New Airport Up And Running, Computer Glitches And Delayed Bags

[pap]

I still think its a good first step. As long as Air traffic control doesn't screw up all is good. 3 hours looking for luggage is a trip to Chicago. Or Heathrow or Orley. I have done that in all three places. Until you open a facility of this size you have no idea what the gotcha's are gonna be. The Japanese have arguably done the best at this and they still end up with glitches.

Now they know what the problems are....hopefully and and address them. Dry runs don't ever give you a simulation of scale. I still think its well within the norms.....and will continue to believe that until they lose my luggage shortly.

[pap]

How pleasant, for a change, to see some positive comments on here. I cannot imagine the complexities involved in opening a new airport, in a situation where you cannot close the old one until less than three hours beforehand! An absolute nightmare for all concerned.

All the faults so far mentioned are minor, IMHO, and will be cured quickly. People are very quick to forget the problems that HK and KL had when they did the same!

Give them a week, and I'm sure all will be well.

G

I think your overly optimistic. HK and KL have problems to this day. It took months to work through their major issues. It won't be done in a week. But it will get done.

[pap]

I think that in this instance Thailand has done a great job! Maybe some of the organisers of this project could be employed in the U.K. to sort out our larger airports.

Some of them (consultants and probably workers) were previously working at the larger airports.

[sonnyJ]

INteresting. Now the real story is opening up.

Does AOT ever say anything else than, "This is a minor problem and will not happen again once the transition period is over." ????

And yes they even try to make lost package THAI's fault.

Just wondering who should be to blame...

[sonnyJ]

I had a flight out of Suvarnabhumi today the 28th Sept. Took a taxi from Suk Soi 15 at 7 am, was at airport by 7:30 am. Cost baht 400 negotiated price with taxi, plus 65 baht for toll fees.

Thanks for the info.

Man have you ever used a metered taxi, or a taxi meter as it is in Thailand?

It can't be more than 200B man...

I'd still like to know some facts of the metered fares though.

[pap]

I had a flight out of Suvarnabhumi today the 28th Sept. Took a taxi from Suk Soi 15 at 7 am, was at airport by 7:30 am. Cost baht 400 negotiated price with taxi, plus 65 baht for toll fees.

Thanks for the info.

Man have you ever used a metered taxi, or a taxi meter as it is in Thailand?

It can't be more than 200B man...

I'd still like to know some facts of the metered fares though.

I suppose this will be the same as old airport but I haven't seen the layout. Go to the drop off point for out going and catch a taxi at drop off. Much cheaper.

[sonnyJ]

Paps this was other way.

[pap]

INteresting. Now the real story is opening up.

Does AOT ever say anything else than, "This is a minor problem and will not happen again once the transition period is over." ????

And yes they even try to make lost package THAI's fault.

Just wondering who should be to blame...

It should be whoevers fault that lost the package. Normally it would be the baggage handlers fault for not getting it to the right place. The people working the old airport knew the airport and where to go if normal systems failed. Once the workers find these same work arounds this airport will be fine. There is always an initial disconnect between Engineers and the workers in everything I have seen. The world won't end....unless they lose my bags....

[pap]

Paps this was other way.

Did I say this wrong.

I never went to pick up on arrival and usually get a meter on way out. Usually I paid for expressway, although at times it didn't seem to be needed.

[sonnyJ]

No you didn't Pap. I guess we are just talking about different things.

To call taxi in Bangkok is 1681 and 20 baht over the meter.

[samuislander]

I worked as Q.A. on both Hong ong and K.L. airports.

They both had a lot of problems and still have some.

The oonly way to work out the kinks is to open and use the systems, no test ever works the systems, using them does.

As rule in 6 months they should have 95% of the proplems solved, the last 5% take a long time and a lot of changes and money.

Congrats to Thailand on the Opening of the new airport.

We have been waiting for a long, long time.

Also can anyone tell me where I can gat a copy of the photo of the plane being towed by the Elephant at Don Muang.

A great photo if there ever was one.

Thanks from Samui

[sriracha john]

A manager for King Power Duty Free Shop said total sales on the first day were only Bt3,000-Bt4,000, less than 10 per cent of what the company used to ring up at Don Muang. However, she was optimistic that more customers would come later.

-- The Nation 2006-09-29

I guess this manager is not talking about total sales for the king group, but about a single shop ?

No, I think that was for all 148 shops comprising 20,000 square meters of shopping pleasure...

