New Airport

[cwilliam]

I left at the old airport and returned at the new.I had a good time returning at the new.Stop all your complaining nobody with common sense will listen to you anyway.Get a life and enjoy the new airport.Anybody that gets taken for a ride by the bandit taxis's deserves the ride,I gave an obscene jesture to anybody that tried to rip me off.A fool and his money are soon parted,if your a fool you deserve what you get.Been there done that!!!! And if you try to take in more than you are allowed I hope they throw the book at you!!

Edited October 28, 2006 by cwilliam

[tt61]

Yeah, a great new airport where you have to piss in your pants for lack of dunnies...

Are you by any chance employed by the AOT as a promotion agent...?

No, be realistic and accept that it opened prematurely and is not yet 100% ready for business. It probably will be and when that day comes I will fully agree with you, but that day is not today....

[Freddie_fly]

Well great for you cwilliam, perhaps you could enlighten us all as to what exactly was so enjoyable about the new airport as I will be landing there in 12 days. I already know about the lack of Toilets, the poor heat regulation, the tiny arrivals area, the lack of signs and the rip off KingPower monopoly.

What specifically was so enjoyable about the whole experience.

Considering the huge amount of publicity and complaints, not only from whining tourists but also from Airline representatives, It would be interesting to hear from such a seasoned traveller, that all is, in fact, well in the kingdom of Thailand. Do bear in mind that this long running project has been heavily advertised as "state of the art" and also tied (rather cynically) to National Pride.

regards

[Turok]

I agree with CWilliam:

Stop your complaining.

Went from Bangkok to Las Vegas. Used EVA Air

Was the drive to the airport easy with no traffic? Yes

Was the check in process simple? Yes

Were my bags loaded onto the plane? Yes

Did the plane depart safely and on time? Yes

Is the outisde area where cars drop off and pick up passengers better than DM? Bg Yes.

Was immigration fast as well as the baggage claim? Yes

These are the most important factors to consider. Remember you whiners that an airport is not a shopping mall, hotel, bar, etc... but a place for planes to safely arrive and depart and do this in a timely manner.

I have some criticisms but nothing that would say that this is a BAD airport.

1. Lack of signs to tell you what floor you were on. Can be easily fixed. This is common practice in Thailand as the Paragon is another mega structure with poor signage.

2. Grey coloring needed some flowers and trees to spruce it up. Can be easily fixed.

3. A wider variety of shops inside the terminal before departure. It kind of looked like Sukumvit Road with Boots, 7-11, and a Family Mart next to each other. I expect a beauty salon shortly. But nothing to claim that the airport opened to early.

4. The inside after the customs is nothing but a shopping mall with high end items. The eating inside was better than outside.

5. The moving walkway drops you right off into that duty free shop. Literally it takes you right into the women's perfume. This could be tricky for a frist timer but again nothing to lose sleep over. Signs now help you get through that.

6. Yes the air was uneven but again it is a mammoth structure. Don't stand in that hot area then. Move. This problem will be fixed.

7. Don't buy stuff at King Power. It isn't cheaper than in the shopping malls. Duty free in LAX saves you a few dollars. Big deal.

8. The arrival area is smaller but not hard to navigate. LAX is much worse! And the baggage claim in Las Vegas took over an hour and that is supposed to be the first world? Of course next to teh baggage claim in Vegas were rows of slots. Maybe the idea is to be slow. Baggage claim in Bangkok 20 minutes after we landed.

Freddie Fly, I had no trouble using the toilet. How long do you expect to be at the airport? Heck the ride into the city will be MUCH longer than a 3 minute walk to a toilet. Its a huge structure and maybe you have to walk 50 meters for a piss. Your walk from your hotel to Nana plaza has no toilets and I don't see lots of complaining about that. The walk to the pisser in Suvanabhumi will do you some good. Consider it exercise. The toilet problem is not that bad.

The airport did not open early. These small problems that you whingers are complaining about can be easily rectified and I am sure they will.

Getting back to my first point...

Did the airport safely and quickly get me from check in, through customs, bags on plane, board and depart, move me through customs as they said they would? YES.

The airport is a success.

Find something else to complain about you old Farts!

Turok

Edited October 28, 2006 by Turok

[britmaveric]

Well great for you cwilliam, perhaps you could enlighten us all as to what exactly was so enjoyable about the new airport as I will be landing there in 12 days. I already know about the lack of Toilets, the poor heat regulation, the tiny arrivals area, the lack of signs and the rip off KingPower monopoly.

