So.... who's been into the new Bangkok airport??

[Tolsti]

All things being equal I should arrive there at 07.20 local next Saturday..... Don Muang was an interesting experience.... seeing the golfers waiting to 'play through' between the taxiways and the active.
Nothing like that at Suvanarbhumi.... but I'd be interested in the experiences of fellow pax who have now experienced the new airport.
Anyone got any tips to making arriving here a more pleasant/expeditious experience?

[Bangkokeasy]

I flew back in yesterday. Usual teething problems with operations, but otherwise working fine.

The only (IMHO) stupid design flaw is the cramped area after customs where they funnel everyone into an area not more than 200m2, creating a zoo, where everyone stands holding up their signs, touting taxis, etc, which is far worse than the old airport. It is extraordinary, in an airport with so much space (the place is huge), they should be so mean about this. What this means is that it is a good idea to know where you are going, or face a frustrating time fighting your way through the throng, while trying to make head or tail of what's going on.

You should also bear in mind that much of the way the arrivals are supposed to work has already been changed, so don't pay too much attention to the arrivals video they show!

Your options are:

1) Public bus
Go downstairs to level one, take the free shuttle to the "Public Transportation Centre" and take the bus from there.

2) Public taxi
The desk for these is behind the throng right and left when you exit the customs hall. Pay an airport surcharge (I think fifty baht = about US$1.5) and then go down to level one to take one from the stand there. The meter cost into town will be around US$8 including tollway and takes about 40 mins.

3) Limousine
The stand for this is marked "AOT Limousine" and is nestled between other car hire (Avis, etc) stands as you come out of customs. Cost into town for standard sedan is Baht900 (US$24), but if you want to splash out on a Beemer, then the cost is about Baht2000 (US$53). The sedans are brand new Camrys and the Beemers 7 series, all brand new.

4) Being met
If you are being met, then make sure they stipulate which gate to come out of customs (B or C for international and A for domestic). I recommend having the phone number of the person meeting you handy, because it is very easy to miss someone in the melee.

The original plan for the airport, which is in all the blurb, includes a meeting area on level 3. This doesn't exist. And the only things that the "Public Transportation Centre is used for is public buses. Taxis, limos and hire cars are all in the main terminal now.

[Tolsti]

Thanks for that Easy.... I have a limo booked.. 900bht for a 'benz.... just hope it turns up,

[Bangkokeasy]

On a seperate, but related note, I understand Suvarnabhumi does not yet have its ICAO certification and is operating on a temporary permit, with a limited validity. Does anyone know what the status of this is?

[Bangkokblonde]

Zoo is the word - except it's three zoos. Door A for domestic, Doors B & C for International. I can't imagine how they can have made such a mess of it when so much money has been spent. It's like stepping back into the third world. Even worse than Heathrow Terminal 3 arrivals which at least has the excuse of being an old building being stretched beyond its capacity. Coffee shop, bar and restaurant provision land side is also pathetic. Nothing like as good as Don Mueng.

Even if you see our luggage going round and round on the baggage belt, arriving passengers should go to the loo before collecting their baggage. While the real world is taking account of security concerns and is moving towards bigger toilet cubicles to accommodate baggage trolleys, Bangkok has gone into reverse. The toilet cubicles are smaller than at the old airport and the trolleys are bigger - so big, in fact, that they won't even fit through the entrance door of the baggage hall toilets into the general washbasin area. You have to leave your trolley right outside.

If you're arranging to meet anyone arriving at Bangkok via International, Door C is your best bet. At least here you have a sporting chance of finding each other. Whoever is arriving should exit the baggage hall via Door C, push and shove their way through the throng, then turn left into what is a relative oasis of space and light and seats! On my three visits to the airport so far, this area has been virtually empty probably because nobody has managed to pentrate the throng from Doors A & B yet!

The taxi queue management is appalling. There are three taxi queues (at least - there could be more, I haven't counted yet), but only the first one (Door A - domestic. Wouldn't you know it!) gets proper service and all are very makeshift temporary arrangements. So there are plenty of passengers and plenty of taxis but the ability to match one with the other is somewhat lacking. You need patience. So do the taxi drivers. And the taxi attendants. It's all the fault of the airport designers, not the people trying to do a job.

For a slightly cheaper limousine than AOT, exit the arrivals area via Door 7 or Door 8, cross the first roadway, then look for someone with a clipboard from Prabhirarb Transport Company (www.prabhirarb.com (http://www.prabhirarb.com)). Usual selection of Toyota Camry, Benz and van. Camry to downtown in Bt 700, not including tollway/expressway. There are a couple of other companies with representatives hanging around in the same area and they are probably priced about the same.