3,000 baht... Quite the haul....

well done, King Power

[Ricardo]

Update:

SUVARNABHUMI AIRPORT OPENS

Touch down...into chaos

Lost baggage, crashed computer check-in systems, shouting passengers - AOT calls opening day a '75% success'

SUVARNABHUMI: -- It took the Korean visitors three hours to get their luggage, and they left no one in doubt as to their displeasure. A computer system crash forced staff into the unfamiliar role of manually checking-in passengers. Then more bags were lost and a scrum formed around the "Lost and Found" office. Flights were delayed time and again. Snafu was the order of the day.

Utter chaos for Suvarnabhumi's opening? Definitely not, say the airport's spin doctors.

Officials and system consultants shrugged off the teething problems and expressed complete confidence that Suvarnabhumi Airport would soon be free of "hiccups".

"We are 75 per cent satisfied," Chotisak Asapaviriya, president of Airports of Thailand Plc, said yesterday. "There were some minor problems that have upset us."

At 11am, the centralised check-in system crashed, first paralysing 11 counters of Thai Airways International and later spreading to 13 counters of Nok Air and some international airlines.

This also happened several times, during the 'soft-opening' running-in period. But still happens two weeks later.

Ground staff resorted to using computer notebooks and filling out boarding passes by hand.

According to reports, many passengers on a variety of flights waited for at least two hours to get their luggage. Over 100 visitors from Incheon, arriving on flight OX301, vented their anger at Thai Airways International's counters. They shouted at THAI ground agents when three hours passed and still their luggage had not appeared.

Passengers on other flights encountered similar problems. Those on TG343 from Jakarta also waited for three hours. TG 917 from London landed at 3pm and the designated carousel was empty until 5pm. To the dismay of first-class passengers, they retrieved their belongings at the same time as economy-class travellers.

"The Lost and Found counter was flooded with complaints," said a ground officer who asked not to be named.

"Passengers of airlines including THAI and Aerosvit Airlines faced the same problem," said one AOT official.

Air Chief Marshall Chalit Pukbhasuk, chairman of the Council for Democratic Reform's committee in charge of the airport opening, visited the facility at 7am. He acknowledged the foul ups but said all units were attacking the mishaps one by one.

A sensible man - taking the only practical approach.

"Problems are common for the first operating hour of a new airport. We should know better later on," he told a swarm of reporters.

Fair comment, except this was NOT the first hour, of the new airport, which has been in 'soft-opening' for a few weeks, and test-mode for months, now.

AOT's Chotisak said it took time for ground crews to transfer bags from planes to conveyer belts due to the delay in the relocation of baggage handling equipment from Don Muang to Suvarnabhumi. THAI supplies the AOT with the baggage-handling equipment.

A fierce overnight storm had thrown THAI's schedule for its migration programme completely out of whack. As of 7am, only 80 per cent of the removal was complete.

"The conveyor system functioned well, but there was a problem transferring luggage from the aircraft to the conveyor belts because baggage lorries had not arrived [from Don Muang]," Chotisak said. "This is a minor problem and will not happen again once the transition period is over."

Which is why the TV showed the belts jamming, and being cleared by hand, repeatedly. Why didn't the tests or 'soft-opening' find & correct these faults ?

About 200 suitcases were also found left behind at the airport after some THAI flights took off for domestic and international destinations.

THAI president Apinan Sumanaseni was sure that his airline's system functioned well, but the problem could lie with the baggage handling system, which is under AOT's supervision.

"We are contacting the bag owners to send them their belongings. This is a big blunder happening at THAI," he said.

Somchai Swasdipol, director of Suvarnabhumi Airport, said AOT is investigating the matter. The bungling could have arisen from the slow transfer of luggage rather than any trouble with the actual baggage handling system, he said.

The botched baggage handling was partially attributable to flights arriving late. About 17 flights were overdue, 45 minutes in the worst case. Most departing passengers anticipated the delay and arrived at the airport well in advance.

The first commercial flight to alight at Suvarnabhumi was also 20 minutes behind schedule. Flying from Kiev, the Aerosvit Airlines plane landed at 4.30am, instead of the original time of 4.10am. It landed at the same time as an EVA Airways flight from Amsterdam.

But the first 'commercial flight' was some weeks ago, surely ?

"Aerosvit's flight was delayed at the originating port, not because of technical problems at Suvarnabhumi," the AOT official said.

