Transit at Suvarnabhumi Airport.

[malct]

I have a friend who as booked a return ticket from Heathrow to Ubon Ratchatani return next month.

just a few Questions.

At Heathrow, will he be given a boarding Card from BKK to Ubon Ratchatani or will he just follow the transit route and go to the transit desk to pick up a boarding card in BKK, Also will his luggage be put onto the next flight and he picks them up at is destination?

Regarding his return, will he be given a boarding card from BKK to Heathrow when he checks in at Ubon Ratchatani and his luggage transferred for him in BKK

He is flying Thai Airways

[lomatopo]

LHR-BKK-UBP: http://www.suvarnabhumiairport.com/passenger_guide_transfer_inter2domestic_noBD_en.php

So it looks like UBP does not support Customs/Departing Immigration.So he will have to clear arriving Immigration at BKK, claim checked bags, clear Customs, proceed up to level 4 to check in with TG for BKK-UBP. He may not eb able to get a boarding card for BKK-UBP at check-in at LHR.

Not sure about UBP-BKK-LHR re: checking bags through? He will have to clear departing Immigration at BKK. He may be able to get a boarding card for BKK-LHR at check-in at UBP.

[malct]

The transit time is 90 Minutes, So they are not giving a lot of time to go through the process of Immigration at BKK, claim checked bags, clear Customs, proceed up to level 4 to check in with TG for BKK-UBP, If he does not make the flight, thai airways will have to transfer him onto the evening flight.

[lomatopo]

I think the published MCT for SBIA/BKK; I/D (like UBP) is 75 minutes. That means they can sell tickets which met this MCT. Whether that is actually achievable will vary day to day.

Having an MCT for LHR-BKK-UBP of 90 minutes is OK if there is another BKK-UBP flight later in the day. I would not take a UBP-BKK-LHR MCT of 90 minutes.

[jerrybeirne]

why not get your friend to contact thai airways in london and ask them.

0844 561 0911

[merijn]

Regardless if the bags are interlined from LHR to UBP and the BP is issued, immigration clearance has to be done at BKK.

[lomatopo]

Regardless if the bags are interlined from LHR to UBP and the BP is issued, immigration clearance has to be done at BKK.

As there are no Customs facilities at UBP I do not believe it is possible to interline baggage through BKK to UBP.

Further, I am fairly certain that everyone arriving on an international flight at BKK must clear Immigration there, be it at one of the mid-field facilities or in one of the primary (east, VIP, west) Arriving Immigration halls.

[malct]

I will tell him to ask for a fast track while on his inbound flight so he clears immigration quickly

[lomatopo]

The connection time between TG 911 (LHR-BKK) and TG 706 (BKK-UBP) is actually 85 minutes.

A lot of heavies arrive in the AM so Immigration can be quite a lengthy process. An Uncle arrived on TG 931 (CDG-BKK, A380 that day) last month and it took him 90 minutes from docking at the gate to exiting Customs.

This week TG 911 has been a bit early one day, 05:34 but right around on time (06:05) for most days.

The challenge is that the flights to UBP are:

TG 706 departs at 07:30

TG 708 departs at 16:00

so ticketing TG 706 is OK, if the planets align and you know what you're doing, you might make it. If not then you would be protected on TG 708, assuming there was space available, which seems probable unless a heavy travel day and/or other mis-connects from other AM flights. The alternative would be to ticket the later flight and try to stand-by for the earlier flight; this removes any doubt getting on the latter flight, but I doubt you'd be able to stand-by for the earlier flight given the short window.

I'm honestly not sure what I'd do, ground transport is a wash, I'd probably play it safe and just ticket the afternoon flight. FD's (Air Asia) flights for DMK-UBP are also 07:40 and 16:00 so no love there. DD (Nok AIr) have flights DMK-UBP at 11:10 and 14:30 so that might work?

Edited August 23, 2013 by lomatopo

[malct]

Seems stupid of Thai air that they are selling tickets that that include a transit with immigration, collecting luggage, Checking in, Passport control with only 90 minutes between flights.

[hotrod4098]

can be done but difficult...just go to the fast track immigration

[merijn]

can be done but difficult...just go to the fast track immigration

Fast Track can only be used with invitation card, Not to shorten your transit time.

[lomatopo]

Seems stupid of Thai air that they are selling tickets that that include a transit with immigration, collecting luggage, Checking in, Passport control with only 90 minutes between flights.

Airlines set MCTs for various types of connections: I/D, D/I, etc. based on reasonable and historical patterns. MCTs are neither intelligent or stupid, they are what they are, usually measured in minutes. If the connection time is equal to or more than the published MCT then the itinerary can be ticketed. If it is less than the MCT then the ticket cannot be issued.

I think TG has a 75 minute MCT for I/D at SBIA/BKK, and with a flight later in the day they can accommodate mis-connects. Obviously the passenger could simply ticket the later flight, so net-net, nothing ends up being stupid.

I might familiarize myself with the layout of the airport and the various procedures. At Immigration, assuming long queues are encountered, I might seek out a TG official to assist in expediting clearing Immigration.

[geriatrickid]

I don't want to start a new thread and was hoping for an update. I am flying in from Europe on TG and transferring to Ubon on Thai Smile.

It's a transfer of 1 hour 55 minutes. I will have a priority card for the regular immigration. I have never done this route before.

1. As the regular ticketing shows this as a legal route, I'm assuming I will be ok. What's the usual transit time? I usually can get through customs and collect my bag in 45 minutes, but with my luck lately, I don't know.

2. Do I have to go through the main immigration portal, or do I use the side transfer immigration for those who have Thai connections (usually for Phuket, Koh Samui, ChiangMai, but not listing Ubon on the sign over the immigration section). According to the Thai airlines website I have to go to the main area immigration and then collect my bag and then check in again.

I was originally ticketed via from LHR, but I am thinking of using Brussels for the longer transfer time.

Thanks in advance.

Edited March 7, 2014 by geriatrickid