What specifically was so enjoyable about the whole experience.

Considering the huge amount of publicity and complaints, not only from whining tourists but also from Airline representatives, It would be interesting to hear from such a seasoned traveller, that all is, in fact, well in the kingdom of Thailand. Do bear in mind that this long running project has been heavily advertised as "state of the art" and also tied (rather cynically) to National Pride.

regards

You forgot the large cracks appearing on the tarmac!!!

[onzestan]

I agree with CWilliam:

Stop your complaining.

Went from Bangkok to Las Vegas. Used EVA Air

Was the drive to the airport easy with no traffic? Yes

Was the check in process simple? Yes

Were my bags loaded onto the plane? Yes

Did the plane depart safely and on time? Yes

Is the outisde area where cars drop off and pick up passengers better than DM? Bg Yes.

Was immigration fast as well as the baggage claim? Yes

These are the most important factors to consider. Remember you whiners that an airport is not a shopping mall, hotel, bar, etc... but a place for planes to safely arrive and depart and do this in a timely manner.

I have some criticisms but nothing that would say that this is a BAD airport.

1. Lack of signs to tell you what floor you were on. Can be easily fixed. This is common practice in Thailand as the Paragon is another mega structure with poor signage.

2. Grey coloring needed some flowers and trees to spruce it up. Can be easily fixed.

3. A wider variety of shops inside the terminal before departure. It kind of looked like Sukumvit Road with Boots, 7-11, and a Family Mart next to each other. I expect a beauty salon shortly. But nothing to claim that the airport opened to early.

4. The inside after the customs is nothing but a shopping mall with high end items. The eating inside was better than outside.

5. The moving walkway drops you right off into that duty free shop. Literally it takes you right into the women's perfume. This could be tricky for a frist timer but again nothing to lose sleep over. Signs now help you get through that.

6. Yes the air was uneven but again it is a mammoth structure. Don't stand in that hot area then. Move. This problem will be fixed.

7. Don't buy stuff at King Power. It isn't cheaper than in the shopping malls. Duty free in LAX saves you a few dollars. Big deal.

8. The arrival area is smaller but not hard to navigate. LAX is much worse! And the baggage claim in Las Vegas took over an hour and that is supposed to be the first world? Of course next to teh baggage claim in Vegas were rows of slots. Maybe the idea is to be slow. Baggage claim in Bangkok 20 minutes after we landed.

Freddie Fly, I had no trouble using the toilet. How long do you expect to be at the airport? Heck the ride into the city will be MUCH longer than a 3 minute walk to a toilet. Its a huge structure and maybe you have to walk 50 meters for a piss. Your walk from your hotel to Nana plaza has no toilets and I don't see lots of complaining about that. The walk to the pisser in Suvanabhumi will do you some good. Consider it exercise. The toilet problem is not that bad.

The airport did not open early. These small problems that you whingers are complaining about can be easily rectified and I am sure they will.

Getting back to my first point...

Did the airport safely and quickly get me from check in, through customs, bags on plane, board and depart, move me through customs as they said they would? YES.

The airport is a success.

Find something else to complain about you old Farts!

Turok

My thoughts exactly !!!

You only have to look at most of the comments about getting caught out by the customs to realize that probably a lot of the complainants have not even been at the airport.

onzestan

** CACATUM NON EST PICTUM **

[Krub]

I was at the airport this morning (the 3rd time for check-in) and came in last night (3rd time arrival)

I do not have any complain (first hand) regarding the airport if it is the big mess at arrival level where dropping off is allowed with cars, vans etc parked 3 rows deep !

Toilets are not in great numbers but at least each departure holding area has toilets (more than can be said of Changi)

Signs are being put up and it is now quite easy to navigate.

Immigration has been a real BIG improvement on DM with no queues so far. Arrival is even quicker than departure !

Y class check-in with TG is the worst bottle neck in my opinion

Flying first wirh Singapore Airlines helps

[Soju]

Immigration has been a real BIG improvement on DM with no queues so far. Arrival is even quicker than departure !

Glad to hear that almost everyone else is also reporting this, which was the same as my experience. For me, the number one thing I hope for in an airport is getting through the airport quickly, especially on arrivals. Many, if not most times at Don Muang I had long waits in the immigration queues which was the only real bottleneck on arrival for me, other than sometimes long taxi queues. At Suvarnabhumi I'm not planning to use taxis and with the long immigration queues mostly a thing of the past, I should be able to breeze through the airport on most of my trips. Thank you Thailand/Suvarnabhumi, you are making my arrivals into the country much easier and pleasant.

