Suvarnabhumi Airport

[Rinrada]

The world's first fully operational double-decker passenger aircraft, the Singapore Airlines A380, will begin service from Singapore's Changi Airport.

As the world's largest passenger aircraft, the A380 presents a unique challenge for many airports around the world.

In anticipation of the arrival of the A380, Singapore Airlines, its subsidiaries and partners, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS), Singapore Airport Terminal Services (SATS), Changi Airport Fuel Hydrant Installations (CAFHI) and its handling agents formed a Ground Handling Working Group in early 2005.

The task for the Working Group was twofold: to work with Airbus to guarantee seamless operations of the A380 at the airport, and to ensure passengers continue to experience the comfort and ease they have come to expect. ...and lots more ...from Singers Air....

Got a comp also going with winners getting 2 free tickets on the big one....promo...from Sing Air

I phone up Emirates , another customer to book a ticket yesterday and they had a nice little advert on the phone saying that the A380 is in service late 2006 to early 2007.

I hope that they are all right.........would like a little bet on it though if you fancy a small wager...?

As I said raining here in Hamburg....

...ORDERS

16 customers, including: Singapore Airlines (launch customer with an order for 10 aircraft), Lufthansa (15), Emirates (41), Air France (10), Qantas (12), Malaysia Airlines (6), Virgin Atlantic (6) International Lease Finance (10), Kingfisher Airlines (5), Qatar Airways (2), Federal Express (10), Korean Air (5), Thai Airways (6), Etihad Airways (4), China Southern Airlines (5) and United Parcels Service, have announced firm orders for 159 A380 airliners. 25 of these are for the cargo version.

and..

[Maestro]

The code NBK has been registered at the International Air Transport Association to identify Suvarnabhumi Airport from July 29.

I am curious about something and perhaps Udon or anybody else who is friends with a pilot can get the answer for me.

I believe that among the information a pilot enters on his flight computer before taking off is the code of the destination airport. Is this code the three-letter IATA code or the four-letter ICAO code? For example, Los Angeles International Airport has the following codes:

IATA code: LAX

ICAO code: KLAX

I suspect it is the IATA code, since the airport map issued to pilots, to which Meerkat provided a link, uses the IATA code, but I would like to be sure.

Neither IATA nor ICAO appear to publish a list of airport codes on their websites – which I find rather strange. I used to look this information up on http://www.airlinecodes.co.uk/ but this web site is down at the moment. The last time I checked this site, a couple of weeks ago, there was only Don Muang listed for Bangkok. Actually, as I remember it, it was not listed as Don Muang, but as Bangkok International Airport, but the co-ordinates pointed to Don Muang.

At any rate, I would prefer to find the airport code information on the official websites of IATA and/or ICAO. Does anybody have a corresponding link?

And where do pilots get this information about the code of an airport they have to fly to?

---------------

Maestro

[britmaveric]

Hi,

At present not many places can receive the A380, I was in Dubia 3 month ago and that had some double height rams installed.

Paris had them fall down last year ( that was the accident with the concrete)

Londons new terminal will.

Problem is the A380 will not be in service for a few years, so the airports are not really hurrying.

Wet here in Hamburg.

Singapore Airlines are quoted as saying they expect to start commercial flights to LHR "Late 2006/Early2007" with the A380.

Nope 380 is behind schedule and delivery for Singapore Air. Pissed them off royally and they ended up canceling a few of the orders and replaced it with 787 dreamliner. Prob more like 2008 to be honest.

[eddy-ham]

16 customers, including: Singapore Airlines (launch customer with an order for 10 aircraft), Lufthansa (15), Emirates (41), Air France (10), Qantas (12), Malaysia Airlines (6), Virgin Atlantic (6) International Lease Finance (10), Kingfisher Airlines (5), Qatar Airways (2), Federal Express (10), Korean Air (5), Thai Airways (6), Etihad Airways (4), China Southern Airlines (5) and United Parcels Service, have announced firm orders for 159 A380 airliners. 25 of these are for the cargo version...

