Air Asia Is Now Flying Out Of Surat Thani

[sbk]

Started the 1st of April. leaves at 10:45 am (not a very good time for those of us from Phangan or Tao, means either spending a night in Surat or the dreaded night boat!) and returns from BKK at 9am-- mid week price is 199 baht. I searched into early June and still got 199 baht.

Finally, a low cost airline for us!

[LaoPo]

Good news but indeed quite a hassle to go there (and back) from the islands...

LaoPo

[sbk]

Not for me, I earn baht and absolutely refuse to spend 4000 baht for a one way ticket with bkk air.

Only difficulty is getting to Surat in time for the flight, but the return flight looks quite good to me, arrives at a very good time to catch the boat over to Koh P.

Remember LaoPo, I've been here forever, I am used to the boat trip.

Living here has taught me lots of patience

[Rooo]

SBK, they seem to have 2 prices there.I tried to work out a return trip, it worked out to over Bht 1,700.00.

[LaoPo]

Not for me, I earn baht and absolutely refuse to spend 4000 baht for a one way ticket with bkk air.

Only difficulty is getting to Surat in time for the flight, but the return flight looks quite good to me, arrives at a very good time to catch the boat over to Koh P.

Remember LaoPo, I've been here forever, I am used to the boat trip.

Living here has taught me lots of patience

Yes...patience...almost forgot what is was...believe me I envy you

Living in the West (Europe) is a very stressfull excistence nowadays. Can't wait to jump on a plane when Mrs. LaoPo finishes her study in June

BTW: do they fly from Surat Thani to Phuket as well?

LaoPo

[girlx]

how annoying that the time is so early! no way to get there from phangan in time other than the night boat. still, it's a nice thought.

[sbk]

I got the 200 baht prices on wed and thursday. didnt' see anything to Phuket, only Bkk.

I doubt I will fly up as the times are all wrong for me, but the return time is good. I wonder how they feel about extra luggage

[the gent]

SBK,

Thanks for the heads up. This is great news. Bo Phut here I come.

Whatever everyone else thinks about Thaksin, anyone who helps to shaft Bangkok Airways can't be all bad. I am not particularly strapped for cash but as a matter of principle I too begrudge contributing a single penny to that wretched money grubbing outfit. Their disgraceful supplement charged on departure and misrepresented to hapless tourists as a tax is nothing but an affront to capitalism.

Now, where do the estate agents drink now?

[Rooo]

SBK,

Thanks for the heads up. This is great news. Bo Phut here I come.

Whatever everyone else thinks about Thaksin, anyone who helps to shaft Bangkok Airways can't be all bad. I am not particularly strapped for cash but as a matter of principle I too begrudge contributing a single penny to that wretched money grubbing outfit. Their disgraceful supplement charged on departure and misrepresented to hapless tourists as a tax is nothing but an affront to capitalism.

Now, where do the estate agents drink now?

LMAO Love It

[stevehaigh]

Started the 1st of April. leaves at 10:45 am (not a very good time for those of us from Phangan or Tao, means either spending a night in Surat or the dreaded night boat!) and returns from BKK at 9am-- mid week price is 199 baht. I searched into early June and still got 199 baht.

Finally, a low cost airline for us!

that's awesom, of course the real fare is 694 thb with all the extra bs they pile on there but that's the price of the train so you can't complain. i wonder if thai orient is going drop price to compeat?

[Rooo]

Makes you wonder how can BKK Air justify the fares they are charging.

[LaoPo]

Makes you wonder how can BKK Air justify the fares they are charging.

Well, as you know, they can of course, since they own the airport and have a monopoly on Samui and a few other domestic AND foreign routes, like Hangzhou/Bangkok and Samui/Singapore v.v. for example.

Worldwide, all airlines 'justify' the same if they have a certain monopoly on particular routes.

The founder, Dr.....'something' is/was a clever man.

LaoPo

[drummer]

What is the total cost of getting to BKK from Samui, then? i.e. how much does it cost to get to the Surathani airport from Koh Samui?