[cwilliam]

Well great for you cwilliam, perhaps you could enlighten us all as to what exactly was so enjoyable about the new airport as I will be landing there in 12 days. I already know about the lack of Toilets, the poor heat regulation, the tiny arrivals area, the lack of signs and the rip off KingPower monopoly.

What specifically was so enjoyable about the whole experience.

Considering the huge amount of publicity and complaints, not only from whining tourists but also from Airline representatives, It would be interesting to hear from such a seasoned traveller, that all is, in fact, well in the kingdom of Thailand. Do bear in mind that this long running project has been heavily advertised as "state of the art" and also tied (rather cynically) to National Pride.

regards

Lack of toliets,I go to the airport to travel not pee.What a bunch of crybabies!!!!

[cwilliam]

Well great for you cwilliam, perhaps you could enlighten us all as to what exactly was so enjoyable about the new airport as I will be landing there in 12 days. I already know about the lack of Toilets, the poor heat regulation, the tiny arrivals area, the lack of signs and the rip off KingPower monopoly.

What specifically was so enjoyable about the whole experience.

Considering the huge amount of publicity and complaints, not only from whining tourists but also from Airline representatives, It would be interesting to hear from such a seasoned traveller, that all is, in fact, well in the kingdom of Thailand. Do bear in mind that this long running project has been heavily advertised as "state of the art" and also tied (rather cynically) to National Pride.

regards

You forgot the large cracks appearing on the tarmac!!!

What cracks?I didn't see them and I suspect you didn't either. t either!

Edited October 29, 2006 by cwilliam

[cwilliam]

I agree with CWilliam:

Stop your complaining.

Went from Bangkok to Las Vegas. Used EVA Air

Was the drive to the airport easy with no traffic? Yes

Was the check in process simple? Yes

Were my bags loaded onto the plane? Yes

Did the plane depart safely and on time? Yes

Is the outisde area where cars drop off and pick up passengers better than DM? Bg Yes.

Was immigration fast as well as the baggage claim? Yes

These are the most important factors to consider. Remember you whiners that an airport is not a shopping mall, hotel, bar, etc... but a place for planes to safely arrive and depart and do this in a timely manner.

I have some criticisms but nothing that would say that this is a BAD airport.

1. Lack of signs to tell you what floor you were on. Can be easily fixed. This is common practice in Thailand as the Paragon is another mega structure with poor signage.

2. Grey coloring needed some flowers and trees to spruce it up. Can be easily fixed.

3. A wider variety of shops inside the terminal before departure. It kind of looked like Sukumvit Road with Boots, 7-11, and a Family Mart next to each other. I expect a beauty salon shortly. But nothing to claim that the airport opened to early.

4. The inside after the customs is nothing but a shopping mall with high end items. The eating inside was better than outside.

5. The moving walkway drops you right off into that duty free shop. Literally it takes you right into the women's perfume. This could be tricky for a frist timer but again nothing to lose sleep over. Signs now help you get through that.

6. Yes the air was uneven but again it is a mammoth structure. Don't stand in that hot area then. Move. This problem will be fixed.

7. Don't buy stuff at King Power. It isn't cheaper than in the shopping malls. Duty free in LAX saves you a few dollars. Big deal.

8. The arrival area is smaller but not hard to navigate. LAX is much worse! And the baggage claim in Las Vegas took over an hour and that is supposed to be the first world? Of course next to teh baggage claim in Vegas were rows of slots. Maybe the idea is to be slow. Baggage claim in Bangkok 20 minutes after we landed.

Freddie Fly, I had no trouble using the toilet. How long do you expect to be at the airport? Heck the ride into the city will be MUCH longer than a 3 minute walk to a toilet. Its a huge structure and maybe you have to walk 50 meters for a piss. Your walk from your hotel to Nana plaza has no toilets and I don't see lots of complaining about that. The walk to the pisser in Suvanabhumi will do you some good. Consider it exercise. The toilet problem is not that bad.

The airport did not open early. These small problems that you whingers are complaining about can be easily rectified and I am sure they will.

Getting back to my first point...

Did the airport safely and quickly get me from check in, through customs, bags on plane, board and depart, move me through customs as they said they would? YES.

The airport is a success.

Find something else to complain about you old Farts!

Turok

Way to go Turok,Let them walk out!!!!

