First Commercial Flight Lands On Suvarnabhmi Airport

[Korat Correct]

Sue-arna -boom-mi ?

The meaning of the name is "prosperous land"

[sriracha john]

First test flight lands, problems discovered

BANGKOK: -- The first commercial test flight at the new Suvarnabhumi Airport landed with caretaker Pime Minisiter Toxsin Sinamahkmahk on board. Airport officials were stunned when the plane landed successfuly. "We're going to have a full investigation of what happened," said head Engineer Ramit Sidvays, "The navigation beacon funtioned perfectly and radio guidance systems worked flawlessly despite the early warning scandel and corruption detection systems recently installed" The advanced technology had been designed to prevent such landings, by immediately shutting down all safety devices in situations like this. "We've invited the Prime Minister to fly in again several more times," Sidvay added, "this time with backup systems on board which will automatically disable all power to the aircraft on approach at approximately 1500 feet. Unfortunately, for this first test, the systems were too late: Upon landing, the caretaker PM's press secretary announced that the airport has just been sold to Singapore. PM Toxsin clarified that this was a good thing for all Thai people because it would give him the opportunity to afford more luxury vacations, so he would be spending much more time outside of Thailand. The crowd present erupted into spontaneous appluase and cheers, but were each then charged with disorderly conduct and fined 1 Billion Baht each.

Maybe the news clippings section isn't the best place for this, perhaps this should have been included in the Jokes section instead?

When posting tongue-in-cheek remember to use the smilie as some may not understand it is a joke.

or consider creating a news source to put a tagline on it, eg. I understand the name Chiang Mai Tribune is available for use.

[terry57]

Never mind the spelling error, just saying the word is going to stretch most linguists.

However always have a back up plan if things ( and aircraft) go arse over heels. ? Cracked concrete?

Take the bus to Non Khai (North of Khon Kaen) cross over into Laos at Friendship bridge.

Take the bus to Vientiane Airport. Take the plane out from there.

QED!

Alternative back up plan

Take the train from BKK to K.Lumper. Take the plane from there.

Alternative back up plan.

Bypass LOS and head for ? Hanoi ? Manila or anywhere.

yes top idea korat,

im going to get that top bit of advise tatoo'ed on my arm just in case i pass out in the taxi my driver can follow your brilliant directions.

thanks for that mate.

[terry57]

First test flight lands, problems discovered

BANGKOK: -- The first commercial test flight at the new Suvarnabhumi Airport landed with caretaker Pime Minisiter Toxsin Sinamahkmahk on board. Airport officials were stunned when the plane landed successfuly. "We're going to have a full investigation of what happened," said head Engineer Ramit Sidvays, "The navigation beacon funtioned perfectly and radio guidance systems worked flawlessly despite the early warning scandel and corruption detection systems recently installed" The advanced technology had been designed to prevent such landings, by immediately shutting down all safety devices in situations like this. "We've invited the Prime Minister to fly in again several more times," Sidvay added, "this time with backup systems on board which will automatically disable all power to the aircraft on approach at approximately 1500 feet. Unfortunately, for this first test, the systems were too late: Upon landing, the caretaker PM's press secretary announced that the airport has just been sold to Singapore. PM Toxsin clarified that this was a good thing for all Thai people because it would give him the opportunity to afford more luxury vacations, so he would be spending much more time outside of Thailand. The crowd present erupted into spontaneous appluase and cheers, but were each then charged with disorderly conduct and fined 1 Billion Baht each.

Maybe the news clippings section isn't the best place for this, perhaps this should have been included in the Jokes section instead?

When posting tongue-in-cheek remember to use the smilie as some may not understand it is a joke.

or consider creating a news source to put a tagline on it, eg. I understand the name Chiang Mai Tribune is available for use.

wow thats a beauty if i ever heard one.

if anybody thought that chua's post was serious they need to take a little trip down to the nearest phyciatrist for a little chat.

but then again some people are sadly lacking in any sort of humour arn't they.

glad there no friends of mine.

[vladaman]

Great! Does anybody know, who to contact for retail space there?

Thanks

[aussie dollar]

fly in on the 28th sept 11pm,causes a few problems

cant book hotel now at old airport just dont know if it will be operational

wanted to stay close to airport as being picked up early next day,believe only novhotel at airport for accomadation and is way too expensive.

any ideas ?

