Good news for Hua Hin - international flights set to start by end of 2017

[webfact]

Good news for Hua Hin - international flights set to start by end of 2017

 

Picture: Daily News

 

HUA HIN: -- Daily News reported that international flights could be landing in Hua Hin by as early as the end of this year.

 

The airports authority (AO) have received a proposal from Air Asia to operate daily flights between Hua Hin and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

 

If given the green light it will mean the first commercial use of the airport that is just a handful of kilometers from the city center and could be a major boon for tourism.

 

Darun Saengchai of the AO said that Air Asia want landing fees and rental charges for airport facilities waived in the initial stages of operation to get the route started.

 

If agreed by the AO and related agencies the first international flights could be coming to the resort by the end of 2017.

 

A decision on the Air Asia proposal is expected to be made in the next two weeks.

 

Darun said that Hua Hin airport is already ready for business with no more building necessary to make it operational for  commercial flights.

 

"The airport can handle 300 passengers per hour," he said. "The proximity to the town is a major bonus for travelers".

 

He said that some matters will need to be sorted - top of the list are the need for immigration and customs facilities as flights to KL are international.

 

And discussions need to take place as to exactly what transport arrangements are put in place to ferry passengers from the airport to local destinations.

 

Commercial flights from KL could open up the resort to tourism directly from Malaysia as well as make Hua Hin a stepping off point for travelers heading south.

 

Source: Daily News

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2017-07-20

[wgdanson]

What a lovely term....'a handful of kilometers' And 300 pax per hour..wow.

[Jonathan Fairfield]

Wonder if a return trip from HH to KL would be cheaper than catching the ferry to Pattaya?

 

Fingers crossed this is approved. Would be great for people living in HH.

 

Routes to Singapore, Phuket and/or Krabi next please

[Dave67]

The Beijing - Singapore High-speed railway will be completed by then and Hua Hin is a major station Hub 

[baansgr]

Just now, Jonathan Fairfield said:

Wonder if a return trip from HH to KL would be cheaper than catching the ferry to Pattaya?

 

Fingers crossed this is approved. Would be great for people living in HH.

 

Routes to Singapore, Phuket and/or Krabi next please

The overnight train from HH at about THB 1,200 is great with a sleeper cabin, takes 18 hours or so.  The Kan air flight HH-UTpao was cancelled after 2 flights back in 2015

[AngryFalang]

4 hours ago, Dave67 said:

The Beijing - Singapore High-speed railway will be completed by then and Hua Hin is a major station Hub 

I dont think so! the Laos section of this has only just been started and is estimated at another 6 years before completion. I would guess a more accurate date is another 10 years, They have not even agreed the land deals in thailand yet, So no rail lines have even been set down. Its a nice idea but a long long way off.

[Dave67]

1 hour ago, AngryFalang said:

I dont think so! the Laos section of this has only just been started and is estimated at another 6 years before completion. I would guess a more accurate date is another 10 years, They have not even agreed the land deals in thailand yet, So no rail lines have even been set down. Its a nice idea but a long long way off.

Was taking the P

[NCC1701A]

I live in Hua Hin. they are going to need to revamp the highway in front of the airport for easier access for a dramatic increase of vehicles in and out.

 

maybe one large shuttle bus per flight to run the route south all the way to Khao Takiap. That would pass many big beach side hotels and condos.

 

traffic is getting to be a problem in HH so some form of bus would be best, not taxis for every person.

 

and lets hope for routes to Koh Samui, Phuket, Vietnam and Cambodia.

 

of course we know how the "planning" will go.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[observer90210]

Many cheer the idea, good!...I wonder how they would react if their residence is located bang below the plane flight corridor? Don't forget that HH is a very small town...wait n'see...

[wpcoe]

Wonder how long this new service would last.  There have been international flights in the past.  ISTR Berjaya Airlines flew from Hua Hin to Kuala Lumpur (Subang) and Lion Air flew from Hua Hin to Medan in Sumatra.  Both were short-lived ventures.  Maybe third time's a charm?