[tartempion]

Cwilliam,

You don't get it don't you?

Savanaboum is the airport of missed opportunities.

The place was not built with the traveler in mind.

No need to be an airport consultant to see all the misconceptions they made.

Management was full of themselves, as in 90% of any big project, not listening to those who know better, typical.

Therefore the place will never compete with other airports in the region.

[JacknDanny]

Cwilliam,

You don't get it don't you?

Savanaboum is the airport of missed opportunities.

The place was not built with the traveler in mind.

No need to be an airport consultant to see all the misconceptions they made.

Management was full of themselves, as in 90% of any big project, not listening to those who know better, typical.

Therefore the place will never compete with other airports in the region.

I wonder how much of the missing money in the missing suitcases on a certain Thai Airways flight, belonging to a certain ex PM , came from the over exaggerrated costings on this whole project.

Certainly whoever designed the Arrivals Hall was either p3ssed or had no clue what he was doing

[pete_r]

My impression of this airport it that it gets the job done, as good as other airports in the region and with better looks than Don Muang.

One difference with the neighbours is that the expectations built before the opening were huge. The complaining may be proportional to that.

[JacknDanny]

My impression of this airport it that it gets the job done, as good as other airports in the region and with better looks than Don Muang.

One difference with the neighbours is that the expectations built before the opening were huge. The complaining may be proportional to that.

I suggest you go and have a look yourself!!!

Then go and see what its like at Changi Airport and at KL. There is no comparison.

The arrivals hall is nothing short of scandalous, as I have stated before God help the folks arriving at Christmas time!!! It will take them until New Years day to get outside!!!!

[jdinasia]

my experiences at the new airport have been overwhelmingly good!

[salty]

Bangkok Post Saturday 21st October

Deputy PM says airport is embarrassing

AoT ordered to stop thinking of expansion

AMORNRAT MAHITTHIROOK

Deputy Prime Minister Pridiyathorn Devakula took senior Transport Ministry and airport officials to task yesterday for Suvarnabhumi airport's substandard services, which have become a big source of embarrassment for the country.

A lengthy campaign to project it as a world class airport has only brought embarrassment, he said.

Unhappy about the facilities, he has ordered Airports of Thailand (AoT) officials to stop thinking about expanding the airport and instead spend more energy and time over the next six months to make improvements to its services, according to sources at a closed-door meeting yesterday. The airport should first be worthy of praise for its services before any expansion is undertaken, he was quoted as saying.

Suvarnabhumi can currently handle 45 million passengers a year and officials hope to make it the region's biggest once the airport is fully expanded.

M.R. Pridiyathorn blamed the rush to open the airport for its poor services and stressed the need to rebuild its reputation, said the sources.

"Although the airport and its hardware are considered world class, its facilities are not. This is worrisome and everyone involved must help bring about improvements to the airport because it has been under constant criticism since the day it came into operation," said M.R. Pridiyathorn, who has already used Suvarnabhumi's services three times.

None of the senior officials attending the meeting disagreed with M.R. Pridiyathorn, who is also finance minister, and they promised to quickly get rid of the problems.

Most complaints from travellers have been about insufficient toilets, signs to direct passengers, and a shortage of meeting space, especially at the arrivals lounge.

Transport Minister Theera Haocharoen, his deputy Sansern Wongcha-um and AoT president Chotisak Asapaviriya have all admitted that had the airport's opening been delayed, these problems would not have cropped up. "It's undeniable that the problems resulted from the decision to open the airport too soon when it was not ready," said Mr Chotisak.

The opening of Suvarnabhumi was ordered by the previous government amid warnings that its facilities were not yet ready to offer standard services.

The AoT top executive said the agency had earmarked about 40 million baht to build more toilets inside and outside the terminal by the end of the year.

Fifty toilets will be added outside the airport building and 205 additional toilets will be built inside on the first, second and fourth floors, with some of them occupying areas now being used as the AoT offices, according to Mr Chotisak.

From another airport thread. I am just wondering are all you feel good guys in PR, or just very fortunate in your experiences so far. It is ok for cwilliam, he doesn't need to pee, but I suspect the majority of us have to succumb to the call of nature from time to time, at the airport and other places.

[Turok]

Jack:

What a whiner you are! The airport is not that bad. I looked at Kl, Singapore and have had good service in both as well as Suvanabhumi. Where do some of you guys get your negativity? Lighten up and enjoy yourself. Maybe the new airport will keep cynical guys like yourself from coming to Thailand and complaining about every single little thing here. Thailand might be better off if the airport scares

these type of whingers away.