[xbusman]

So the new airport can handle 45 mil passengers a year. Anyone know the capacity of Don Mueng?

Me & a buddy drove out there this afternoon. Access roads were closed.

yes DM = 47 mil passengers a year.

But it was hard to earn moretea money in DM, so for economical purpose the new airport is trully better.

Also, as one editorialist in Bangkok post noted, as the airport will be far of civilisation, the tourist will have a one stop : no need to bother to go in tuk tuk to bangkok , they will shop OTOP on site, and by so fulfill the true dreams of any respectable citisens of LOS : come , BUY and BYE

AOT still lists BKK as having a capacity of 25,000,000 which is slightly outdated. Improvements over the years gave them some additional capacity but the airport is rated by most sources for a maximum of between 30 and 35 million at full capacity. Considering that it has acheived 38 million passengers indicates that it is operating in the red zone, way beyond its design capacity. The new airport will be a huge improvement in immediate capacity but hopefully it too will be to small in about five years. The good news is that NBK has lots of land to add two or maybe four more runways. When that happens, none of us will be around long enough to see NBK reach full capacity.

[terry57]

Great! Does anybody know, who to contact for retail space there?

Thanks

umm,

theres a guy called mr toxin,

many people keep refering to him, so he must be in the know so give him a ring bud.

he might be able to fix you up with some things as he seems to have a <deleted> load of contacts around the place.

lots of people keep saying he's real good at fixing things up.

ive also heard that he likes a nice cup of tea so take along a king size tea pot and you'll be sweet old son.

actually im real sure that he does like tea cause i read in the news paper that he said himself that he likes tea.

if i remember correctly, he's a huge fan of tea, that huge in fact that he's got so much tea that poor old john is streched to get a cuppa.

hope this helps you me old mate.

cheers

[terry57]

fly in on the 28th sept 11pm,causes a few problems

cant book hotel now at old airport just dont know if it will be operational

wanted to stay close to airport as being picked up early next day,believe only novhotel at airport for accomadation and is way too expensive.

any ideas ?

dont no how old you are mate, but ive done this a few times myself with late overnighters and the early gig the next day.

take an aircraft blanket, ear plugs and eye mask with you. find a nice quiet spot in the airport to kip down for the night and crash out.

get up early the next day, take a shower to clean up, have a cuppa and some tucker and bob's your uncle.

it saves you 3 things.

A. money on the room for such a short period.

B the hassle of leaving the airport.

C your mate can pick you up from there.

if you really want to go to a hotel just google it as there's plenty close by the airport.

hope this helps cobber.

[Uz_Air_BKK]

I was just wondering what kind of plane that was

it has more than 400 people on board plus the gov people plus the standard crew

is this the level of truth that is spooned into our mouths

and this indicates the level of confidence we need to use ?

just some simple thoughts

Philip

I need to retract my words ... I just googled .... searching on max passengers boeing 747-400 and it came back with the following link and the following info ...

http://www.airliners.net/info/stats.main?id=100

Capacity

747-400 - Flightcrew of two. Typical three class seating for 416 (23 first, 78 business and 315 economy class pax). Cargo hold 170.5m3 (6025cuft) or 151m3 (5332cuft).

747-400 Domestic - Two class seating for 568 (24 first and 544 economy).

Dear Philip,

There were two B747 flights carried out from Don Muang to Suvarnabhumi yesterday and several other flights were performed from Phuket, Chiang Mai and other cities to Suvarnabhumi.

I flew in a second flight TG4554 from Don Muang to Suvarnabhumi. Thai Airways and AOT gave all the passengers certificates as being one of the first passengers to fly to Suvarnabhumi

For the time being these issues concern me most:

- The airport is too huge and passengers will be definitely lost without proper amount of quality SIGNs stating where to go etc etc.

- The security and safety: There are areas where objects can be exchanged between arrival and departure floors

- IT issues.

- baggage handling

- A lot of structures are not finished inside the airport.

- International Civil Aviation Organization has yet to give a permanent certificate to a new airport.

- Usually airports move to a new location in low season to have less problems with passengers. End of September is definitely not a LOW season in Thailand aviation industry.

- etc etc.

