webfact Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 Things are getting crowded again as DMK rides the budget boomBy Coconuts BangkokBANGKOK: -- Just a couple years after being pulled from retirement, Don Mueang Airport is booming, serving nearly 16.5 million passengers last year.While its younger sibling BKK undergoes expansion to deal with its growing pains, DMK will likely exceed its capacity this year due to the ever-growing field of low-cost carriers choosing its runways to nest their planes.And more are coming, Travel Daily News reports. Tigerair Taiwan and Golden Myanmar will begin flying out of the airport in September, making for 10 airlines based at the airport. [read more...]Full story: http://bangkok.coconuts.co//2014/08/05/things-are-getting-crowded-again-dmk-rides-budget-boom-- Coconuts Bangkok 2014-08-06 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terryp Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 some stupid mistakes were made by PTP ...Not utilising DM from the very start of Swampy was one of their biggest 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suriya4 Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 I must blame Thaksin for building swampy when DMK is a perfectly usable airport, and near my home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Loh Posted August 6, 2014 Share Posted August 6, 2014 some stupid mistakes were made by PTP ...Not utilising DM from the very start of Swampy was one of their biggest Sure is a stupid mistake. DMK was closed in 2006. Check that year and who is in charge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpeg Posted August 6, 2014 Share Posted August 6, 2014 (edited) It took me thirty minutes to queue for a taxi to downtown bkk. THIRTY minutes! What with that and the full one and a half hour ride on the expressway, making it 20 minutes slower than the actual flight I won't be returning to bkk anytime soon. Edited August 6, 2014 by jpeg 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lee b Posted August 6, 2014 Share Posted August 6, 2014 DMK was far better than the swamp and in my view always will be ! Its also alot easier to get back to my bkk home from there than it is from the swamp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rinrada Posted August 6, 2014 Share Posted August 6, 2014 Last time I went through DM a couple of months ago I got the bus to (from memory) Motchit MRT in about 10 minutes and from there down to Asoke on said "tube"in again 10-15 minutes ...quite impressed. Talking to the driver about the Airport link and he just about remembered it....stopped what 7-8 years ago...time flys..eh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post JoeThePoster Posted August 6, 2014 Popular Post Share Posted August 6, 2014 What would've happened during those floods if DMK were the only airport? 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lakegeneve Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 some stupid mistakes were made by PTP ...Not utilising DM from the very start of Swampy was one of their biggest Sure is a stupid mistake. DMK was closed in 2006. Check that year and who is in charge. DMK did not close when Swampy opened in Sept 2006. DMK continued to operate with daily scheduled flights since that time. (Excluding the 6 week flood period in Oct & Nov 2011 when all flight operations were suspended & the brief 1 week PAD occupation shutdown of late Nov/early Dec 2008) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marstons Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 What would've happened during those floods if DMK were the only airport? They would have protected it better and diverted the water else where, since it was of no importance why bother. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marstons Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 (edited) Usual Thai efficiency there are plenty of empty parking bays for aircraft and it is no where near what it could be. They cant even be bothered to take down the old Terminal 1 Terminal 2 and domestic signs around the airport. As is the norm its will become chaotic in no time. meanwhile neighbouring countries build low cost airports and they run efficiently. One of Swampy's biggest problems is runway closures for repairs up to 200+ per year, reducing capacity. Cant blame Thaskin for swamppy the land was bought in the early 70's and he did finally get it built, apparently with a lot of contacts going to friends etc. Just for info if you drive and do finally manage to find an open car park be aware its not a pay on exit its a pay inside the airport so dont go with your ticket to pay on exit. Again still many car park signs but most closed. Edited August 7, 2014 by marstons Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farma Posted August 18, 2014 Share Posted August 18, 2014 (edited) It took me thirty minutes to queue for a taxi to downtown bkk. THIRTY minutes! What with that and the full one and a half hour ride on the expressway, making it 20 minutes slower than the actual flight I won't be returning to bkk anytime soon. Edited August 18, 2014 by Farma 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farma Posted August 19, 2014 Share Posted August 19, 2014 Yesterday the taxi queue was out past the escalators. I have to give credit to the security guy on the scooter. He was telling everyone they could also catch a taxi upstairs at the departure level. The whistle blowers upstairs had no problems with people catching taxis that had just dropped off passengers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Munsterman Posted September 7, 2014 Share Posted September 7, 2014 Yesterday the taxi queue was out past the escalators. I have to give credit to the security guy on the scooter. He was telling everyone they could also catch a taxi upstairs at the departure level. The whistle blowers upstairs had no problems with people catching taxis that had just dropped off passengers This is what makes Thailand such a wonderful place. Adapting to the circumstances - mostly. Not so many of the Napoleon-complex petty officialdom types one finds elsewhere in the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mca Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 Flew into DM last Saturday afternoon and it was heaving. Massive queues for the taxis. Stood there ten minutes with the queue not moving so went to the transportation desk and got a Camry for 700 baht to Asoke. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lomatopo Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 (edited) Does anyone know if they have repaired the second runway (not sure; 21L/3R?) at DMK, on the far side of the golf course? {One of these runways was unusable owing to subsidence, and having a single runway does limit total arrivals/departures, and with smaller planes, the total number of pax., per hour}. And if so, are they using both runways? I know they are too close for simultaneous use, but they can stagger take-offs and landings, same direction, but then traffic does need to cross an active runway. Other than charters/military/gov't/maint flights I think DMK was closed from Sep. 2006 until March 2007. I think the RTAF technically benefits from increased operations at DMK, even though developing the land ultimately would prove much more profitable. I assume they need/want a "presence" close to the capital, and having a back-up (rather than UTP) is advantageous. Edited October 24, 2014 by lomatopo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace of Pop Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 Not too bad, 300 over a Taxi...i go to arrivals and jump in a freshly vacated one, wouldn't try it with Kids or lots of luggage though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canopus1969 Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 Not too bad, 300 over a Taxi...i go to arrivals and jump in a freshly vacated one, wouldn't try it with Kids or lots of luggage though. Errrrr do you not mean departures ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ravip Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 An airport is evaluated by it's close proximity to one's home? Must be the alcohol... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace of Pop Posted October 25, 2014 Share Posted October 25, 2014 Not too bad, 300 over a Taxi...i go to arrivals and jump in a freshly vacated one, wouldn't try it with Kids or lots of luggage though. Errrrr do you not mean departures ? Depends, the Folks who got out the Taxi were arriving, i was departing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NanLaew Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 An airport is evaluated by it's close proximity to one's home? Must be the alcohol... Yup! And all the p!sshead, sexpat, Pattaya mongers and 2-week millionaires absolutely HATE Don Meuang. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mencken Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 Here is a bit of insanity... No water fountains anywhere. Did find a free cooler down toward the big# gates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mencken Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 More insanity, low end booze just went from b550 to b650/60 now making it cheaper to buy off the shelf in US and Japan. The difference in Thailand is almost not worth the effort but since alcohol is criminally taxed, it is - barely. Up b100 (20%). So done with it here... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tlock Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 Just to reiterate the taxi situation is out of control. There were about 200 people in line when we arrived and the line didn't appear to be moving, so had to suck it up and take one of the taxi touts milling around freestyle and overpay to get to Pattaya. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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