Aircraft Parking Problems Not Over At Bkk

[bra]

For those of you who thought the move of the Low cost Carriers from BKK to DMK would mean no more remote stand parking and busses to the terminal well think again. On Saturday 17th NOV I arrived on TG416 from Kuala Lumpur on a B777-300, and much to my surprise we parked at a remote stand near the domestic apron. I was even more surprised when on the bus trip to the terminal I counted 14 aerobridge stands in the International Apron area with NO parked aircraft. So I think that the decision to use the remote stand was all TG's, and not related to AOT limitations. Now TG are either completely inefficient, or wont pay extra to use the aerobridges, in which case they are a low cost carrier and should charge cheaper fares accordingly. Most likely they parked the aircraft there because it suited them for maintenance or other purposes.

Whatever motivation they had it completely disregarded any thoughts of passenger service, comfort and safety. The aircraft was almost full, with the usual number of very young children and elderly folk with limited mobility. Now its a long way down the stairs from a 777, and many passengers had difficulty in using the stairs, then had to stand on crowded busses for the ride to the terminal. I saw 3 wheelchair passengers get on in KL, and these would need to be lowered on mechanical lifts to the ground.

To my mind TG had no good excuse to use this remote stand when numerous areobridges were free. Its typical of some legacy carriers to do what suits them and not their PAYING passengers. Well TG, there are other carriers on this route which offer competitive fares - and you done see them using remote stands. I see that TG had another recent loss and its not surprising.

Pity about this airline as it has the potential to be very good - newer aircraft, good seating, convenient schedules and mostly good staff. But TG, start putting the passengers first or they will put you last.

[ShopBoy]

that aircraft that you took might be the end of the flight for her during this period.

maybe she is park there for servicing ? thorough cleaning.... rather than reparking it again mean double logistic work.

[hansnl]

Or, maybe, just maybe, the company does not want to pay for the use of the landing bridge?

Using one of those things is not free!

Also in Swampy it is possible that the aircraft is not using the bridge.

Question of money.

Edited November 18, 2012 by hansnl

[lomatopo]

This is a common complaint for TG customers. I think costs are a factor, obviously, but really just one single, minor factor. I guess I wouldn't be surprised if the costs associated with a remote stand are not all that different from a fixed gate when you factor in the fees AoT charges for the services? Aircraft rotation, aircraft turn-around, re-fueling, catering, rotation from domestic to international, and rotation from international to domestic, last flight of the day for that aircraft are all challenges TG faces at its home base. (e.g.: SQ has no domestic traffic ex-SIN.)

[WilliaminBKK]

Whilst I understand your concern about remote parking vs aerobridge parking sadly it does boil down to cost savings.

An aircraft is charged landing/parking fees based on GRT (Gross Registered Tonnage), TG uses heavy metal even for domestic short haul routes, you'd never see a 747 flying from LHR to GLA. IATA provisions for most airports suggest 3 hours free parking before and then a charge applies, in BKK it is 2 hours then the charge apply's for parking at an aerobridge it is approx $60 per 15 minutes for a 777, the A380 is $105 - remote parking is free for 4 hours, not a lot of money however the cost of catering, fueling, cleaning is more at an aerobidge than remote, hence these short haul, low yield flights are parked at a remote stand.

A 777 compared to a 737 landing at BKK the additional cost per pax is $11 for a 777 (best guess approx) remote vs. at an aerobridge I would suggest it is closer to $22-$28 depending on time of day.

BKK is considered one of the most expensive airports for fees in SEA.

On top of ground operation fees - check in staff and counter rental fees, baggage, staff - airlines pay for lots of weird and wonderful little fees.

Landing, Parking, Terminal Navigation, Noise Fees and Fines, Gate electricity, Gate computer fees, Check in counter electricity

Wheelchair common fees, Aircraft Power Supply, TV display for flight arrival & departure & change fees if the flight is delayed or moved to another gate, Flight Announcements, Immigration Card & Landing form fees -there are more I just can't think of them now.

In case anyone is interested, landing fees for a 737 vs 777 across SEA

BKK -$625/$1300

KUL - $45/$161

SIN - $90/$290

HKG- $300/$900

ICN - $845/$1900

Of course on top of that are the fees the pax pays for immigration, customs, security, improvement fees etc etc etc it is a real money maker for AOT and all airports globally.