The airport is not as bad as these people make it out to be. Does it have faults? Yes but nothing drastic that shoudl leave you in bad mood for days. My experiences even in that crowded arrival hall have been very positive.

Turok

Edited October 30, 2006 by Turok

[JacknDanny]

Jack:

What a whiner you are! The airport is not that bad. I looked at Kl, Singapore and have had good service in both as well as Suvanabhumi. Where do some of you guys get your negativity? Lighten up and enjoy yourself. Maybe the new airport will keep cynical guys like yourself from coming to Thailand and complaining about every single little thing here. Thailand might be better off if the airport scares

these type of whingers away.

The airport is not as bad as these people make it out to be. Does it have faults? Yes but nothing drastic that shoudl leave you in bad mood for days. My experiences even in that crowded arrival hall have been very positive.

Turok

The negativity comes from reality. When you have took off your rose tinted spectacles, explain how you can have a "positive" experience in the crowded arrivals hall.

Who mentioned being in a bad mood for days??

I live here in Thailand and certainly do not moan about EVERYTHING.

You should lighten up and stop thinking that everything Thai is perfect. It aint!!

[tartempion]

My impression of this airport it that it gets the job done, as good as other airports in the region and with better looks than Don Muang.

One difference with the neighbours is that the expectations built before the opening were huge. The complaining may be proportional to that.

I suggest you go and have a look yourself!!!

Then go and see what its like at Changi Airport and at KL. There is no comparison.

The arrivals hall is nothing short of scandalous, as I have stated before God help the folks arriving at Christmas time!!! It will take them until New Years day to get outside!!!!

It's not just the arrivals hall, the whole place is a misconception.

They have not tried to build the best airport on the planet, they just wanted what they had in mind.

Consultants have been screaming, but who would listen?

They got what they merited and there is not much that Deputy Prime Minister Pridiyathorn Devakula can do about an airport not built for travellers besides adding some toilets.

If you don't know what they had in mind then you do not know Thailand.

But yes, I guess the place will be functionning, so does Bangkok.

[Meg_2003]

I departed and arrived at the new airport just last week, its not really that bad, Just a few let-downs. Checking in was fast and friendly, and I was only at immigration when coming back into Thailand for only a couple of minutes. I understand I may have got there when it was quiet but everyone has to wait for something sometimes.

Now for the letdowns... I asked someone working there whether there was a Burger King or McDonalds in the departure place. He didnt understand a word I was saying and called his friend over who shook his head and walked away. A few steps away was Burger King - They should consider getting some english speaking helpers!

Also a little disappointed with the toilets - Cheap plastic bins with black bin bags in the toilets, why not get large nice Chrome bins. Made me sick seeing stained dirty tissues in the bin

[rogerdee123]

I've registered a few complaints here about the new airport. I use the airport a lot. Since opening I've gone thru the airport 8 times both domestic and international. Tonight is number 9.

My wife asked me the same thing ... "why are you complaining, it isn't that bad" she said.

I agree that in comparison to Chicago, or LAX or Frankfurt and a lot of others ... it compares favorably. BUT ... I'm comparing it with Don Muang, the old airport. This airport was 40 years in the planning stages. I don't know how much this new airport cost ... 300 million $ ? 500 million $ ? ??? But it was quite a lot. Most of the complaints are based on the cost and the fact that something much better was expected. As one other reader has posted, there was more than enough time and money to have a really excellent airport.

I've gone thru the airport at both peak and slack times. At peak times the experience is no better than Don Muang and is often worse. It's more crowded than Don Muang at peak times. At slack times it's OK and even a pleasant experience with short lines and plenty of space. But this airport was sopposedly designed to cope with a significant increase in passengers and if one observes it during peak times, it's hard to imagine what it may look like with say a 20% increase in passenger load. Unless major alterations are made, it can't work.

The cracks are no joke. They are real. Planes can not use several of the ramps. Many things don't work. I arrived a two days ago and off-loaded thru the ramp (elephant nose) only to have to go back outside and board a bus to drive me to immigration. This is the 3rd time this has happened and it's at different gates. Doors aren't working.

The lack of toilets is a reality. Now there are signs on the toilets telling the user not to flush the toilet paper but to put it in the trash bin. This is a clear indication that the plumbing (sewage) can't cope. Even for 2 million baht toilets.

I compare all this with Don Muang and the expense and this is why I complain about Suvarnabhumi.