[Rooo]

Drummer,in my situation,taking car across about BHT 865 return,travel time Ferry 1.30 hours,to airport 95kms from Donsak 1.30 hours.

You will have to book ferry crossing on Seatran to guarantee boarding.

If time was not an issue,that would be a viable option.

[Rooo]

Another option if you are residing here, is get a resident card from BKK Air,that gives you 20% off & if you are a frequent flyer you get a free return trip on every 5 return trips you make. That's another way to cut down your costs.

[drummer]

as it just so happens, i may have to go to and from BKK in a hurry. I don't have the spare cash to pay BKK AIR, but could proably swing Air Asia if the prices weren't too bad, sum total.

I don't have a car, so i was thinking about how much would it cost on a bus to Surruthani, etc...

[sbk]

Well ferry boat and bus to the airport from Koh Phangan would run you about 350-360 so Samui is bound to be cheaper.

From Phangan with ac train it runs about 1000 baht including the boat --the Raja Ferry bus is also about 1000 baht including the boat (goes to South bus stn) and both take overnight. Nasty Khao San Road buses can be had for about 600 including the boat (no Thanks!).

So, even with taxes and boat fares it may come out nearly the same price but in far less time!

[stevehaigh]

Well ferry boat and bus to the airport from Koh Phangan would run you about 350-360 so Samui is bound to be cheaper.

From Phangan with ac train it runs about 1000 baht including the boat --the Raja Ferry bus is also about 1000 baht including the boat (goes to South bus stn) and both take overnight. Nasty Khao San Road buses can be had for about 600 including the boat (no Thanks!).

So, even with taxes and boat fares it may come out nearly the same price but in far less time!

the only minor problem is the baggage allowance on air asia is 25kg which isn't much for a tourist or a local picking up much needed supplies in bkk

[sylvafern]

I wish I'd found out about this earlier - a bit strapped for cash and time this Songkran so would have been great to get cheapie tickets, but none left for this week (1900 to Surat, 1100 return depending on the day). Oh well - know for next time!

Not for me, I earn baht and absolutely refuse to spend 4000 baht for a one way ticket with bkk air.

If you book online ahead of time, you can get 2000 baht one way tickets as long as you take the first or last flight of the day. Not the best times, but worth it to save money.

SBK,

Thanks for the heads up. This is great news. Bo Phut here I come.

Whatever everyone else thinks about Thaksin, anyone who helps to shaft Bangkok Airways can't be all bad. I am not particularly strapped for cash but as a matter of principle I too begrudge contributing a single penny to that wretched money grubbing outfit. Their disgraceful supplement charged on departure and misrepresented to hapless tourists as a tax is nothing but an affront to capitalism.

Now, where do the estate agents drink now?

In Bangkok Airways' defence, they treat their staff exceptionally well and must be one of the better companies for people to work for in thailand, especially those in blue collar jobs. My b/f's parents both work for them .... his mum's a maid and his dad is a chauffeur (sp?). They get a reasonable salary for Thailand plus overtime, but they also get free accomodation, free utilities and free food while at work. They get three free standby flights per year (not counting tax and and departure tax) and after this can pay 10% of the ticket price. When my b/f's grandmother died in a hit-and-run in her home village, 13 extended family members all working for BKK airways were all allowed time off to attend the funeral and were given free flights to Bangkok the following morning. Lots of companies in Thailand treat their staff terribly so it's nice to hear of a company doing the opposite.

Edited April 8, 2006 by sylvafern

[sbk]

Well ferry boat and bus to the airport from Koh Phangan would run you about 350-360 so Samui is bound to be cheaper.

From Phangan with ac train it runs about 1000 baht including the boat --the Raja Ferry bus is also about 1000 baht including the boat (goes to South bus stn) and both take overnight. Nasty Khao San Road buses can be had for about 600 including the boat (no Thanks!).

So, even with taxes and boat fares it may come out nearly the same price but in far less time!

the only minor problem is the baggage allowance on air asia is 25kg which isn't much for a tourist or a local picking up much needed supplies in bkk

Or if you are a returning American with loads of luggage

Perhaps I can get my husband to fly up to Bangkok, pick me up and then take half of my luggage as his allowance...