[Argus Tuft]

1 hour ago, observer90210 said:

Many cheer the idea, good!...I wonder how they would react if their residence is located bang below the plane flight corridor? Don't forget that HH is a very small town...wait n'see...

Groan. You're looking at maybe one flight a day, or only several a week.

Hardly going to be a huge impact on your precious rest time.

Tiny airport, hardly going to turn in to Heathrow is it?

Unbelievable

[hotchilli]

2 hours ago, NCC1701A said:

I live in Hua Hin. they are going to need to revamp the highway in front of the airport for easier access for a dramatic increase of vehicles in and out.

 

maybe one large shuttle bus per flight to run the route south all the way to Khao Takiap. That would pass many big beach side hotels and condos.

 

traffic is getting to be a problem in HH so some form of bus would be best, not taxis for every person.

 

and lets hope for routes to Koh Samui, Phuket, Vietnam and Cambodia.

 

of course we know how the "planning" will go.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Agreed, I live in Nakhon Pathom & go to Hua Hin or Pranburi area as my preferred beach trip.

last time Cha-am was a nightmare the whole beach road was packed solid with Hua Hin becoming very congested at peak times

if they're serious about expanding the airport into a domestic hub alongside International routes they really have to build up the infrastructure first.

[CharlieH]

Off topic/bickering removed.

[YetAnother]

On 7/20/2017 at 7:59 AM, webfact said:

- top of the list are the need for immigration and customs facilities as flights to KL are international.

i would say. no small obstacles; and painful learning, doubtless

[Felt 35]

21 hours ago, wpcoe said:

Wonder how long this new service would last.  There have been international flights in the past.  ISTR Berjaya Airlines flew from Hua Hin to Kuala Lumpur (Subang) and Lion Air flew from Hua Hin to Medan in Sumatra.  Both were short-lived ventures.  Maybe third time's a charm?

Personally I hope it never takes of .........if it do Hua Hin is soon a copy of Phuket.

[Lone Ranger]

On 7/20/2017 at 4:52 PM, observer90210 said:

Many cheer the idea, good!...I wonder how they would react if their residence is located bang below the plane flight corridor? Don't forget that HH is a very small town...wait n'see...

Totally agree . We get all the helicoptors flying from BKK right over our village in Bofai just hope the future planned Air Asia flights come from the sea rather than BKK -Any ideas on the route members?

[YaiJung]

21 hours ago, Felt 35 said:

Personally I hope it never takes of .........if it do Hua Hin is soon a copy of Phuket.

I completely agree.  If it does, it won't be long before thousands of tour buses will be clogging the roads.   This is something that there will be no going back from.  What a nightmare...

[wpcoe]

On 7/20/2017 at 7:59 AM, webfact said:

- top of the list are the need for immigration and customs facilities as flights to KL are international.

 

On 7/21/2017 at 0:26 PM, YetAnother said:

i would say. no small obstacles; and painful learning, doubtless

In the previous short-lived periods of international flights to/from Hua Hin airport, there didn't seem to be a problem sending Immigrations Officers from the Hua Hin office for a few hours at a time to process the flights.

[gk10002000]

so immigration would have to be setup, staffed, computers, networks, proper gating for inbound and outbound, security, etc.  Seems like a lot of money and effort somebody would have to pony up

[geriatrickid]

On 7/20/2017 at 5:24 AM, NCC1701A said:

I live in Hua Hin. they are going to need to revamp the highway in front of the airport for easier access for a dramatic increase of vehicles in and out.

maybe one large shuttle bus per flight to run the route south all the way to Khao Takiap. That would pass many big beach side hotels and condos.

traffic is getting to be a problem in HH so some form of bus would be best, not taxis for every person.

and lets hope for routes to Koh Samui, Phuket, Vietnam and Cambodia.

of course we know how the "planning" will go.

It is very, very dangerous to get to the airport or even to the BKK airport bus station now. Ideally they build an overpass or have stop lights installed at some point. I needed a bus ticket, and my friend drove me out there on the back of his motorbike. Scary. Then when I took my  taxi to the depot, I nearly soiled myself as a big truck bore down on us.