But yes it is correct to say if you go thru the airport at other than peak times, everything seems to work well enough. I have posted my pleasant experience here as well as my complaints.

There is also the political issue that this airport was made by the Taksin Govt and the fact that the final construction phases were rushed in order to finish it before elections. And then there is all the corruption issues involved, some of which are now under investigation.

I can see where those of you who are not residents of Thailand and who only have to use the airport once or twice a year may not understand the frustration expressed by some of the rest of us.

Edited October 31, 2006 by rogerdee123

[Soju]

Rogerdee123, I think some complaining is actually good, provided it's balanced with both positive and negative comments such as you've done. And as you say your expectations were high based on the long time and large amounts of money spent on building the airport. I also use BKK very frequently, but definitely see it as a big improvement over Don Muang. Certainly it's been much quicker for me in my experiences to get from the plane to the terminal exit, which is what I'm most interested in. But as with you, and in spite of the fact that I overall like the new airport, I certainly am not blind to think that there aren't problems. And if the problem is significant to me, or I think will be significant to someone else, then I think I should report it to the public and also to AOT and/or the airline so they can hopefully resolve the problem if they get enough complaints. But I think many people (not you) have gone overboard on the complaining and have painted a picture of the airport as being horrible and totally unusable which does nothing but scare people from even wanting to use the new airport.

To the people who haven't yet been to the airport, read all the reports, especially the several reports this week that were quite positive about the airport, and I think you'll find that it isn't that bad as you might be expecting. It's actually quite good. Just don't go expecting it to be perfect or the best airport in the world and expect that there will be some problems just as there are with any new airport. Expect that there isn't an excess of toilets and that some might not be so clean (use some other facilities before you arrive at the airport if necessary). Expect that there will be a huge crowd of people at arrivals and just concentrate on getting out of that area as quickly as you can. Expect to see some construction still going on and realize that this will soon be finished. Expect that there are some big problems with the gates right now and that you may get bused. If you come in with these expectations, then you'll likely not have a bad experience. Come in with high expectations and of course you'll be let-down.

[pete_r]

My impression of this airport it that it gets the job done, as good as other airports in the region and with better looks than Don Muang.

One difference with the neighbours is that the expectations built before the opening were huge. The complaining may be proportional to that.

I suggest you go and have a look yourself!!!

Then go and see what its like at Changi Airport and at KL. There is no comparison.

The arrivals hall is nothing short of scandalous, as I have stated before God help the folks arriving at Christmas time!!! It will take them until New Years day to get outside!!!!

Well I won't try to change your mind.

I've had a look for myself on 2nd of october already. Been through Kuala Lumpur and Changi too. Granted, there is room for improvement in the arrival hall, and there is no direct rail link yet as in KL and Changi. But other areas are adequate, and, again, an improvement compared to Don Muang. Anyone remembers how crowded the passport control on departure could get? And how you had to walk miles around the departure hall because the check-in area was fenced off?

Anyway, some friends are landing on 28 december, maybe that's my chance to change my own mind!

[Gumballl]

I just returned from my two-week stay in LOS. I have to agree that there are a lot of complainers that are never ever satisfied with anything. I was expecting the worse when I arrived at the new airport from all of the posts I have read, but my experience was the complete opposite.

Here is a quick synopsis of what transpired upon my arrival... my Thai airlines plane landed on the tarmac at 7am in the morning. By 7:50am I was being driven down the expressway, sitting next my wife, in a private mini-van that she had hired to take us to Korat.

During these 50 minutes (which seemed incredibly short compared to the 17-hour flight), I travelled for approximately 5 minutes by bus from the plane to the customs terminal. After arriving at this terminal, finding where to go to immigration and baggage claim was a cinch because I my uncanny skill at reading signs that were easily available for everyone to read. When I saw the immigration queues, I chose the shortest line available... I think it was 3-persons deep. Got my 30-day stamp in about 4-5 minutes.

Afterwards, I went down the escalator to take a peek at the English-Thai baggage claim sign. Yes it does flicker between the two languages every 2-seconds or so, but once again my superhuman powers prevailed and found that the rotunda for the baggage claim was right there next to the centrally located duty-free shop.

Popped into the duty-free shop to purchase a bottle of scotch whiskey for the relatives, then waited about 10 minutes for my baggage to show up. Voila it was one of the first to come out.

Proceed thru the "Nothing to declare" customs exit, walked thru the hallway separated by the frosted stained glass, and entered the greeting area. My wife and her family who had accompanied her where standing right there when I entered the greeting area.

