Suvarnabhumi Airport facelift starts next month

BANGKOK, Sept 29 – Suvarnabhumi Airport hopes to see great improvement in immigration checks, baggage claims and internet service soon to cope with the increasing passenger load next year, airport director Somchai Sawasdeepon said yesterday.

The international airport will have 180 less flights or 10 million less passengers each day after budget airline Thai AirAsia relocates to Don Mueang airport on Monday.

Mr Somchai said 250 more immigration officials will be on duty at Suvarnabhumi airport to accelerate visa inspections, and reduce the process from 50 minutes per passenger to 20 minutes.

Passengers will find it more convenient with the visa checking areas three times larger while baggage claims must be finished within 30 minutes after a flight lands, with the first baggage delivered to a carousel in 20 minutes, Mr Somchai said, adding that a 15-30 minute free wi-fi service will also be available.

Suvarnabhumi airport served 48.32 million passengers between Oct 2011 and August this year, a 9.65 per cent increase year-on-year. It is estimated that the total number will be 52.6 million passengers, or 301,477 flight, at the end of this fiscal year on Sunday Sept 30. It predicted an 8-9 per cent growth next year with a major increase in passengers from China, Malaysia and India.

Airports of Thailand (AoT) has planned a second-phase development project of Suvarnabhumi with an investment of Bt65 billion to cope with 60 million passengers by 2017. (MCOT online news)

-- TNA 2012-09-29

"The international airport will have 180 less flights or 10 million less passengers each day after budget airline Thai AirAsia relocates to Don Mueang airport on Monday"

How do you get 10 million passengers into 180 airplanes?

"The international airport will have 180 less flights or 10 million less passengers each day after budget airline Thai AirAsia relocates to Don Mueang airport on Monday"

How do you get 10 million passengers into 180 airplanes?

Me think......180 flight/day and 10 million passengers/year.

Suvarnabhumi Airport facelift starts next month

I was hoping that would be proceeded by steamroller.

What's the point of having a larger immigration area when only a fraction of the booths are staffed at any given moment?

Visa checking areas that's a new one, sounds like a comfy lounge.

What's the point of having a larger immigration area when only a fraction of the booths are staffed at any given moment?

Did you miss the part where it said 250 more immigration officials?

I went through Suv last week. It was busy, but not too bad. The snake system seems to work, even when only a few booths are manned.

The guy I got sent to really took his time, though.

"The international airport will have 180 less flights or 10 million less passengers each day after budget airline Thai AirAsia relocates to Don Mueang airport on Monday"

How do you get 10 million passengers into 180 airplanes?

Me think......180 flight/day and 10 million passengers/year.

Yes EOW, but all of our members have'nt got the brains to work that one out......Well done !

What's the point of having a larger immigration area when only a fraction of the booths are staffed at any given moment?

Did you miss the part where it said 250 more immigration officials?

I went through Suv last week. It was busy, but not too bad. The snake system seems to work, even when only a few booths are manned.

The guy I got sent to really took his time, though.

Snake queuing. Only took 5 years for that astonishing improvement.

"The international airport will have 180 less flights or 10 million less passengers each day after budget airline Thai AirAsia relocates to Don Mueang airport on Monday"

How do you get 10 million passengers into 180 airplanes?

It is quite simple: divide 10m pax / 180 flights and you get 55.5k pax/plane.

And you thought the A380 was big...

>accelerate visa inspections, and reduce the process from 50 minutes per passenger to 20 minutes

Why not go for broke and try and match Changi airport where I have never taken more than 2 minutes?

Couple of weeks ago I went through BKK and the immigration so farcical my bags had been taken off the conveyor by time I got to the belts.

Why not open a seperate line for tourists from China, Pakistan and India I am not trying to make a racist comment here but it seems to me that they are always the one holding up the que

6 years old and needs a face lift. Not to mention the repairs to runways.

Wasn't it a year ago they were trying to claim they were one of the top ten best airports in the world?

First this statement: BANGKOK, Sept 29 – Suvarnabhumi Airport hopes to see great improvement in immigration checks, baggage claims and internet service soon to cope with the increasing passenger load next year, airport director Somchai Sawasdeepon said yesterday.

Then this statement in the next sentence: The international airport will have 180 less flights or 10 million less passengers each day (yes we realize he meant year for total passengers and day for the 180 flights) after budget airline Thai AirAsia relocates to Don Mueang airport on Monday. But 180 less flights a day (that is almost 8 per/hr) is 65,700 flights in one year. That works out to 152pax/plane. I do not want to assume that these figures per day are correct. Does Air Asia fly from midnight to 6 a.m.? If not then it's 10 flights per/hr. I guess they are departing once every 6 minutes. But I digress.

The main point is how can you lose flights and passengers from the regional airlines (I believe more than just Air Asia is going to move) moving to Don Mueang and yet Suvarnabhumi is going to somehow have an increased passenger load after millions and millions of pax won't be coming thru there anymore. Fuzzy Thai math.

What's the point of having a larger immigration area when only a fraction of the booths are staffed at any given moment?

Did you miss the part where it said 250 more immigration officials?

I went through Suv last week. It was busy, but not too bad. The snake system seems to work, even when only a few booths are manned.