[terry57]

I was just wondering what kind of plane that was

it has more than 400 people on board plus the gov people plus the standard crew

is this the level of truth that is spooned into our mouths

and this indicates the level of confidence we need to use ?

just some simple thoughts

Philip

I need to retract my words ... I just googled .... searching on max passengers boeing 747-400 and it came back with the following link and the following info ...

http://www.airliners.net/info/stats.main?id=100

Capacity

747-400 - Flightcrew of two. Typical three class seating for 416 (23 first, 78 business and 315 economy class pax). Cargo hold 170.5m3 (6025cuft) or 151m3 (5332cuft).

747-400 Domestic - Two class seating for 568 (24 first and 544 economy).

Dear Philip,

There were two B747 flights carried out from Don Muang to Suvarnabhumi yesterday and several other flights were performed from Phuket, Chiang Mai and other cities to Suvarnabhumi.

I flew in a second flight TG4554 from Don Muang to Suvarnabhumi. Thai Airways and AOT gave all the passengers certificates as being one of the first passengers to fly to Suvarnabhumi

For the time being these issues concern me most:

- The airport is too huge and passengers will be definitely lost without proper amount of quality SIGNs stating where to go etc etc.

- The security and safety: There are areas where objects can be exchanged between arrival and departure floors

- IT issues.

- baggage handling

- A lot of structures are not finished inside the airport.

- etc etc.

uz, do you think that they will possibly have these problems sorted by september ?

or are they dreaming.

im asking you as you have first hand experience to comment.

thanks

[terry57]

I was just wondering what kind of plane that was

it has more than 400 people on board plus the gov people plus the standard crew

is this the level of truth that is spooned into our mouths

and this indicates the level of confidence we need to use ?

just some simple thoughts

Philip

I need to retract my words ... I just googled .... searching on max passengers boeing 747-400 and it came back with the following link and the following info ...

http://www.airliners.net/info/stats.main?id=100

Capacity

747-400 - Flightcrew of two. Typical three class seating for 416 (23 first, 78 business and 315 economy class pax). Cargo hold 170.5m3 (6025cuft) or 151m3 (5332cuft).

747-400 Domestic - Two class seating for 568 (24 first and 544 economy).

Dear Philip,

There were two B747 flights carried out from Don Muang to Suvarnabhumi yesterday and several other flights were performed from Phuket, Chiang Mai and other cities to Suvarnabhumi.

I flew in a second flight TG4554 from Don Muang to Suvarnabhumi. Thai Airways and AOT gave all the passengers certificates as being one of the first passengers to fly to Suvarnabhumi

For the time being these issues concern me most:

- The airport is too huge and passengers will be definitely lost without proper amount of quality SIGNs stating where to go etc etc.

- The security and safety: There are areas where objects can be exchanged between arrival and departure floors

- IT issues.

- baggage handling

- A lot of structures are not finished inside the airport.

- etc etc.

uz, do you think that they will possibly have these problems sorted by september ?

or are they dreaming.

im asking you as you have first hand experience to comment.

thanks

uz, one more question , considering the distance this airport is away from the city how did you get in, and how much did it cost you ?

cheers mate

[sting01]

Dear Philip,

There were two B747 flights carried out from Don Muang to Suvarnabhumi yesterday and several other flights were performed from Phuket, Chiang Mai and other cities to Suvarnabhumi.

I flew in a second flight TG4554 from Don Muang to Suvarnabhumi. Thai Airways and AOT gave all the passengers certificates as being one of the first passengers to fly to Suvarnabhumi

For the time being these issues concern me most:

- The airport is too huge and passengers will be definitely lost without proper amount of quality SIGNs stating where to go etc etc.

- The security and safety: There are areas where objects can be exchanged between arrival and departure floors

- IT issues.

- baggage handling

- A lot of structures are not finished inside the airport.

- International Civil Aviation Organization has yet to give a permanent certificate to a new airport.

- Usually airports move to a new location in low season to have less problems with passengers. End of September is definitely not a LOW season in Thailand aviation industry.

- etc etc.

My dear,

your comments show you trully did not understood quite well LOS and did not get a clue on how things work here :

Airport is not too huge at all, farang will come by hundred of thousands daily to visit the temple ........... oooooooooooops to buy cheap CD in Pantip ................... ooops to buy OTOP products ......... oooooooooooops ................ anyway they will come to give away money as they have to do.