[drummer]

I hear its pretty cheap to ship stuff by freight with BKK Air to Samui

[poorfarang]

18 baht a kilo as a matter of fact

[Rooo]

I think the more the weight the cheaper it gets.A sliding scale + a set charge.I sent here 95KGS last year about 1290.00 Baht.

[LaoPo]

Bangkok Airways do have special fares:

http://www.bangkokair.com/spfare/index.php?id=BKK

LaoPo

[frenchFARANGbkk]

Not for me, I earn baht and absolutely refuse to spend 4000 baht for a one way ticket with bkk air.

Only difficulty is getting to Surat in time for the flight, but the return flight looks quite good to me, arrives at a very good time to catch the boat over to Koh P.

Remember LaoPo, I've been here forever, I am used to the boat trip.

Living here has taught me lots of patience

Hello,

Can you update me about the situation?

I have a flight to Surathani next week, and then, is there any cheap airport shuttle to go to the boat ? We will be 4 people at least, what's the best choice?

On the way back, is it possible to catch Air Asia flight if we leave Samui early morning? Or do we have to stay in Surat the nigh before ?

Also, as I remember that you own a guest house, thanks for information about it, any website ? (we will also spend few nights in PhanGan)

Thanks.

[Lite Beer]

Hello,

Can you update me about the situation?

I have a flight to Surathani next week, and then, is there any cheap airport shuttle to go to the boat ? We will be 4 people at least, what's the best choice?

On the way back, is it possible to catch Air Asia flight if we leave Samui early morning? Or do we have to stay in Surat the nigh before ?

Also, as I remember that you own a guest house, thanks for information about it, any website ? (we will also spend few nights in PhanGan)

Congratulations for finding this 2 year old thread.

When you arrive at Surat airport there are buses waiting to take you to the ferry. Last year the price was around 300Baht including the ferry.

You can get a ticket for the return bus and ferry that connects up with the flight. No need to spend the night in Surat.

Edited June 10, 2008 by Lite Beer

[girlx]

I was just on Koh Phangan yesterday and if I am not mistaken I thought I saw an ad for One-Two-Go airlines also adding a new route from Surat to BKK???

[everydaysthesame]

just a word of warning. I bought (what I thought was) a ferry/bus ticket to surat airport but infact the girl at the ferry port gave me a ticket to surat town only. As I was in a rush the bus driver offered me a lift to the airport - hugely inflated price of course but i had no other choice as i was running very late.

Not sure if this was a scam or a genuine mistake, think it was the latter. Anyway just make sure you get a ticket to the airport not just to surat thani.

[THAILIBAN]

just a word of warning. I bought (what I thought was) a ferry/bus ticket to surat airport but infact the girl at the ferry port gave me a ticket to surat town only. As I was in a rush the bus driver offered me a lift to the airport - hugely inflated price of course but i had no other choice as i was running very late.

Not sure if this was a scam or a genuine mistake, think it was the latter. Anyway just make sure you get a ticket to the airport not just to surat thani.

actually almost everybody knows that Surat Thani is the number-1 town in Thailand when it comes to Transport-scams.

just read ANY guidebook in ANY language if u still didnt find out about that

[frenchFARANGbkk]

just a word of warning. I bought (what I thought was) a ferry/bus ticket to surat airport but infact the girl at the ferry port gave me a ticket to surat town only. As I was in a rush the bus driver offered me a lift to the airport - hugely inflated price of course but i had no other choice as i was running very late.

Not sure if this was a scam or a genuine mistake, think it was the latter. Anyway just make sure you get a ticket to the airport not just to surat thani.

actually almost everybody knows that Surat Thani is the number-1 town in Thailand when it comes to Transport-scams.

just read ANY guidebook in ANY language if u still didnt find out about that

I didn't know, but I guess that if we buy round trip from Surat Thani airport when we arrive it will be ok, or better just buy one way and buy the way back when we will go back to Surat ?

Is it possible to buy a ticket to suratthani airport from Koh Samui pier ?

Thanks.