Upon arrival, the first passengers received commemorative souvenirs from AOT chairman Srisook Chandrangsu and his management team, who waited in front of Gate E4. One of the passengers was a local from Udon Thani who was unaware that his plane would put down at the new airport.

"I'm confused. Don Muang is more familiar to me as I don't know the traffic network of Suvarnabhumi," he said.

Aerosvit Airlines also operated the first flight from Suvarnabhumi. Bound for Kiev, it left at 5.40am. It took four minutes for each passenger to check in, instead of the normal two minutes at Don Muang, as staff needed time to get used to the new IT system.

Cathay Pacific also operated a flight from Hong Kong, but with only a 55-per-cent load factor rather than the usual 80 per cent.

"Passengers were worried about convenience on the first day of operations," said Yongyut Lujintanont, marketing manager for Thailand and Burma. The cabin factor should return to normal today, he said.

The chaotic environment on the first day also dulled the appetite for shopping among passengers. Most of the visitors concentrated on checking out the airport's amenities. Some of the duty free shops were still being fitted out and were not open yet.

A manager for King Power Duty Free Shop said total sales on the first day were only Bt3,000-Bt4,000, less than 10 per cent of what the company used to ring up at Don Muang. However, she was optimistic that more customers would come later.

-- The Nation 2006-09-29

the thais have done a brilliant job getting this airport up and running and i had total faith they would.

now i wonder what the doom sayers are going to say. ?

you remember punters dont you.?

all the people that slagged off the thais saying that it would never happen, there where threads of that garbage on here.

where are they now ?

hiding somewhere i suspect.

maybe under a very large rock holding hands together.

well done thailand and i love you more everyday.

Terry, read the Nation's report, it is full of avoidable problems, which were detected weeks ago by the tests & 'soft-opening', but are not yet fixed.

It is as though many laudatory posts are talking about a different airport.

And highlighting problems, in time to be able to correct them, is a totally different thing to 'slagging off Thais', as I'm sure you'd agree ?

And a month extra spent on staff-training & de-bugging the systems, instead of rushing blindly onwards on the say-so of a now-departed politician, might have resulted in a smoother operation yesterday. Which would have mattered to the many passengers affected.

[Plus]

The oonly way to work out the kinks is to open and use the systems, no test ever works the systems, using them does.

So taking the next step forward and thinking out of the box, they decided not to bother with tests at all. Or was it thinking out of some other place? Was there thinking at all?

They should have worked on minimising the problems, not opening at any costs.

[george]

Update:

Baggage delays mar Suvarnabhumi takeoff

BANGKOK: -- Long delays in collecting passenger baggage appeared as a big problem needing urgent solution on the first day of regular operations for Bangkok's new Suvarnabhumi Airport on Thursday.

The troubles were evidenced in a protest staged by around 200 Korean passengers of One-Two-Go by Orient Thai Airlines, who waited for up to four hours for their baggage but found they were missing.

The baggage collection process is part of ground service provided by Thai Airways International Public Company Limited.

The company apologised to passengers for the delay in collecting their personal belongings, stating that it would quickly solve the problem and deliver the baggage to their local addresses.

The delays in supplying passenger baggage were in part due to a container carrying passenger baggage from the aircraft to the passenger terminal being too big to be moved through the underground transit to the conveyor service spot.

Chotisak Asapaviriya, President of Airports of Thailand Public Company Limited (AoT), said the delays were caused by a shortage of trailers for baggage transport provided by THAI.

However, THAI executives ruled out the blame, saying up to 800 trailers had been in the airport since Thursday morning.

--TNA 2006-09-29

[Crossy]

The delays in supplying passenger baggage were in part due to a container carrying passenger baggage from the aircraft to the passenger terminal being too big to be moved through the underground transit to the conveyor service spot.

Pretty fundamental design flaw, I wonder what others will surface over the next weeks. Hopefully none involving taxiing aircraft not fitting in the space between gates

[tangoll]

I had a flight out of Suvarnabhumi today the 28th Sept. Took a taxi from Suk Soi 15 at 7 am, was at airport by 7:30 am. Cost baht 400 negotiated price with taxi, plus 65 baht for toll fees.

Thanks for the info.

Man have you ever used a metered taxi, or a taxi meter as it is in Thailand?

It can't be more than 200B man...

I'd still like to know some facts of the metered fares though.