Security and safety is and will continue to be improved by the taxy boy, tuk tuk drivers and wondeful motorcycle boys (with regards with the improved security in DM while APEC summit in 2003). Be assured taxyboys and others will inspect carefully any luggages and will block those who can endanger the kingdom security/prosperity

IT issues ... as the customer service of true does not stop to tell me, if you are unhappy with the IT service, just give up on it. Why bother with that, anyway that is only farang who are complaining because IT issues

Bagage handling : the deputy director of something (there is always a deputy director anyway) presented a study that show bagage are a pain in the ass for most of the tourist. So if their baggage are safely stocked in theairport , they will be glad to retrieve them when living , and during their visit the tourist will be have their hand free to buy some new luggage : hermes at 150 bht or LV at 200 bht for exemple

Also it seems you were totally confuse (vision problem maybe, did you use genuine eyes glasses?) and mistaken some thai style construction with unfinished structure.Or maybe that is the some of the modern scuptulres already exposed who let you suppose ....

Look like you are simply a farang, trying to apply Descartes logic to a place where the only logic is to have fun

[boppia]

Just talked to a travel agent who said the exit fees for travelling abroad from Suwannaphum Airport will be 1,200 per person. Darn prices go up. I guess we will have to get used to it.

[sriracha john]

No need to have concerns regarding any type of environmental health issues for the public:

'No measures to curb noise from airport'

A top ear and hearing expert has expressed concerns about noise pollution around the new Suvarnabhumi Airport, saying the government has taken no measures to deal with it.

"The government lacks clear regulations," said Dr Suchitra Prasansuk, director of the Otology Centre at Siriraj Hospital.

Suchitra said the business-first mentality meant more housing estates being built near the new airport despite the hazard of permanent ear damage as a result of long-term exposure to noise pollution with more flights per minute than Don Muang Airport currently handles.

"In Osaka they built an airport far away from the city," she said.

Jet-engine sound often reaches 120 decibels while the normal acceptable level is 70.

Most susceptible are schools in the airport's vicinity. Suchitra said that aside from ear damage, long exposure to loud noise from the airport could lead to children in the area developing aggressive behaviour. She said some 20 per cent of students in urban schools next to major roads developed hearing impairment.

"Many don't have their ears examined, and if they're not functioning well they conclude that that's just the way it is," Suchitra pointed out. "People know nothing and think nothing about it. If you can't hear well for five to seven days [and do not seek treatment] you could ended up developing permanent damage."

Suchitra said one way of tackling the issue was to install noise-measurement boards at the new airport and other major traffic spots to warn people of the dangerous level of noise.

The Nation

[Chang_paarp]

Nope. This image is from NASA.

Google Earth has a different image. I think it is lower resolution. From what I remember, on Google the terminal is just a foundation and it shows just one or two runways. NASA shows two completed runways w/ a third under construction.

Does anyone know why the runways are asphalt or some other dark colored material? I'd think that in Thailand's hot climate that concrete would be better.

The black stuff hides the cracks that aren't there.

[dezeure]

I was just wondering what kind of plane that was

it has more than 400 people on board plus the gov people plus the standard crew

is this the level of truth that is spooned into our mouths

and this indicates the level of confidence we need to use ?

just some simple thoughts

Philip

I need to retract my words ... I just googled .... searching on max passengers boeing 747-400 and it came back with the following link and the following info ...

http://www.airliners.net/info/stats.main?id=100

Capacity

747-400 - Flightcrew of two. Typical three class seating for 416 (23 first, 78 business and 315 economy class pax). Cargo hold 170.5m3 (6025cuft) or 151m3 (5332cuft).

747-400 Domestic - Two class seating for 568 (24 first and 544 economy).

indeed... Planes are just limited to their Maximum T.O. weight and seat arrangement is just a click system that can easily be adjusted increasing or decreasing leg space....

SD

[sriracha john]

*sigh*

Just when I thought it wasn't possible to have any MORE corruption over some aspect at the airport, details are unravelling about MORE murky and shady dealings. Is there no end to this? It's no wonder they will more than double the departure tax to 1200 baht. They have to pay for this payola and corruption somehow:

AIRPORT SCANDAL

Inquiry into TAGS books urged by top Democrat

Questions raised over political links of ground services firm's shareholders

Veteran Democrat politician Kobsak Sabhavasu yesterday demanded the auditor-general probe the accounts of Thai Airport Ground Services (TAGS).

