's always been a drawback when connecting with air asia that you have to clear customs and immigration in bangkok just to check in again for an onward domestic flight.

Probably won't happen. Part of the low price is that you deal with that yourself. Baggage handling costs money. The price difference between AA and a regular airline also diminishes when flying more than one leg.

Except that AirAsia do manage to check-through luggage, and treat you as a transit-passenger, if you're flying via KL, on many routes. Now if only they can make the same thing work at DMK, that would be good !

[madmitch]

It is good news for JetStar, Tiger and Scoot the new Singapore Airlines budget long Haul B777 servicing Swampy.

AA will have to be many thousand cheaper for me to justify the DM hassle. Swampy is much more convient, as well to get into town.

It would be good if Air Asia X operates out of DM though.

Scoot now servicing Swampy, Info here on Thai Visa: http://www.thaivisa....hts-to-bangers/

They'll be next.

I wouldn't risk booking any low-cost carrier for a connecting flight at Suvarnabhumi right now.

I hope Bangkok Airways remain at Swampy as they have been my preferred domestic airline for some time.

And for those of us in the south, it makes KUL a more attractive proposition as well.

[zakk9]

Does this mean that Air Asia will be operating their international flights to say Phnom Penh or Perth from DMG or are they staying at Swampy?

Everything moves, that's the whole point. AOT has tried to make them move several times, but since AA uses the same planes on domestic and international flights, they have refused to consider it unless Don Mueang opens for international flights. Now, that is happening.

As traffic to Swampy increases, it's obviously only a question of time before other airlines will be moved as well. Even if they start digging today, capacity won't be significantly increased before they hit 50 million pax again. Then they will end up with the worst of all solutions; two airports in a city with long travel distances, heavy traffic jams and regular floodings. Will be interesting to watch

[zakk9]

It is good news for JetStar, Tiger and Scoot the new Singapore Airlines budget long Haul B777 servicing Swampy.

AA will have to be many thousand cheaper for me to justify the DM hassle. Swampy is much more convient, as well to get into town.

It would be good if Air Asia X operates out of DM though.

Scoot now servicing Swampy, Info here on Thai Visa: http://www.thaivisa....hts-to-bangers/

They'll be next.

I wouldn't risk booking any low-cost carrier for a connecting flight at Suvarnabhumi right now.

I hope Bangkok Airways remain at Swampy as they have been my preferred domestic airline for some time.

And for those of us in the south, it makes KUL a more attractive proposition as well.

Bangkok Airways isn't exactly low-cost, are they? Still, who knows. Maybe they'll limit small airplanes on Swampy in the future (except Thai of course) to limit the number of movements. Then they might even omit the need for another terminal (or at least they will think so).

[theoldgit]

If they landed on sukhumvit and carried passengers for free some would complain. My guess is that most of their customers will be just fine with DM. Love them or hate them they seem to be doing just fine financially and love them or hate them they do allow a LOT of people to be able to afford to fly. For those that hate air asia there are always buses or other airlines happy to take your baht.

Not really a sensible comment, as I said in my earlier post I'm sure that for those who live in that part of the city the move will be ok, but for people like me who live near the main airport or for those who feel the Airport Link is a convenient way to travel, then it's a backward move.

I'm a big fan of Air Asia and I have many domestic and international flights under my belt, and more booked, though for me getting to DM is an inconvenience so I will have to look at the overall picture when booking future flights, as you say there are many other carriers who will be happy to have my business.

I suspect that AA were under a lot of pressure to downgrade airports and that AOT made them an offer they couldn't refuse, maybe the exclusive terminal they were pushing for.

I thought that the offer to allow those booked to fly out of Swampy the right to cancel and receive a credit note to be used within 90 days to be a slap in the face for their regular customers.

Edited June 26, 2012 by theoldgit

[catmac]

It's a very sad good-bye to AA from me, as well.

Seeing this move coming, I reluctantly booked with Thai for the domestic link to Chiang Mai this October, though wild horses wouldn't get me on their decrepit old 747s to London!

I'll go back to AA only when there is a reliable, good value link between the 2 airports, and not before.

[tartempion]

Great!!!

Flying into BKK and connecting to Udon Thani my choices are now reduced to Thai, Thai and Thai, no more Air Asia, Nok.

To make things even worse, flying into BKK around 7 am Thai moved it's first flight to Udon from 09.30 to 07.05

Next flight at 14.00, time for a

Thai, please consider planning flights leaving Swampy between 08.00 and 11.00 am

I guess we have to feel lucky Thai does not move its domestic flights to DM also

[OzMick]

Just received an AA ad with a full range of international flights from DM

[toybits]

I also sent them a message expressing my disapproval of their moving to Don Muang. I just might be flying Thai in the future. If this is how AirAsia regards their loyal clients, then the do not deserve my fare.

I've actually emailed them via their "feedback- contact us" link and was highly critical of this decision.