I drove past the old airport last night. It was all dark and sad and lonely. The new one is not an improvement. In fact, it will get worse. Wait till Thai summer time (April and May) and get ready to die of heatstroke - all that glass and you just know the aircon isn't designed to cope! (People are already complaining.) What's wrong with thick, insulating concrete and tiny windows I wonder?

[Bangkokeasy]

Welcome to your first post, Bangkokblonde!

Sadly, I have to agree that the arrivals facilities at Suvarnabhumi are severely lacking. My company now has its meet and greet location OUTSIDE the terminal, as we have given up trying to meet people directly coming out of the customs hall. When I have worked out how to insert a picture, I could post one I took the other day of the mess...

[ZFT]

Now made a few trips from this new airport and it certainly needs some major rethinking.
The previous posts about the exiting fiasco are pretty much spot on and on balance Don Muang was IMO more passenger friendly.

Departing is not that much better either. Despite the abundant space there are too many bottlenecks. Only limited availability of departure tax booths being just one.

What I do find disappointing is the lack of any facilities once you have entered the concourses. Even accepting there is still a lot of work to be finalised which is evident by the amount of building material scattered everywhere, there doesn’t appear to be any provision for any facilities within the concourses once you’ve cleared security.

Others have commented on the marathon walks, lack of signage and the unbelievably slippery surfaces; however the worst thing is the greyness. Everything is either bare concrete or painted grey. It is so depressing.

[PAXboy]

ZFT... Departing is not that much better either. Despite the abundant space there are too many bottlenecks. Only limited availability of departure tax booths being just one.

What I do find disappointing is the lack of any facilities once you have entered the concourses. Even accepting there is still a lot of work to be finalised which is evident by the amount of building material scattered everywhere, there doesn’t appear to be any provision for any facilities within the concourses once you’ve cleared security.

Others have commented on the marathon walks, lack of signage and the unbelievably slippery surfaces;

Shurely there must be shome mishtake. You are referring to LHR are you not? :E

[Bangkokeasy]

I think the reference to lack of facilities concerns the fact that essentially, whatever the (previous) Thai government claimed, the airport is simply not finished. Much of the second floor airside is a building site, with many of the CIP lounges unfinished and not due to be open before 2007. You can buy Louis Vitton and Chanel hand bags, but can't access a lounge to get away from the throng.

Much more serious are the design faults, many of which are outlined above. Mr Jahn (I think that is his name), the Dutch designer responsible, has much to answer for. Many of the faults could be forseen by a 10 year old. I mean honestly,

1) If you anticipate 50% more SLF in 10 years and you have so much space, why make the arrivals area half the size of the old one? :ugh:

2) In a tropical country, why is the aircon incapable of cooling the whole terminal? :ugh:

3) In a country where colour is used extensively, why make the terminal so gloomy and grey? :ugh:

4) In a country where the air quality is not great and there are so many creepy crawlies, why make the internal structure so intricate and difficult to keep clean? :ugh:

That all said, LHR it is NOT. I am sure most will be sorted eventually in true Thai fashion, but so much is unnecessary when you have such a beautifully clean sheet of paper to start with!

My head hurts.

[ZFT]

I think the reference to lack of facilities concerns the fact that essentially, whatever the (previous) Thai government claimed, the airport is simply not finished.

What I was referring to was the lack of anything AFTER you've gone through security and entered the departure concourses. At Don Muang you could at least get refreshments or even last minute purchases. Here you can't get anything which is wonderful especially when you get delayed.

Also having landed yesterday late afternoon in the rain, may I add to your list:-

5) In a country with a long rainy season, why have open walkways to the car park buildings? (Yes I got wet yesterday)

[ZFT]

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.

[spiney]

It's just a very odd place - some areas of the terminal are spacious and well laid out - others are congested and bottle-necked... Where do people spend most time in an airport? In a well designed airport like Hong Kong or Singapore, it's in the concourse areas where you can shop, sort your money, get something to eat and generally kill an hour or so before your flight. In well designed airports check-in, security and immigration are quick and efficient so you don't actually need to spend very much time in those areas, ditto at the gates with boarding. BKK seems to be the other way round - spacious where it's not required and constricted where the passengers accumulate.

Not a great first impression and I'd far rather spend an hour in the Thai Business Lounge in Don Muang than the dark corridor of a thing in the new airport - which has got about as much atmosphere as a car wash...