With 120 daily departures (TG) you can see shifting 10% 20% 30% to remote stands is a huge cost savings for any airline & yes sadly to your point the passenger is made to endure the pain, but given the LCC competition and the aircraft TG operates would passengers be willing to pay an additional 1000-1500 THB each to use an aerobridge ? highly doubtful IMHO.

[rfukata]

on the same note,

I just flew Air Asia from DMK to Singapore with my family w/little children's. departing DMK, just like at Suvarnabhumi it was a bus

gate, how sad it was. I would have thought that DMK would have more accessible or available aero bridges for all aircrafts.

(also for your ref., the AA gates were quite far in distance from Immigration)

[roiethome]

while it is inconvenient to wait for the busses from a remote stand, the benefit is often a much shorter walk to immigration.

[huchenxi99]

what?? seriously???

[IMA_FARANG]

Hmm......wasn't that somewhere around the time Obama was arriving.....close to it anyhow.

I don't know but maybe it had something to do with security?

[lomatopo]

Hmm......wasn't that somewhere around the time Obama was arriving.....close to it anyhow.

I don't know but maybe it had something to do with security?

Different days, different airports. But other than that, yeah.

[lomatopo]

It is days like this when you hope for a remote gate, or at least that Thaksin Shinwatra isn't due to fly on the same aircraft as you.

[Ricardo]

that aircraft that you took might be the end of the flight for her during this period.

maybe she is park there for servicing ? thorough cleaning.... rather than reparking it again mean double logistic work.

In which case, one might look forward to arriving next time direct to the maintenance-hangers, purely for passengers' convenience & comfort ? I mean, who do we Self-loading-freight think, the airline should be run for ? !

Edited November 21, 2012 by Ricardo

[NanLaew]

TG's last flights into Suvarnabhumi from local and regional airports mostly are at the end of their daily duty cycle and go to the parking stands; the OP's last flight from KL and TG's last domestic flights from Udon Thani and Phuket are common examples. It is logistically easier, less time consuming as well as being less expensive than the double-shuffle of going to the airbridge and then being towed back to the stands. The airbridges are busy from about 20:00 onwards with long-distance regional and international arrivals & departures. The OP claims to have seen 3 wheelchair passengers boarding in KL but didn't hang about to observe that they get a minibus ride to the terminal once they are handballed down the stairs.

Personally, I find that being bussed to the terminal is a minor inconvenience as there is a shorter walk to immigration when arriving internationally, or to domestic baggage claim if on the last flight from Nakhon Nowhere. If the OP doesn't like it, he can fly Malaysian with their pokey 737's that get to park up at the end of the E gates and enjoy the walk.

Edited November 26, 2012 by NanLaew

[RabC]

I have been flying into/out of Swampy on Thai about 8 return trips a year since it first opened and yesterday on TG 404 from Sg was the first time I was parked at a remote stand and bussed in.I actually preferred it to using one of the further gates as the bus took us to just below the immigration line, maybe the only negative was it took 35 minutes for the first bag to arrive.

[NanLaew]

I have been flying into/out of Swampy on Thai about 8 return trips a year since it first opened and yesterday on TG 404 from Sg was the first time I was parked at a remote stand and bussed in.I actually preferred it to using one of the further gates as the bus took us to just below the immigration line, maybe the only negative was it took 35 minutes for the first bag to arrive.

There's all sorts of 'disruption' on Thai's BKK-SIN routes as they are using that route as one of their 380 'training' routes. The first flight of the day states 'equipment unspecified' but has usually been a 747. They also use a 340 on one of the flights and the 380 is usually on the late afternoon flight. Either way, last flight using the stands has always meant a faster airport transit for me... except when they cock up the bag delivery!

Sent from the Back 'o Bennachie with an Asus eePad Transformer TF201 thingumabob.

[jcw]

This is what a tug is for, move the plane empty without its own power from the air bridge to maintenance if that is the case. This is just lazy Thai-Ness that the airline is striving for.

[NanLaew]

This is what a tug is for, move the plane empty without its own power from the air bridge to maintenance if that is the case. This is just lazy Thai-Ness that the airline is striving for.

I thought tugging was all about on-line wannabe airport managers; the ones retired in LOS and lost their rose-tinted glasses already.