Any advantage they had over Thai Airways is now lost. Most tourist flying in on their national carrier and then flying domestic with AirAsia to their holiday destination, will now just fly with Thai Airaways. I find it a very strange business decision and can only see a decline in their profits.

Even if they pass on their lower operating costs to the consumer, in the form of cheaper flights, you have the cost of transport and the time in traffic to go from one airport to the other which would negate any savings to fly with AirAsia. Many people may now also have to stay a night in a Bangkok hotel in order to get their connecting flight.

I would encourage others to also email their disapproval to them.

[Jayman]

I just received an email from them today as well

http://www.airasia.c...6iiqb_th_en.htm

Edited June 26, 2012 by Jayman

[Lakegeneve]

I also sent them a message expressing my disapproval of their moving to Don Muang. I just might be flying Thai in the future. If this is how AirAsia regards their loyal clients, then the do not deserve my fare.

I've actually emailed them via their "feedback- contact us" link and was highly critical of this decision.

Any advantage they had over Thai Airways is now lost. Most tourist flying in on their national carrier and then flying domestic with AirAsia to their holiday destination, will now just fly with Thai Airaways. I find it a very strange business decision and can only see a decline in their profits.

Even if they pass on their lower operating costs to the consumer, in the form of cheaper flights, you have the cost of transport and the time in traffic to go from one airport to the other which would negate any savings to fly with AirAsia. Many people may now also have to stay a night in a Bangkok hotel in order to get their connecting flight.

I would encourage others to also email their disapproval to them.

The decision may not suit you both but it won't reduce TAA's pax numbers which will still rise in the 12 months after the move (7.2m last year, 8m expect in 2012) given that the majority of TAA chose them due price. The majority of TAA pax are either point to point or connect internally with TAA. Most pax living in the north of the city will love the move.

If you are both stating that most will now fly TG then that I highly doubt it unless people want to start paying 30-50% more for their flights. Even factoring in 30 mins travel (off peak) or 1hr (peak) plus the taxi fare (300 baht) - or 35 baht fare for a public bus.mini van for the money savers - it will still be cheaper than taking TG. And in 5 years time the Airport Link will be extended and open.

Very few arrive late at night to then take a domestic flight with TAA. People will just adjust their flights accordingly if this is so. It is really not a big deal and BKK is big enough to merit a 2 airport policy and the overwhelming majority of people will cope.

Edited June 26, 2012 by Lakegeneve

[webfact]

AirAsia moving to Bangkok's number two airport

Bangkok, June 26, 2012 (AFP) - Low-cost carrier AirAsia will move all its Thai operations from Bangkok's main gateway Suvarnabhumi to the city's second biggest airport Don Mueang by October 1, the airline announced.

"The uncongested Don Mueang Airport is sure to prove a benefit to AirAsia when it boosts its fleet of Airbus A320s to a total of 48 and welcomes more customers," Thai AirAsia CEO Tassapon Bijleveld said in a statement.

"The airport's location also makes it conducive to further travel," he added.

Passengers who are affected by the switch can reschedule their flight or exchange the ticket for a credit to be used within the next 90 days, it said.

Don Mueang International Airport, in the north of the city, was forced to close for about four months from late October 2011 after the kingdom's worst floods in decades submerged the runways.

Suvarnabhumi, one of Asia's busiest airports, is located to the east of the capital and was not flooded.

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2012-06-26

[DagonKhan]

Fantastic news for me. Always preferred DM as it's easier for me to get to.

[colinscarr]

Yesterday's initial news release referred to Thai Air Asia moving house. So Thai domestics and some international flights will operate from DMK. What about the Malaysian Air Asia that also currently flies to/from Swampy? Are they moving too?

A final thought, Thai Air Asia ops some domestic flights from Phuket, which might connect with their international services from Phuket, thus completely eliminating the Swampy/Don Muang question altogether for at least a few of you.

[Lakegeneve]

Just when the rail link is working so well from Swammpy they do this to us...looks like its back to the bus!!

Yeah a bummer on that front. The Airport Link (ARL) was always planned to be extended to DMK, previously in about 5-8 years times. The govt's decision to go with a 2 airport policy will reduce this timeframe to about 4-5 years (even taking into account inevitable delays). The extension is mostly designed already.

It is perhaps similar than the fact that the Taksin govt in 2003 decided to delay the building of the Airport Line and then changed their mind 18 months later. This resulted in the Airport lIne opening 4 years after Swampy opened. (Noted that is was originally due to open in Dec 08 which would have made it 2 years after!)

[chuang]

Anyone knows whether there be schedules/timings changes for AA flights....i have many many many flights booked from Nov to next years...most are connecting flights...thanks..

[Lakegeneve]

Yesterday's initial news release referred to Thai Air Asia moving house. So Thai domestics and some international flights will operate from DMK. What about the Malaysian Air Asia that also currently flies to/from Swampy? Are they moving too?

All Air Asia flights will move to DMK. That includes Malay AA and Indo AA.

[how241]

And no public transport betwen the 2 airports - yet again another ill thought out, stupid scheme

Hopefully, they will have a plan for that soon.