Just had my first trip through Suwarnabhumi. It looks fantastic on the outside, very impressive. However, inside wasn't exactly the improvement I had been hoping for.

Despite the massive space inside the new terminal somehow it was just as conjested as Don Muang. At the gate things seemed worse - there were not enough seats in the waiting area (and this for a domestic flight). Hardly any place to eat and prices are high (not that I expected *that* to change). Catch a bus out to the plane, great.

The major change seems to have been swapping institutional brown for institutional grey.

Need to take a bus to the plane??? I thought this was going to be one of the advantages of the new airport--eliminating those bus rides. Why would someone design an airport that required bus rides. I would think the cost overhead would be more expensive than not having them not to mention they are an unwelcome addition to passengers trip.

I just arrived this evening via the new airport...

On a flight from udon to Bkk, we spent just as long on the taxiway at Bkk as we did in the air, the plane then parked about 2km away from the arrivals and so we had to catch a bus to the terminal.

The 1 hour flight left Udon at 6pm, by the time I had my luggage and was out the door it was 9pm.

I was surprised at the lack of taxis outside the arrivals, little did I know that I had to take a shuttle bus 20 min down the road to get one.

The new airport is a total joke.

Need to take a bus to the plane??? I thought this was going to be one of the advantages of the new airport--eliminating those bus rides. Why would someone design an airport that required bus rides. I would think the cost overhead would be more expensive than not having them not to mention they are an unwelcome addition to passengers trip.

Its actually cheaper to park remotely and have passengers bussed to that location rather than at a gate. Don't ask me why. I saw a program on Ryanair and how they tried to cut costs and this was one of them. Of course if it was an ATR then you can't use the gate.

I agree that the new airport *looks* impressive from the outside but the inside is another story!

I parked my car there for a few days recently. The elevators from the car park to the passenger terminal level are out of action, so if you have to heave your luggage up and down the stairs!

The elevated walkways in the terminal building itself are very narrow. If anyone wants to walk past you in a hurry they'd have no hope!

Like most things in Thailand, as long as it *looks* good nothing else matters.