SonnyJ: The taxi driver told me that DM was 25 km and Suvarnabhumi 40 km from mid-Sukhumvit. If this is so, then baht 400 fixed price to Suv is to me reasonable enough, since most taxis would accept baht 250 plus tolls to DM before. Insisting on meter use to the airport and after adding the 50 baht surcharge may save a few baht vs. the 250 to DM in the past, but the savings is not that great and to me not worth the hassle. In near future, probably baht 300 or 350 plus tolls (65 baht) should be sufficient for most taxis to Suv.

Around town, I just pay by the meter, so yes, I've used metered taxis, rarely use tuk tuk, and never motorcycle taxi. I also walk a lot including sometimes from Sukhumvit soi 3/4/5 to Erawan, then via Rajaprarob to Sri Ayuthaya, and onto Phayathai.

[mtnthai]

considering the size of the move, and all the turmoil of the last week or so politically, not too bad.

i flew into the newly opened hk airport, on the sixth flight they recieved that day. we were trapped on the gangway for an hour while they tried to open the door to the terminal, seems the security system was a bit off. so it would seem to be a not so bad start for bkk.

[Artisan]

considering the size of the move, and all the turmoil of the last week or so politically, not too bad.

i flew into the newly opened hk airport, on the sixth flight they recieved that day. we were trapped on the gangway for an hour while they tried to open the door to the terminal, seems the security system was a bit off. so it would seem to be a not so bad start for bkk.

Well said.

We're talking about a major international airport; a complex undertaking of vast proportions involving sophisticated engineering, architectural and logistical factors, certainly beyond our comprehension.

Suvarnabhumi Airport isn't like Windows XP, or any previous Windows based operating system, which has taken........ I don't know, maybe the best part of 13 - 14 years to iron out most of the glitches......and it's still not perfect. It's not like a new Toyota or Mistubishi automobile where the new models have been subject to many embarrassing recalls. Wouldn't it have been nice if the new airport could have been beta-tested? Wouldn't it have been nice if the project had been part of a market research programme, a prototype from which the final design and operation could be let loose on the general public?...... It's not feasible, is it?

This is a new airport, opened with problems galore, most of them yet to be uncovered. So, let's drop the growing negativity and look forward to being proud of Thailand's, or even the world's, showpiece airport. Thank you.

[Plus]

It's not like a new Toyota or Mistubishi automobile where the new models have been subject to many embarrassing recalls.

If only it was as reliable as new Toyota or Mitsubishi.

I don't quite understand the logic of it - project like this will never have a smooth opening so let's drop all the caution and preparations altogether. It's like customers cheering shopkeepers for raising prices.

Negativity is bad, true, but it's unavoidable with a project like this. Get used to it.

[TokyoT]

Flew into the new airport last night, arrived around 21:00. I actually like the décor – kind of industrial chic.

At the time I arrived there were more than enough people working the immigration desk. Also note that the moving walkways are wide enough for people to stand to one side, and others to walk past them on the other. As long as people do not stand side-by-side blocking the flow then you can move along at a good clip. However pretty much every other moving walkway had at least one set of people messing up the works.

The baggage took about an hour longer than normal. The electronic screen that show which baggage carousel will hold baggage for which flight switched back and forth between Thai and English too fast. They have actual customs desks and appear to be set to actually use them some time in the future. Thailand might even start to use customs declaration forms at some time in the future who knows.

Was pretty tight after clearing customs – not a lot of room for people to move along once they pass thru those last set of doors and into the lobby area. Only thing holding back the throngs of people was a red line on the floor – anyone who has spent any time in Asia can guess how effective said line was in holding back the crowd and allow for free flow of people out of customs.

Signage was pretty poor. But managed to find my way to the metered taxies one level down without too much trouble. Did not have to wait in line long (about 10-15 min) but they could use some work at actually getting people to form a reasonable line.

Taxi trip down to lower Suhkumvit took longer than normal and was just under 190 baht. I have never had a fair over 160 baht from DM. Plus the taxi driver attempted to pocket 10 baht in change from one of the tollbooths. I guess he did not know this was not my first trip to Thailand. Nice move attempting to rip-off the guy who might just give you a tip at the end of the trip – pure genius. The second set of tollbooths held things up and was probably the main reason it took longer. They only had three booths open and traffic was backed up. Passed quite a bit of airport equipment headed the other direction on the toll way.

All-in-all not a bad job considering the size of the task at hand. Will probably take quite a bit longer to get things really running smoothly.

[sriracha john]

Thai Airways sacks executive over luggage mess at new airport

Flag carrier Thai Airways International Plc said Friday it has sacked an executive over hours-long luggage delays on the opening day of Bangkok's new international airport.