 

 

On 7/20/2017 at 5:52 AM, observer90210 said:

Many cheer the idea, good!...I wonder how they would react if their residence is located bang below the plane flight corridor? Don't forget that HH is a very small town...wait n'see...

You did not mention the current air traffic, so obviously you are nowhere near any flight path. The airport has traffic now and there is a flight school. Also, the  Royal Palace and several  military installations are in close proximity. One  can see the helicopters flying over  HH from time to time.  The  HH runway goes in the direction of ocean to the golf course, which means  that  planes will most likely be  away from residential areas. I believe that when the runway was built it was done with consideration that there was a royal residence and a  wat in close proximity. Anyway, with the new quieter jet engines, it is unlikely you would be disturbed.

 

On 7/20/2017 at 6:55 AM, wpcoe said:

Wonder how long this new service would last.  There have been international flights in the past.  ISTR Berjaya Airlines flew from Hua Hin to Kuala Lumpur (Subang) and Lion Air flew from Hua Hin to Medan in Sumatra.  Both were short-lived ventures.  Maybe third time's a charm?

Well, it's a different rout and more likely to succeed because it is from the FD hub of KUL.

Ideally, it could land  at DMK first and have pax clear customs/immigration and then pick up some transfer pax.  I would gladly fly this route. DMK-HHQ.  It would attract alot of  Bangkok residents now if it meant avoiding traffic. I'd be in heaven if Hua Hin could get flights to Ubon or Krabi or even Phuket. Total bliss would be a  flight to Singapore or Hong Kong. I could see  weekend flights from HKG working. 2.5 hour flight and so much better than going to BKK or HKT.

 

On 7/21/2017 at 4:45 AM, Felt 35 said:

Personally I hope it never takes of .........if it do Hua Hin is soon a copy of Phuket.

Not likely. Look at the  demographics of Hua Hin. Mostly middle class and educated. Military and government town.These people are not going to let some tuk tuk thug push them around. Hua Hin is an upscale  town without the  visible rot of Phuket.  The type of shenanigans common to corrupt towns  of the southern triangle of corruption are not acceptable to the people of Hua HIn. There are upscale tourist attractions like the   Intercontinental, Marriott, and specialty units of Sheraton, Novotel & Hilton. It offers quality retail as per the BluPort to discount retail as per the Hua Hin shopping center. Even the  midpriced  lodging options are of higher quality than then their peer group on Phuket. Slobs in singlets with barbed wire tats accompanied by bimbos with gigantic fake boobs puffing on ciggies would feel out of place in refined Hua Hin.  

 

 

On 7/22/2017 at 1:01 AM, Lone Ranger said:

Totally agree . We get all the helicoptors flying from BKK right over our village in Bofai just hope the future planned Air Asia flights come from the sea rather than BKK -Any ideas on the route members?

See above.  Hua Hin has its famous noisy passenger trains. Nothing says I love you more than the  screech of the whistle of the 2 am   diesel express.

 

On 7/23/2017 at 6:41 PM, gk10002000 said:

so immigration would have to be setup, staffed, computers, networks, proper gating for inbound and outbound, security, etc.  Seems like a lot of money and effort somebody would have to pony up

Not that difficult. A plane could easily be processed by 2-4 agents.

[observer90210]

5 hours ago, geriatrickid said:

You did not mention the current air traffic, so obviously you are nowhere near any flight path. The airport has traffic now and there is a flight school. Also, the  Royal Palace and several  military installations are in close proximity. One  can see the helicopters flying over  HH from time to time.  The  HH runway goes in the direction of ocean to the golf course, which means  that  planes will most likely be  away from residential areas. I believe that when the runway was built it was done with consideration that there was a royal residence and a  wat in close proximity. Anyway, with the new quieter jet engines, it is unlikely you would be disturbed.

Thanks for your post and having taking time to respond to many issues to all..

 

You seem more informed of the flight routes to H so in that case, it is good news..

 

Will be much more convenient to make the visa runs from HH,   instead of having to to spend practically the amount of a low cost ticket, just in a taxi fare to and from Survarnabhumi!! (The bus is there, but....