As I proceeded to greet my wife face-to-face, only one person asked if I needed a taxi when I was shuffling thru the gathered people in the terminal, for which I replied "mai ow khrap". Then I was off to level three, then to the parking garage, then onto the expressway, and then rest is history.

Upon returning to Suvarnabhumi for my 7pm departure (I arrived at 5:00-5:30ish), I do not have any real sense of how much time it took, but I do know that it was not long. The queue where I had to wait to get my boarding pass was about 10-persons deep, thus my wait was approximately 15-20 minutes. Then I proceeded to take a seat with my wife and family in the departure terminal, and chat for about 30 minutes before I departed to get the Transit Ticket (500 baht fee) and then proceeded thru immigration. The former took about 2 seconds, the latter took about 5 minutes.

It was a long walk to the departure gate for my flight, but that was ok because walking is good for one's health, and sitting for 15 hours during the return flight is not.

Not once did the thought of going to the toilet enter my mind when I was at the airport. Therefore rumours of whether they exist or not is not a concern of mine. I do know that the airplane is equipped with toilets. As for seating, I had absolutely no trouble whatsoever. Once again, it was no big deal as to the number of available seats.... I knew that I had one reserved on the plane that my glutes were going to dread for 15-hours.

In conclusion, the new airport is just as good, if not better than other international airports. It is definetely a lot better than LAX (Los Angeles).

By the way, I should note that I flew Economy class. Therefore none of the Fast-Track stuff applied to me. Now I can only hope that many of those with the negative attitude about the new airport have read this entire post, and will consider alotting themselves ample time when departing the airport as I did. As for the arrival aspects, I'm sorry but I cannot find anything negative other than the baggage claim sign transitioning every 2-seconds between Thai and English. The airport management group can easily rectify this issue with a software modification.

[sungod]

I think that most people are missing the point here.I've travelled a fair bit. Sure there are alot of problems. However, on the overall scale of things, the new airport isn't too bad.Its functional. It is just the fact that with all the intial hype, its not quite as good as they wanted us to believe it was going to be.. Yes, and it's got a long way to go before it competes with the likes of Changi.

[Krub]

I just returned from my two-week stay in LOS. I have to agree that there are a lot of complainers that are never ever satisfied with anything. I was expecting the worse when I arrived at the new airport from all of the posts I have read, but my experience was the complete opposite.

Here is a quick synopsis of what transpired upon my arrival... my Thai airlines plane landed on the tarmac at 7am in the morning. By 7:50am I was being driven down the expressway, sitting next my wife, in a private mini-van that she had hired to take us to Korat.

During these 50 minutes (which seemed incredibly short compared to the 17-hour flight), I travelled for approximately 5 minutes by bus from the plane to the customs terminal. After arriving at this terminal, finding where to go to immigration and baggage claim was a cinch because I my uncanny skill at reading signs that were easily available for everyone to read. When I saw the immigration queues, I chose the shortest line available... I think it was 3-persons deep. Got my 30-day stamp in about 4-5 minutes.

Afterwards, I went down the escalator to take a peek at the English-Thai baggage claim sign. Yes it does flicker between the two languages every 2-seconds or so, but once again my superhuman powers prevailed and found that the rotunda for the baggage claim was right there next to the centrally located duty-free shop.

Popped into the duty-free shop to purchase a bottle of scotch whiskey for the relatives, then waited about 10 minutes for my baggage to show up. Voila it was one of the first to come out.

Proceed thru the "Nothing to declare" customs exit, walked thru the hallway separated by the frosted stained glass, and entered the greeting area. My wife and her family who had accompanied her where standing right there when I entered the greeting area.

As I proceeded to greet my wife face-to-face, only one person asked if I needed a taxi when I was shuffling thru the gathered people in the terminal, for which I replied "mai ow khrap". Then I was off to level three, then to the parking garage, then onto the expressway, and then rest is history.

Upon returning to Suvarnabhumi for my 7pm departure (I arrived at 5:00-5:30ish), I do not have any real sense of how much time it took, but I do know that it was not long. The queue where I had to wait to get my boarding pass was about 10-persons deep, thus my wait was approximately 15-20 minutes. Then I proceeded to take a seat with my wife and family in the departure terminal, and chat for about 30 minutes before I departed to get the Transit Ticket (500 baht fee) and then proceeded thru immigration. The former took about 2 seconds, the latter took about 5 minutes.