................................................................................

..............................................................

Rinrada

Delivery is wrong...................also the order list above is wrong...................

still raining in Hamburg...

[ilyushin]

Hi,

At present not many places can receive the A380, I was in Dubia 3 month ago and that had some double height rams installed.

Paris had them fall down last year ( that was the accident with the concrete)

Londons new terminal will.

Problem is the A380 will not be in service for a few years, so the airports are not really hurrying.

Wet here in Hamburg.

Singapore Airlines are quoted as saying they expect to start commercial flights to LHR "Late 2006/Early2007" with the A380.

News Flash

A380 and New Bangkok International Airport have common problems - delays!

International

Tuesday August 29, 7:31 PM

A380 test flight cancelled over technical glitch

A test flight by Airbus' problem-plagued A380 was called off in mid-flight because of a fault with the super jumbo's landing gear controls, the company has said.

"Shortly after take-off the crew noted a discordance between two light signals, making it impossible to know whether or not the main landing gear was lowered," said a spokeswoman for the aircraft manufacturer Airbus on Tuesday.

ADVERTISEMENT

"That sparked the launch of a security mechanism stopping the undercarriage from being retracted, and it returned to land without difficulty in Toulouse."

The plane, which left the southwestern French city of Toulouse at 0500 GMT to Tozeur in southern Tunisia, was forced to turn back after just 34 minutes, airport authorities in Tozeur said earlier.

The technical glitch is the latest of several to be detected on board the A380, the world's biggest commercial airliner, whose deliveries worldwide have been seriously affected.

The European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS), which owns 80 percent of Airbus, announced in June that deliveries would be delayed by six to seven months because of a production problem involving wiring connections.

Only nine of the aircraft are to be delivered in 2007, an announcement that caused EADS share price to slump and led to top management changes at both Airbus and its parent company.

Airbus said the plane was headed to south Tunisia to "complete a series of tests in hot climates, most of which were carried out this summer in the United Arab Emirates".

The four A380 test planes have clocked up more than 1,800 hours of flying time in more than 575 flights since the first test flight on April 27, 2005.

The double-decker plane is designed to carry 555 to 840 passengers, about 35 percent more than the Boeing B747. To date, 16 airline companies have ordered 168 of the super jumbo jets.

[Meerkat]

The code NBK has been registered at the International Air Transport Association to identify Suvarnabhumi Airport from July 29.

I am curious about something and perhaps Udon or anybody else who is friends with a pilot can get the answer for me.

I believe that among the information a pilot enters on his flight computer before taking off is the code of the destination airport. Is this code the three-letter IATA code or the four-letter ICAO code? For example, Los Angeles International Airport has the following codes:

IATA code: LAX

ICAO code: KLAX

I suspect it is the IATA code, since the airport map issued to pilots, to which Meerkat provided a link, uses the IATA code, but I would like to be sure.

Neither IATA nor ICAO appear to publish a list of airport codes on their websites – which I find rather strange. I used to look this information up on http://www.airlinecodes.co.uk/ but this web site is down at the moment. The last time I checked this site, a couple of weeks ago, there was only Don Muang listed for Bangkok. Actually, as I remember it, it was not listed as Don Muang, but as Bangkok International Airport, but the co-ordinates pointed to Don Muang.

At any rate, I would prefer to find the airport code information on the official websites of IATA and/or ICAO. Does anybody have a corresponding link?

And where do pilots get this information about the code of an airport they have to fly to?

---------------

Maestro

Pilots enter the ICAO (ie 4 letter) code into the FMS onboard. The 3 letter codes are primarily used from a passenger's perspective. US airports' ICAO codes are IIRC all the same as their IATA ones with a "K" prefix, so perhaps the example I gave wasn't the best. Here are the charts for Don Muang:

http://tfc.rwy12.com/docs/VTBD.pdf#search=...20sid%20star%22

The code for Don Muang will remain the same (VTBD) and Suvarnabumi will get VTBS.