Kobsak's demand follows allegations that TAGS' new shareholders are nominees of a politically linked Thai interest group.

As the first commercial flights to Suvarnabhumi Airport touched down on Saturday, Kobsak revived claims about TAGS' allegedly dubious shareholding.

In December last year TAGS won the Suvarnabhumi Airport ground-services contract offered by Airports of Thailand Plc (AoT). There was no tender.

Questions over mysterious TAGS shareholdings remained unanswered, Kobsak said.

AoT owns 28.5 per cent of TAGS' shares.

AoT awarded a controversial 10-year contract to an obscure Singapore-based company that, through TAGS, would manage the new airport's 40,000-square-metre free zone logistics centre (FLC).

Kobsak claimed Singapore's Frobisher Pte Co Ltd was suspected of being a nominee of a politically linked Thai interest group.

Frobisher owns 48 per cent of TAGS' stock. The company's track record remains a mystery.

He said Frobisher had a registered capital of Bt2.4 million. The company identified its shareholders as a Singaporean lawyer, Thai investor Rawadi Jantawit and a trust fund.

Frobisher's accounts going back three years showed income in the first year of just Bt120. It increased to Bt200 in the second year.

"But media reports had Frobisher snapping up shares of British Airways and Lufthansa worth more than Bt200 million," Kobsak said.

Kobsak suspected large amounts of money were being spirited out of the country through TAGS. Evidence showed that before TAGS shares were purchased, TAGS spent Bt400 million to hire a consulting company for five months.

Consultant Detek was registered in the British Virgin Islands but its Singapore address was the same as that for Frobisher.

"We suspect the money was siphoned out of TAGS, which is not an ordinary private company but a company in which Thai state enterprises hold shares. The money was used to buy shares from the former shareholders. When a ghost company took up a major stake, it won the contract from AoT without having to bid,'' Kobsak said.

Relevant officials could not be reached yesterday for comment on Kobsak's allegations.

But, in December last year, Transport Minister Pongsak Ruktapongpisal dismissed the concerns.

He claimed no knowledge of Frobisher's shareholdings. But, its ownership was irrelevant as long as the company could do the job it was contracted to do, he said.

At that time an AoT source defended the decision to award TAGS the ground-services contract without holding a tender. The work was outsourcing, so bids were not necessary, the source said.

Kobsak yesterday called on Pongsak to take responsibility for allowing a ghost company to operate a business with a state enterprise.

The TAGS contract required reconsideration by the Cabinet, he said.

Kobsak questioned whether AoT knew about the Bt400 million TAGS spent hiring consultant Detek.

"The company meeting minutes for December 11 last year were altered. There was no report of the Bt400 million expense. But later that expense was detected in the accounts,'' Kobsak said.

Kobsak said the auditor-general had the authority to check TAGS' accounts because it was partly owned by Thai state enterprises.

The Nation

[oyanio]

93 Risk Areas

Bangkok airport ready in two months

Saturday, July 29, 2006 (Bangkok):

Landing at Bangkok's new international airport on Saturday, Thailand's Prime Minister said the long-delayed facility will be in full commercial operation in two months.

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra spoke after disembarking from the first commercial test flight at Suvarnabhumi Airport amid continuing concerns over safety.

The government has announced that full commercial services will begin from September 28.

On the eve of the test flights, the English-language Bangkok Post newspaper published a report from the International Civil Aviation Organization that identified 93 risk areas, including runway-end safety areas that were too short.

Thai authorities quickly downplayed the report, saying it was based on outdated information.

"I am confident that Suvarnabhumi will be in full commercial operation two months from today," said Thaksin, one of 375 passengers on a Boeing 747-400 Thai Airways International flight from the existing Don Muang International Airport.

A total of 24 flights were scheduled for Saturday, all of them to and from domestic points by the six Thailand-registered airlines- Bangkok Airways, Thai AirAsia, Orient Thai Airways, Nok Air, Phuket Air and national carrier Thai International.