"The luggage problem was caused by internal management disorders at Thai Airways. We have already sacked a top person in charge of handling luggage," airline president Apinan Sumanaseni told.

Suvarnabhumi airport officially opened on Thursday, with more than 800 flights carrying 120,000 travellers passing through the glitzy three-billion-dollar airport on the first day.

However, the new airport was flooded with complaints from disgruntled international passengers who had to wait for hours to collect their luggage.

Airports of Thailand, which operates Suvarnabhumi, blamed Thai Airways for causing long delays.

"Luggage handling equipment from Thai Airways did not arrive on time and some luggage handlers from the airline did not even show up at the airport," said Chotisak Aspaviriya, president of the airport operator.

"The airline must look after problems for passengers," he said.

The general manager of Suvarnabhumi, Somchai Sawasdeepon, said all operations, including luggage handling, went smoothly on Friday.

"So far we have smooth operations on the second day. To me, the disorders seen yesterday (Tuesday) were normal and acceptable for a new airport," Somchai said.

The airline's chief, Apinan, also said he received no reports of problems on Friday when another 800 flights were expected to pass through.

Agence France-Presse

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

The "executive" is ultimately unnamed, nor even any mention of his real job title.

[Artisan]

Negativity is bad, true, but it's unavoidable with a project like this. Get used to it.

OK, I agree with your first sentence but I can't accept your second sentence. Isn't your second sentence being utterly negative and why should I/we/whoever "get used to it"?

[Suzy]

Flew into the new airport at 10.30 last night. After two hours no baggage had come through and everybody was complaining. This was not only our flight but around ten flights. The only answer was, wait or fill in a form and you'll get it when we find it. Please allow three days for delivery. Finally after nearly three hours of waiting the baggage came through with an estimated 50% damaged in one way or another.

Going through immigration was a joke, Thais were waived through without any form of security check and nobody bothered to check the luggage.

[Plus]

why should I/we/whoever "get used to it"?

I mean if you can't stop people from complaining you better get used to it.

Another solution is to filter the board and read only Soiju posts. Satisfaction guaranteed.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>

I think airport squabbles are nothing comparing to how people get wound up over bar girls or Pattaya. We have a very healthy mix of good and not very good reports, only one or two obvious rants.

This forum is the best source of news for those who need to travel now.

Cheers

[Soju]

Flew into the new airport last night, arrived around 21:00. I actually like the décor – kind of industrial chic.

At the time I arrived there were more than enough people working the immigration desk. Also note that the moving walkways are wide enough for people to stand to one side, and others to walk past them on the other. As long as people do not stand side-by-side blocking the flow then you can move along at a good clip. However pretty much every other moving walkway had at least one set of people messing up the works.

The baggage took about an hour longer than normal. The electronic screen that show which baggage carousel will hold baggage for which flight switched back and forth between Thai and English too fast. They have actual customs desks and appear to be set to actually use them some time in the future. Thailand might even start to use customs declaration forms at some time in the future who knows.

Was pretty tight after clearing customs – not a lot of room for people to move along once they pass thru those last set of doors and into the lobby area. Only thing holding back the throngs of people was a red line on the floor – anyone who has spent any time in Asia can guess how effective said line was in holding back the crowd and allow for free flow of people out of customs.

Signage was pretty poor. But managed to find my way to the metered taxies one level down without too much trouble. Did not have to wait in line long (about 10-15 min) but they could use some work at actually getting people to form a reasonable line.

Taxi trip down to lower Suhkumvit took longer than normal and was just under 190 baht. I have never had a fair over 160 baht from DM. Plus the taxi driver attempted to pocket 10 baht in change from one of the tollbooths. I guess he did not know this was not my first trip to Thailand. Nice move attempting to rip-off the guy who might just give you a tip at the end of the trip – pure genius. The second set of tollbooths held things up and was probably the main reason it took longer. They only had three booths open and traffic was backed up. Passed quite a bit of airport equipment headed the other direction on the toll way.

All-in-all not a bad job considering the size of the task at hand. Will probably take quite a bit longer to get things really running smoothly.

Good report, TokyoT. I forgot to mention the width of the moving walkways. They were much wider than most moving walkways I've seen and no problems passing single passengers. I even passed two Thai-sized women standing side-by-side. A first for me on any moving walkway. Two large-sized farangs standing side-by-side would be unpassable.

Agree with you on the signage. Though that should be an easy problem to fix.