Pilots subscribe to charts from the likes of Jeppesen.

http://www.jeppesen.com

[udon]

He is a long haul pilot for Thai Airways

OP, are you sure?

[Maestro]

Pilots enter the ICAO (ie 4 letter) code into the FMS onboard.

The code for Don Muang will remain the same (VTBD) and Suvarnabumi will get VTBS.

Thank you, Meerkat. It’s all clear to me now. And it’s good to see that Suvarnabhumi already has an ICAO code.

--------------

Maestro

[Maestro]

Case of beer Chang says that it will open on time (not a betting man)and I will expect to be landing at Suwanna.Dlight TG 917 on the Friday Afternoon.(39th)...so...

Rinrada, I take it your flight is for 29 SEP 2006 and I should like to take you up on this bet but I shan’t get to Bangkok until 23 NOV and it is not my style to collect bets two months after the event. Hopefully, you have some other takers.

--------------

Maestro

[Maestro]

I don’t know how official this is:

To the international aviation industry, Suvarnabhumi airport will soon be known under the code-name NBK while Bangkok's international airport moves from Don Muang to the new site. The code NBK is being registered at the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to identify Suvarnabhumi from July 29 when six Thai airlines launch their trial commercial flights.

The code will be used for a period after the hoped-for opening of Suvarnabhumi airport for commercial services on Sept 28, until operations run smoothly.

Source: http://www.bangkokairportonline.com/node/19 (undated)

Meerkat, do you think they will really do this? Continue to use BKK for Don Muang and use NBK for Suvarnabhumi for a while after international flight operation starts at Suvarnabhumi?

Also, is it already known what IATA code Don Muang will have after the code BKK will be given to Suvarnabhumi?

--------------

Maestro

[sbk]

I don’t know how official this is:

To the international aviation industry, Suvarnabhumi airport will soon be known under the code-name NBK while Bangkok's international airport moves from Don Muang to the new site. The code NBK is being registered at the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to identify Suvarnabhumi from July 29 when six Thai airlines launch their trial commercial flights.

The code will be used for a period after the hoped-for opening of Suvarnabhumi airport for commercial services on Sept 28, until operations run smoothly.

Source: http://www.bangkokairportonline.com/node/19 (undated)

Meerkat, do you think they will really do this? Continue to use BKK for Don Muang and use NBK for Suvarnabhumi for a while after international flight operation starts at Suvarnabhumi?

Also, is it already known what IATA code Don Muang will have after the code BKK will be given to Suvarnabhumi?

--------------

Maestro

According to Thai officialdom Don Muang won't need an IATA code because it will cease to be an operating airport, they are saying Don Muang will close and ALL flights will be out of the new airport.

Glad I am not flying back until November

[Maestro]

According to Thai officialdom Don Muang won't need an IATA code because it will cease to be an operating airport, they are saying Don Muang will close and ALL flights will be out of the new airport.

I thought the latest from the Prime Minister was that the two airports are to operate simultaneously for at least two weeks:

from 15 SEP 2006 domestic flights at Suvarnabhumi at the airlines’ choice, international flights and remaining domestic flights at Don Muang

from 28 SEP 2006 0300 hours local time all domestic and international flights at Suvarnabhumi. Theoretically, of course, both airports can have the same IATA code BKK, I guess, since pilots use the ICAO code to bring them to the right airport. Or Suvarnabhumi might indeed use NBK during these two weeks of operating only some domestic flights.

--------------

Maestro

[kayo]

yeah, therefore, for all those who belive they are flying to don muang,

Maybe the reason for the confusion it seems to be that they ARE flying into

BKK

The new airport is adopting this code.

[udon]

For Kan Win http://www.airportsuvarnabhumi.com/

[Totster]

http://www.airportsuvarnabhumi.com/

[britmaveric]

Nothing from ICAO/IATA...hmmmmmmmmmm