The airport, located 45 kilometers (30 miles) east of central Bangkok, has been plagued by a blizzard of corruption scandals, inordinate delays, fires and other problems.

First conceived in 1960, the airport is situated at Nong Ngu Hao, or "Cobra Swamp," where villagers once caught cobras for a living.

Touted as a key Asian air hub, the airport is to accommodate up to 45 million passengers a year and take over much of the traffic from Bangkok's aging and overcrowded Don Muang airport. (AP)

Source: NDTV.com

[oyanio]

Agreed with you. When I 1st read the article I thought the distance between the 2 airport is 300 km apart. when i gone thru the next article it is only 45km from cnetral bangkok. it is not that far anyway...

[boppia]

"only 45 kilometers" will soon turn out to be a lot for those who use the airport. You'll see that Bangkokians will choose to fly out of Don Muang rather than waste time going to Suwanaphum. I wonder which smaller airlines will have flights out of Don Muang. Lets hope AirAsia flys only out of Suwannaphum. 45 miles ads up to a hel_l of a lot of extra miles and gasoline usage. I plan to travel out of the new airport. It will cost my family 1,200 x 3 persons plus taxis I guess 1,500 to 2,000 baht back and forth. That comes out to close to 5,000 baht more per trip.

By the way, if you fly to Singapore, Laos, Cambodia,Vietnam, China or any other local country you will have to pay the 1,200 each trip. That will add up. A 5,000 baht round-trip ticket to Singapore will now be 6,200.

[Scott]

I'll be glad when the darn thing is fully operational and we can hear about something else.

[terry57]

Dear Philip,

There were two B747 flights carried out from Don Muang to Suvarnabhumi yesterday and several other flights were performed from Phuket, Chiang Mai and other cities to Suvarnabhumi.

I flew in a second flight TG4554 from Don Muang to Suvarnabhumi. Thai Airways and AOT gave all the passengers certificates as being one of the first passengers to fly to Suvarnabhumi

For the time being these issues concern me most:

- The airport is too huge and passengers will be definitely lost without proper amount of quality SIGNs stating where to go etc etc.

- The security and safety: There are areas where objects can be exchanged between arrival and departure floors

- IT issues.

- baggage handling

- A lot of structures are not finished inside the airport.

- International Civil Aviation Organization has yet to give a permanent certificate to a new airport.

- Usually airports move to a new location in low season to have less problems with passengers. End of September is definitely not a LOW season in Thailand aviation industry.

- etc etc.

My dear,

your comments show you trully did not understood quite well LOS and did not get a clue on how things work here :

Airport is not too huge at all, farang will come by hundred of thousands daily to visit the temple ........... oooooooooooops to buy cheap CD in Pantip ................... ooops to buy OTOP products ......... oooooooooooops ................ anyway they will come to give away money as they have to do.

Security and safety is and will continue to be improved by the taxy boy, tuk tuk drivers and wondeful motorcycle boys (with regards with the improved security in DM while APEC summit in 2003). Be assured taxyboys and others will inspect carefully any luggages and will block those who can endanger the kingdom security/prosperity

IT issues ... as the customer service of true does not stop to tell me, if you are unhappy with the IT service, just give up on it. Why bother with that, anyway that is only farang who are complaining because IT issues

Bagage handling : the deputy director of something (there is always a deputy director anyway) presented a study that show bagage are a pain in the ass for most of the tourist. So if their baggage are safely stocked in theairport , they will be glad to retrieve them when living , and during their visit the tourist will be have their hand free to buy some new luggage : hermes at 150 bht or LV at 200 bht for exemple

Also it seems you were totally confuse (vision problem maybe, did you use genuine eyes glasses?) and mistaken some thai style construction with unfinished structure.Or maybe that is the some of the modern scuptulres already exposed who let you suppose ....

Look like you are simply a farang, trying to apply Descartes logic to a place where the only logic is to have fun

cricky's sting,

that has taken me a few reads to get my head around that little cracker reply.

i was'nt sure if you speaking english, freaking iddish or some other foreign language ?

but i got it sorted mate and loved your post.

thanks for that and your a top fella.