The guy I got sent to really took his time, though.

Snake queuing. Only took 5 years for that astonishing improvement.

It's a great system for those in the know. You just turn up late for your flight and get ushered to the front of the queue. Regulars do it all the time at Heathrow, which is one of the reasons I stopped flying out of there if I can avoid it.

Edited September 29, 201213 yr by Chicog

Having traveled around developing countries in Southeast Asia, I think Bangkok's airport is pretty decent. I mean, just compare it to the ones in Jakarta and Manila.

"The international airport will have 180 less flights or 10 million less passengers each day after budget airline Thai AirAsia relocates to Don Mueang airport on Monday"

How do you get 10 million passengers into 180 airplanes?

It is quite simple: divide 10m pax / 180 flights and you get 55.5k pax/plane.

Yup, sounds like Air Asia alright.

Edited September 29, 201213 yr by Payboy

Facelift? What facelift if they only talk about "more convenient with the visa checking areas three times larger while baggage claims must be finished within 30 minutes"? If they want a facelift maybe painting over all that "trendy" concrete gray would do a trick? It's really depressing and makes it a hard work on the lighting that has to be twice more powerful and costly. But not any color please, maybe stick to off-white or light beige. Than add some more colorful "feature walls" or objects and the place will start to look human friendly and more cheerful.

Edited September 29, 201213 yr by notime

Having traveled around developing countries in Southeast Asia, I think Bangkok's airport is pretty decent. I mean, just compare it to the ones in Jakarta and Manila.

Agree with your comparisons, but the reason that Subvarnabhumi rightly gets so much derison on the pages is because of all the self-praise and false claims it makes . !

facelift? Should be an entire rethink!

I have been utterly spoiled by a recently overnight wait at the overwhelmingly awesome Changi Airport though. It should be the template which all airports are based upon. No airport will ever be the same for me again!

There should a penalty of some sort for people sit in a plane for x amount of hours, then stand in the que for x amount of minutes then finally decide to fill out the immigration form at the counter.

Maybe a chute they slide down into a pool of hungry sharks for the rest to watch while they wait

..also, may i add, that on my return from Singapore to Bangkok, when i walked towards the escalators, the entire area was STREWN with cables because some kind of official video camera shoot was taking place. People were having to roll their bags and trolleys over the cables. Bit of electrical stuff and equipment boxes were lying around. A MAIN zone. With no section blocked off. People were coming up and down on escalators into it, and having to navigate around it. Totally unprepared and unthought out.

So much defies logic here sometimes, that i tend to avert my gaze..otherwise my head would bloody pop!!!

Having traveled around developing countries in Southeast Asia, I think Bangkok's airport is pretty decent. I mean, just compare it to the ones in Jakarta and Manila.

Agree with your comparisons, but the reason that Subvarnabhumi rightly gets so much derison on the pages is because of all the self-praise and false claims it makes . !

I can agree with you to a certain extent

facelift? Should be an entire rethink!

I have been utterly spoiled by a recently overnight wait at the overwhelmingly awesome Changi Airport though. It should be the template which all airports are based upon. No airport will ever be the same for me again!

I guess Singapore's airport is the best in Southeast Asia. When it comes to Asia, I think South Korea's comes up top.

facelift? Should be an entire rethink!

I have been utterly spoiled by a recently overnight wait at the overwhelmingly awesome Changi Airport though. It should be the template which all airports are based upon. No airport will ever be the same for me again!

+1

According to my calculation

180 filghts per day x 365 days per year = 65,700 flights per year,

10 million pax per year / 65,700 flights per year = 152 pax per flight (sounds abour right for the narrow bodied aircarft operated by low cost carriers such as Air Asia).

Still a big transfer out of Suvarnabhumi Airport.

The problem with this transfer will be for passengers transferring from a longhaul flight and wanting to take a short haul flight to puket for example (or cice versa). The journey between airports will take time unless a high speed connection is put in place.

What about passengers who are transferring internationally say arriving from Europe to Suvarnabhumi Airport and departing to another country on Air Asia. Will they have to come into Thailand through custome and immigration and collect their baggage, travel to Don Mueang, Exit through customs and immigration again to leave Thailand. A lot of potential problems.

Having traveled around developing countries in Southeast Asia, I think Bangkok's airport is pretty decent. I mean, just compare it to the ones in Jakarta and Manila.

Ridiculous comparison .

BKK was opened 6 years ago . MNL opened more than 25 years ago and CGK as well .

Having traveled around developing countries in Southeast Asia, I think Bangkok's airport is pretty decent. I mean, just compare it to the ones in Jakarta and Manila.

Ridiculous comparison .

BKK was opened 6 years ago . MNL opened more than 25 years ago and CGK as well .

Yes, which means they had 25 years to improve their respective airports, but didn't do much. And the comparison is about the current standards of airports in Southeast Asia.

Facelift? What facelift? Poor English again. This is simply a few procedure and facility improvements -- welcome, but nothing to do with a facelift.

Thank god, I might say. If they started closing parts of the terminal for a true facelift, disrupting the services and people flows, I'd rather do without it.

Instead, they could do the opposite: improve access by re-opening all those entrance doors on the departures level which are now ridiculously closed.