It was a long walk to the departure gate for my flight, but that was ok because walking is good for one's health, and sitting for 15 hours during the return flight is not.

Not once did the thought of going to the toilet enter my mind when I was at the airport. Therefore rumours of whether they exist or not is not a concern of mine. I do know that the airplane is equipped with toilets. As for seating, I had absolutely no trouble whatsoever. Once again, it was no big deal as to the number of available seats.... I knew that I had one reserved on the plane that my glutes were going to dread for 15-hours.

In conclusion, the new airport is just as good, if not better than other international airports. It is definetely a lot better than LAX (Los Angeles).

By the way, I should note that I flew Economy class. Therefore none of the Fast-Track stuff applied to me. Now I can only hope that many of those with the negative attitude about the new airport have read this entire post, and will consider alotting themselves ample time when departing the airport as I did. As for the arrival aspects, I'm sorry but I cannot find anything negative other than the baggage claim sign transitioning every 2-seconds between Thai and English. The airport management group can easily rectify this issue with a software modification.

There are no escalators between immigration and baggage claim at new BKK. They are on same level.

[PhilHarries]

My impression of this airport it that it gets the job done, as good as other airports in the region and with better looks than Don Muang.

One difference with the neighbours is that the expectations built before the opening were huge. The complaining may be proportional to that.

I suggest you go and have a look yourself!!!

Then go and see what its like at Changi Airport and at KL. There is no comparison.

The arrivals hall is nothing short of scandalous, as I have stated before God help the folks arriving at Christmas time!!! It will take them until New Years day to get outside!!!!

I hope not, I arrive evening of the 22nd and have to be back in KL for the 27th .

A colleague has just returned from a visit to LOS and he reckons the airport building are much more pleasant for departures than arrivals. Personally I don't much care what the terminal buildings look like. An airport is there to serve but one function and that is to get me out of the plane and into the country, and vice versa. As long as it does that reasonably efficiently I'll be satisfied.

As for the taxi touts, they're a bluddy menace worldwide you just have to push past them and find the official taxi counters. I just hope I can find my usual limo service. They aren't cheap, Baht2500 to Pattaya, but the car is new, generally a Merc, and the driver competant and alert. My life is worth more than a few Baht any day.

[aussiestyle1983]

I used the new airport last week for a trip to Singapore. We had to wait over 1 hour to check in ( but thats ok, thats the airlines fault for not opening more than 2 check in counters, not the airports fault )

The plane departed late ( but thats not the airports fault, its the airlines fault )

no other problems on departure.

When we returned, the immigration officer stamped the wrong entry date on my entry stamp ( but thats ok, I guess she was tired as it was at 12:10am and she proably forgot that the date just changed, add to that she works for immigration so its not really the airports fault )

no other problems on arrival

Overall, I think the new airport is not to bad, its still early days so of course many improvements will be made. I liked Don Muang better, simple because of its atmosphere ( the new airport is not really symbolic of thailand, its the same as any airport in the west or anywhere else in the world )

Also Don Muang was pretty efficiant for its tiny size and lack of space..................

The other thing was, at Changi Airport landing at peak time in the morning it took us 9 mins to step into a taxi after steping off the plane, I couldnt believe it. But even thought we returned to BKK after midnight, it still took us 45 mins to step into a taxi after getting off the palne.

But yeah, give it about 6-12 more months and im sure it will be alot more user friendly. But like another poster said, I dont think this new airport could even come close to competing with other airports in this region.

Oh yeah, where you exit to catch taxi's, sitting on the floor next to the turning doors on the inside were about 10 thai airport staff somking!!! Really good image

Edited October 31, 2006 by aussiestyle1983

[bendix]

Well great for you cwilliam, perhaps you could enlighten us all as to what exactly was so enjoyable about the new airport as I will be landing there in 12 days. I already know about the lack of Toilets, the poor heat regulation, the tiny arrivals area, the lack of signs and the rip off KingPower monopoly.

What specifically was so enjoyable about the whole experience.

Considering the huge amount of publicity and complaints, not only from whining tourists but also from Airline representatives, It would be interesting to hear from such a seasoned traveller, that all is, in fact, well in the kingdom of Thailand. Do bear in mind that this long running project has been heavily advertised as "state of the art" and also tied (rather cynically) to National Pride.

regards

You really take the biscuit with this overly negative post about something you have yet to experience. Were you a sheep in your previous life? Does it make you safe to follow the herd instead of making up your own mind based on observation?