'

[Artisan]

"only 45 kilometers" will soon turn out to be a lot for those who use the airport. You'll see that Bangkokians will choose to fly out of Don Muang rather than waste time going to Suwanaphum. I wonder which smaller airlines will have flights out of Don Muang. Lets hope AirAsia flys only out of Suwannaphum. 45 miles ads up to a hel_l of a lot of extra miles and gasoline usage. I plan to travel out of the new airport. It will cost my family 1,200 x 3 persons plus taxis I guess 1,500 to 2,000 baht back and forth. That comes out to close to 5,000 baht more per trip.

Why do you say that? Suwanaphumi Airport is 30 km east of the city centre. Have a look at the map courtesy of Scrunchielaura: Bangkok Airports

There is very little in it when it comes down to travelling distance to either airport from the city centre and not all of Bangkok residents live in Din Daeng, Chaeng Wattana, Rangsit etc. What about the millions who live in Bang Kapi, Ramkhamhaeng, Bang Na etc? The road system to the new airport is as good as...no, it is better than, the road system to Don Muang. There will be no "waste of time". Anyway, what choice will Bangkok residents, and the millions and millions of passengers who are not from Bangkok, and anyone else for that matter, have? Will Don Muang be an available alternative?....of course not.

Where do you fly to? Why do you hope that AirAsia flies only out of the new airport and then make the point that it is going to cost you a lot more money? Sorry, but I don't follow your logic in any part of your post.

[Soju]

"only 45 kilometers" will soon turn out to be a lot for those who use the airport. You'll see that Bangkokians will choose to fly out of Don Muang rather than waste time going to Suwanaphum. I wonder which smaller airlines will have flights out of Don Muang. Lets hope AirAsia flys only out of Suwannaphum. 45 miles ads up to a hel_l of a lot of extra miles and gasoline usage. I plan to travel out of the new airport. It will cost my family 1,200 x 3 persons plus taxis I guess 1,500 to 2,000 baht back and forth. That comes out to close to 5,000 baht more per trip.

By the way, if you fly to Singapore, Laos, Cambodia,Vietnam, China or any other local country you will have to pay the 1,200 each trip. That will add up. A 5,000 baht round-trip ticket to Singapore will now be 6,200.

I don't follow your math. What is 45 kilometers? From what point to what point? Then you mention 45 miles. Where did that come from. Then you say 1,200 x 3, but forgot to mention that the existing departure tax is 500 THB, so if comparing the old to the new, it should be 700 x 3. (assuming that the 1,200 THB depature tax is real and not something that your travel agent just made up.) Then you mention 1,500 to 2,000 THB back and forth. To where? Is this some sort of expensive limousine or the normal taxis at the airport? What is the current cost at Don Muang? Again, you have to subtract the two to get the difference when comparint the old airport to the new. I doubt seriously that any destination would have such a difference in price by taxi unless you're taking one of the world's most espensive taxis. Again in your 5000 THB Singapore trip, you failed to mention the existing departure tax, so it should be 5,500 vs. 6,200. Please check your math and state more precisely where you're located and what sort of taxis you are using to substantiate your claims. Also, anyone have verification of this 1,200 THB depature tax at the new airport?

Oh, and you mention "smaller airlines will have flights out of Don Muang". Last I heard, all airlines will be flying out of the new airport and the old will only be for military or charter flights.

[alexth]

First test flight lands, problems discovered

BANGKOK: -- The first commercial test flight at the new Suvarnabhumi Airport landed with caretaker Pime Minisiter Toxsin Sinamahkmahk on board. Airport officials were stunned when the plane landed successfuly. "We're going to have a full investigation of what happened," said head Engineer Ramit Sidvays, "The navigation beacon funtioned perfectly and radio guidance systems worked flawlessly despite the early warning scandel and corruption detection systems recently installed" The advanced technology had been designed to prevent such landings, by immediately shutting down all safety devices in situations like this. "We've invited the Prime Minister to fly in again several more times," Sidvay added, "this time with backup systems on board which will automatically disable all power to the aircraft on approach at approximately 1500 feet. Unfortunately, for this first test, the systems were too late: Upon landing, the caretaker PM's press secretary announced that the airport has just been sold to Singapore. PM Toxsin clarified that this was a good thing for all Thai people because it would give him the opportunity to afford more luxury vacations, so he would be spending much more time outside of Thailand. The crowd present erupted into spontaneous appluase and cheers, but were each then charged with disorderly conduct and fined 1 Billion Baht each.

