Suvarnabhumi First Flight

[tuky]

When (stretch your imagination here) the new Suvarnabhumi airport opens, what will be the origin of the first inter commercial flight to touch down will be?

I am just watching a Discovery doco on the HK airport, I am just wondering what will determine the origin of the first flight.

Thought?

[britmaveric]

Prob within Asia I suspect.

[tuky]

Prob within Asia I suspect.

You don't think it will be somewhere more "hiso"? Like NY or similar?

[britmaveric]

Hmmm London or Sydney if its not within Asia.

[jdinasia]

NYC's Non-stop might be a good choice ... nothing HiSo about Syd or London

[penzman]

Will it be a 2nd official inaugural flight, 2 years after the 1st one?

[jdinasia]

"international commercial"

[Lucifer]

....the old bangkok airport.

[kc_phil]

....the old bangkok airport.

[Ricardo]

Wherever it's from, I suspect that it will definitely be a TG flight - for all the free publicity

[lomatopo]

I'm guessing that there will be a cut-off time on the day of the transition, and probably not 00:01. Maybe more like 03:00? So maybe they'll designate several "candidates" ahead of time; all TG flights, and then manage the traffic so that one of those comes in first. Although TG doesn't have a lot of arrivals between 00:35 and 05:15?

The first take-off will of course be a TG flight.

Lot's of unique problems to contemplate...Some flights might land at Don Muang the day before the cut-over, but the same aircraft will leave the next day, I doubt they'd ferry (fly) it to the new airport overnight? How many people will go to the wrong airport?

Should be interesting, I didn't pay that much attention when Chek Lap Kok (the new HKG) opened other than remembering they had a few problems during the first few weeks.

[Khutan]

My guess will be the latest route that TG is trying to promote

[Tywais]

Probably will wait for an auspicious time such as 9:09 on the 9 Sept 2009.

[grahamb]

Although TG doesn't have a lot of arrivals between 00:35 and 05:15?

When I've been standing in the immigration queue around 06:30 after arriving from Delhi on TG, the other arrivals on the board are usually from India and places like that. If they just open the airport with the first plane that arrives, chances are it would be a flight from India.

IIRC, they did a bit of flight management in Hong Kong to make sure that it was the Cathay Pacific flight from Los Angeles/New York/somewhere-like-that which was the first one in - it flew quite a bit ahead of schedule that day and others due in around the same time were a bit late... I knew someone who landed in Hong Kong on the first day - sat in the plane on the tarmac for a couple of hours while they sorted things out. However, they did get things sorted out relatively quickly and it was all working smoothly when I did my first flight from Chep Lap Kok a couple of weeks after opening. Based on the current planning, I'm not sure that Suvarnabhumi will get things working as smoothly within 2 weeks of opening (whenever that is...)

[lomatopo]

Although TG doesn't have a lot of arrivals between 00:35 and 05:15?

When I've been standing in the immigration queue around 06:30 after arriving from Delhi on TG, the other arrivals on the board are usually from India and places like that. If they just open the airport with the first plane that arrives, chances are it would be a flight from India.

IIRC, they did a bit of flight management in Hong Kong to make sure that it was the Cathay Pacific flight from Los Angeles/New York/somewhere-like-that which was the first one in - it flew quite a bit ahead of schedule that day and others due in around the same time were a bit late... I knew someone who landed in Hong Kong on the first day - sat in the plane on the tarmac for a couple of hours while they sorted things out. However, they did get things sorted out relatively quickly and it was all working smoothly when I did my first flight from Chep Lap Kok a couple of weeks after opening. Based on the current planning, I'm not sure that Suvarnabhumi will get things working as smoothly within 2 weeks of opening (whenever that is...)

Yes, I expect that TG could alter the schedule for one of its flights for just one day, but there are a lot of issues in doing that. Maybe easier to just schedule an additional flight? The ex-JFK/LAX flights do not (currently) fly every day, and the schedule is not the best for this purpose? But I can see TG arranging two or three special in-bound flights, from interesting destinations. Note that there are two runways (currently) which can accomodate simultaneous landings/take-offs.

In any event it will be challenging, for thousands of workers and passengers, and I hope that things go as smoothly as possible for everyone.

I too transited Chek Lap Kok ~ 10 days after the opening (1998) and didn't notice any major issues. No air-con in the terminal building that day so a bi stuffy, but other than that I didn't notice anything unusual.

[grahamb]

Yes, I expect that TG could alter the schedule for one of its flights for just one day, but there are a lot of issues in doing that. Maybe easier to just schedule an additional flight? The ex-JFK/LAX flights do not (currently) fly every day, and the schedule is not the best for this purpose? But I can see TG arranging two or three special in-bound flights, from interesting destinations. Note that there are two runways (currently) which can accomodate simultaneous landings/take-offs.

I agree that's most likely. The interesting thing will be what time that flight(s) arrives and what they'll do with the flights that are already arriving before that on the opening day (e.g. those India flights). Kai Tak did not have 24hr passenger flights - the last flights out to Europe left around 1 a.m. and the first flights in arrived around 6 or 7 a.m. IIRC. I guess there may have been freight overnight but I'm sure they just cancelled those for that day. That meant that it was possible to have the highly publicised first flight arrive at a time that was 'reasonable' for the assembled dignitaries.

Somehow, I don't think they will have the assorted ministers, etc. hanging around at Suvarnabhumi at 3 a.m. to wait for the first flight just so it can get in before the ones from India! Will the India flights arrive at Don Muang that day? Then you get the question of where do they leave from taking into account connecting passengers, etc. - it could all be a logistical nightmare!

I hope they decide the Suvarnabhumi opening date soon so I can make sure that I'm not travelling in or out around that date!

[corkscrew]

I was able to drive right up to the main passenger terminal at Suvarnabhumi a couple of weeks ago. It was a holiday so I think I was the only car on the terminal grounds. It is very big.