 

Hope that the immigration boys at HH Airport would be a bit more open minded then some of their colleagues in Suvarnabhumi...

 

Nevertheless the HH airport opened and ceased its operations a few years back. Let's hope this time that the issue lasts...

 

I also agree with you that HH is an upscale town with the middle to high incomes from BKK who come over to relax...not to mention the Thai dignitaries and families at the top most level of Thai society who also like to relax in HH now and then...this would avoid much of the scum and what goes with it...but it has some inconvenience, as the prices in general in HH are much higher then Bangkok or the rest of Thailand. IMHO Hua Hin would be the most expensive city in Thailand.

[gk10002000]

10 hours ago, geriatrickid said:

It is very, very dangerous to get to the airport or even to the BKK airport bus station now. Ideally they build an overpass or have stop lights installed at some point. I needed a bus ticket, and my friend drove me out there on the back of his motorbike. Scary. Then when I took my  taxi to the depot, I nearly soiled myself as a big truck bore down on us.

 

 

You did not mention the current air traffic, so obviously you are nowhere near any flight path. The airport has traffic now and there is a flight school. Also, the  Royal Palace and several  military installations are in close proximity. One  can see the helicopters flying over  HH from time to time.  The  HH runway goes in the direction of ocean to the golf course, which means  that  planes will most likely be  away from residential areas. I believe that when the runway was built it was done with consideration that there was a royal residence and a  wat in close proximity. Anyway, with the new quieter jet engines, it is unlikely you would be disturbed.

 

Well, it's a different rout and more likely to succeed because it is from the FD hub of KUL.

Ideally, it could land  at DMK first and have pax clear customs/immigration and then pick up some transfer pax.  I would gladly fly this route. DMK-HHQ.  It would attract alot of  Bangkok residents now if it meant avoiding traffic. I'd be in heaven if Hua Hin could get flights to Ubon or Krabi or even Phuket. Total bliss would be a  flight to Singapore or Hong Kong. I could see  weekend flights from HKG working. 2.5 hour flight and so much better than going to BKK or HKT.

 

Not likely. Look at the  demographics of Hua Hin. Mostly middle class and educated. Military and government town.These people are not going to let some tuk tuk thug push them around. Hua Hin is an upscale  town without the  visible rot of Phuket.  The type of shenanigans common to corrupt towns  of the southern triangle of corruption are not acceptable to the people of Hua HIn. There are upscale tourist attractions like the   Intercontinental, Marriott, and specialty units of Sheraton, Novotel & Hilton. It offers quality retail as per the BluPort to discount retail as per the Hua Hin shopping center. Even the  midpriced  lodging options are of higher quality than then their peer group on Phuket. Slobs in singlets with barbed wire tats accompanied by bimbos with gigantic fake boobs puffing on ciggies would feel out of place in refined Hua Hin.  

 

 

See above.  Hua Hin has its famous noisy passenger trains. Nothing says I love you more than the  screech of the whistle of the 2 am   diesel express.

 

Not that difficult. A plane could easily be processed by 2-4 agents.

A plane could be processed.  But who is going to pay for the x-ray or metal detectors and subsidize the cost or amortized it when only used once or twice a day?

[geriatrickid]

On 7/26/2017 at 4:34 AM, observer90210 said:

Nevertheless the HH airport opened and ceased its operations a few years back. Let's hope this time that the issue lasts...

 

Indeed. If you need reassurance, I suggest you pop out to the airport. With the flight school you will see a plane  in action and get a feel for the traffic. Obviously a big  jet is noisier, but you will see where they go. Also, you can check out the  layout of the runway on google maps.

 

 

On 7/26/2017 at 9:08 AM, gk10002000 said:

A plane could be processed.  But who is going to pay for the x-ray or metal detectors and subsidize the cost or amortized it when only used once or twice a day?

They have to have them now. They purchased the equipment when the airport terminal was upgraded to  "international".  In any case all they need is 2 and they are not that expensive.

 

 

[Felt 35]

...no way if any dignitaries will stop the gold rush......look at history......sorry Hua Hin is sold to a new demographic of travellers and residents