This is supposed to be funny? I (and thousands others) landed there safely today, the welcoming committee for all passengers was really nice, it was obvious that a lot of people had worked very hard to get to this point, so I wonder, what the hel_l is wrong with people writing drivel like this??? Seriously, why don't you try to coordinate the building of an international airport? It's so easy, really ANYONE could do a better job than the current regime...Go back to your cabbage farm, jackass.

hey florin old son,

you really need to light'n up abit as you will give your self a <deleted> heart attack and end up in the freaking hospital.

granted that it was'nt the laugh of the century but still not bad for a bit of a giggle old mate.

look, here's ten baht that im going give you for free, off you go down to soi cowboy

and by yourself a bleeding sense of humour. cheers fella

ps if you ask chua real nice like he might just give you some off those cabbages considering he's got a whole farm of them.

I guess my reaction was kinda over the top, but it just pisses me off when hard work does not get just recognition...it was very obvious today that everyone involved had gone down a long path to get to this point and posts like this guy's make a mockery not just of Thaksin, but of everyone involved with the project. I mean, it's one thing to do political satire, it's quite another to piss all over the people who made something happen...I guess the jackals just can't handle the fact that things actually went quite OK today.

Sure, there are a ton of issues that need fixing, and they are rushing the opening for pure political gain, but it's still an achievement, goddammit. Why can't people just appreciate something?

cricky's florin,

sounds like you had a blue with the misses old fella.

dont let these females bring you down old mate or you end up writing all these angry posts as you doing.

at the end of the day you'll just get a killer headache and end up feeling real crook like.

look i got a top cracking idea for you ok.

A. go to the fridge, knock the head of a long neck and scull the bas--rd.

B. go to the cupboard, find your self a bex and wack that into you.

C. get into the bedroom and for god sake have a nice lay down.

D. now here's the money shot me old mate. you got to keep away from the missus for a while as its doing your noggin in.

E you'll feel better tomorrow old son.

look im just trying to help a fellow poster out here cobber as i recon you'd be a top bloke when your not bent and twisted.

chock dee kup my good man

Terry, you ever considered getting a job as a clown . You obviously don't know the guy and you obviously don't have a [snip] clue about what you're talking about. [snip] ha ha ha ha, ho ho ho ho [snip]

Insults edited out. Please keep it civil. /Meadish

[Ricardo]

I'll be glad when the darn thing is fully operational and we can hear about something else.

I too look forward to the new airport being fully-functional and open, but suspect that the major corruption-scandals are many, and that the subject is going to run, and run, and run.

By the way, I note the departure-tax being quoted as B1200 now, surely it was only going to go up from the present B500 to B700, are the passengers now being asked to pay for the introductory-offer of no airport-charges for the airlines ?

[baboon]

1,200 Baht departure tax? That sounds WAY too much. Is this really true?

[Soju]

1,200 Baht departure tax? That sounds WAY too much. Is this really true?

Without going back and checking all the posts, I think only the poster "boppia" is making this claim based on what he heard from a travel agent and then myself and others repeating it. But being his post seems to be completely riddled with mathematical and other errors, I'm having my doubts about how accurate that amount may be. I'd like to see some other independent posters verify or disprove this claim or Boppia to reply and maybe give us the name of the travel agent who's telling him this. The amount of increase seems to be excessive to me also.

[sriracha john]

1,200 Baht departure tax? That sounds WAY too much. Is this really true?

Without going back and checking all the posts, I think only the poster "boppia" is making this claim based on what he heard from a travel agent and then myself and others repeating it. But being his post seems to be completely riddled with mathematical and other errors, I'm having my doubts about how accurate that amount may be. I'd like to see some other independent posters verify or disprove this claim or Boppia to reply and maybe give us the name of the travel agent who's telling him this. The amount of increase seems to be excessive to me also.

Visa extension fees quadrupled a few years ago... 500 to 1900...

National Park entrance fees are doubling next month... 200 to 400...

Hugely excessive expenses with corruption in practically every facet of the airport... billions in unnecessary costs...

COMPLETELY BELIEVEABLE AND UNSURPRISING, given these considerations and examples of past actions, that it's been more than doubled to 1200 baht.