Agree also with the problem of too many people and not enough space on arrival after exiting customs. I see this as the biggest problem with the airport that is not going to be easy to fix. IMHO it is a basic design flaw in making a terminal with such a narrow arrival area. The arrival area needs to be at least 2 or 3 times deeper than it is! I suppose they could do like they did at Don Muang and take up the entire depth for an arrival area and then force passengers off to the left or the right, but that's really not so great either.

[Soju]

Going through immigration was a joke, Thais were waived through without any form of security check and nobody bothered to check the luggage.

Do you mean customs rather than immigration? I find it really hard to believe that people would be able to pass through immigration without any checks and without stamping their passports. This would be a major problem if they did that. Customs was the same as it's always been for me at Don Muang. Just walk through and give a smile to the customs officer and they didn't stop me nor anyone else.

[sonnyJ]

Sounds as a normal Asian airport TokyoT. Cheers.

Thai Airways sacks executive over luggage mess at new airport

Flag carrier Thai Airways International Plc said Friday it has sacked an executive over hours-long luggage delays on the opening day of Bangkok's new international airport.

"The luggage problem was caused by internal management disorders at Thai Airways. We have already sacked a top person in charge of handling luggage," airline president Apinan Sumanaseni told.

Suvarnabhumi airport officially opened on Thursday, with more than 800 flights carrying 120,000 travellers passing through the glitzy three-billion-dollar airport on the first day.

However, the new airport was flooded with complaints from disgruntled international passengers who had to wait for hours to collect their luggage.

Airports of Thailand, which operates Suvarnabhumi, blamed Thai Airways for causing long delays.

"Luggage handling equipment from Thai Airways did not arrive on time and some luggage handlers from the airline did not even show up at the airport," said Chotisak Aspaviriya, president of the airport operator.

"The airline must look after problems for passengers," he said.

The general manager of Suvarnabhumi, Somchai Sawasdeepon, said all operations, including luggage handling, went smoothly on Friday.

"So far we have smooth operations on the second day. To me, the disorders seen yesterday (Tuesday) were normal and acceptable for a new airport," Somchai said.

The airline's chief, Apinan, also said he received no reports of problems on Friday when another 800 flights were expected to pass through.

Agence France-Presse

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

The "executive" is ultimately unnamed, nor even any mention of his real job title.

So will the new luggage boss have training for his job?

This is so Asian story. Can you believe in it?

AOT CAPO: You at THAI already caused us problems by your employees negative statements last week. Why cannot you be krengjai for the country?

THAI CAPO: Ok, we take the blame this time, I don't like that guy anyway. So can we go play golf now, you pay.

[Maestro]

Finally after nearly three hours of waiting the baggage came through with an estimated 50% damaged in one way or another.

This high percentage of damaged baggage is very unusual and makes one wonder what happened, if the delay and the damage are linked.

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

Maestro

[NewGuy]

My gf and I flew in from Macau about 6 pm last night on Air Asia. Lots of taxiing to the parking area, a short walk into the terminal (no security evident); we paused at King Power to pick up booze. Before, we used to be able to buy as many bottles as we could carry but this time they restricted us to one each and took a h*ll of a long time transcribing arrival card data onto their computer. The selection was pretty small as well (no tequila, for instance), then we had a short walk to immigration which seemed adequately staffed; processing took about a minute, luggage pick up was a snap, poor signage on the way to Nothing To Declare (no checking, no security) and onwards into the malestrom. Jeez, I hate breaking into the free surrounded by tons of touts (half hoped they would have been left at Don Muang). Couldn't see signage about taxis or what floor we were on. BTW, didn't see a cop or soldier anywhere and figured they didn't give a hoot about security (on the way to Macau the staff at Don Muang didn't twig to a sissors in my medic kit; it was picked up, and okayed, when leaving Macau). No taxis or buses at the kerb but lots of people sitting around, and lots of touts as well. Luggage carts were stacking up blocking access to elevators. We went downstairs and got a cab at the Arrivals level. 50 Baht service charge to be paid to the cabby. I couldn't tell if he first paid the arrivals "helpers". Paper was flying everywhere. The cabbie said he was part of the Suvarnapoomi Taxi Co-op and that this fee reimbursed him for the trouble of going to the new airport, delivering people in town and going without a passenger back to the airport. I thought BULL and settled in to endure a dreary 1 hour and 50 minutes stop and go ride through the traffic to the Central store in Bang Na.

All-in-all, not bad except for the traffic.