New Airport in Bangkok

[Bravo]

Couple of friends of mine went on an inspection tour of the new airport at the end of May. They seemed to think it should open around September no problem

[Mai-Kee]

(Snick @ Jun. 09 2006,10:33) They have not decided what to do with the old airport,

Maybe give it back to the golf club?!

[Road Runner]

Talking to 'Herself' a couple of days ago she said November for the new airport.

I said  -  'You mean aircraft in November?'

She said - 'Yes aircraft in November !!!'

She's normally right!  

RR.

[trouble999]

cant wait for it to open
closer to pattaya
no need to stay in bkk
cant see it opening this year
maybe there force thia international to start using it asap

SAW THE START OF THE RAIL LINK
THAT SHOULD ONLY TAKE ABOUT 5 YEARS TO FINISH

[Snick]

It looks like Sept 28th, like it or not.

See the article below. Looks like a disaster in the making to me.

[Snick]

All flights mustuse new airport from Sept 28
AMORNRAT MAHITTHIROOK

Suvarnabhumi international airport will handle all regular commercial flights into Bangkok from Sept 28, caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra announced yesterday. Mr Thaksin, who chaired a meeting of the Suvarnabhumi airport development committee yesterday, based his announcement on briefings he received on progress in the airport's construction.

Progress and system checks justified the confidence that Suvarnabhumi could take over all regular commercial operations from Don Muang airport in one go at 3am on Sept 28, he said.

He had ordered Airports of Thailand Plc (AoT) to inform all airlines flying into Bangkok of the decision.

A plan for Don Muang airport to serve low-cost airlines had been cancelled, Mr Thaksin said.

''All regular commercial flights will switch to Suvarnabhumi, while Don Muang airport will, from then on, serve only government and military flights, along with private and charter flights,'' he said.

Don Muang could be used to reduce the workload of Suvarnabhumi in the future if the new airport reaches its full capacity of serving 45 million passengers annually, he said.

Don Muang's air passenger volume stands at 39 million annually.

Caretaker Transport Minister Pongsak Raktapongpaisal expected Suvarnabhumi to be at full capacity in three years.

The first international terminal building and the domestic terminal at Don Muang would be maintained for possible future use. The second international terminal would be developed into a museum and exhibition complex.

Mr Pongsak said expanding Suvarnabhumi had not been discussed seriously yet to protect the price of AOT shares.

Ahead of Sept 28, Thai Airways International, Bangkok Airways, PB Air, Nok Air, One-Two-Go and Thai AirAsia would direct some of their non-connecting domestic flights to land at Suvarnabhumi from July 29 for real tests. But flights out of Bangkok would depart from Don Muang as usual.

There would be enough public transport services and facilities available to serve passengers of the selected flights from July 29 onwards, and the passengers would also receive special certificates to mark their early appearance at the new airport, said Mr Pongsak.

http://bangkokpost.com/News/20Jun2006_news04.php

[PigDogg]

(Snick @ Jun. 20 2006,07:24) All flights mustuse new airport from Sept 28

But it doesn't say what year.

[Torurot]

This is going to add at least 3/4 hour (perhaps more) on the Airport into BKK, Sukumvit, and most of the late arriving flights from NZ & Australia are going to miss the cut for the 2 am switch off time. What a bummer.

[Guest]

Cant have that then. Just have to fly out earlier from Sydney via Singapore and connect to Bangkok arriving in time for a late evening delight

[JackG]

(Torurot @ Jun. 20 2006,16:53) This is going to add at least 3/4 hour (perhaps more) on the Airport into BKK, Sukumvit, and most of the late arriving flights from NZ & Australia are going to miss the cut for the 2 am switch off time. What a bummer.  

Don't know about that.  I don't know the exact distance, but the new airport would appear to be about the same distance south of BKK, that the present airport is north of BKK.
Anyone know the exact distance as measured from Sukhumvit Road?

[Road Runner]

Like I said above it is further away from Nana than Don Muang.  I make it 21km from Don Muang to Nana and 34km from the new airport.

The traffic out in that direction at the moment is generally much less than it is to the north as there are no major cities that way.
I would expect the journey time in a taxi to be about 30-40 minutes which is pretty much the same as now.
Against that there are many new houses and apartments being built in the area.

D996633 said about 285 Baht in a taxi  -  sounds about right to me.  But remember there will be an airport tax  -  probably 50 Baht like at present.

I expect the buses will be much the same price and I guess the route(s) in the city centre will be the same.
Obviously the journey time will be longer in the bus as they don't normaly go that fast.

There is to be a rail link using the existing railway line  -  which at the moment has few trains.
You should be able to take a train to Makkasan which is near the top end of Sukumit Soi 3.
The taxi would only be 35 Baht down to Nana.  Don't know what the service will be like as yet.

Also they are already building a new MRTA line towards the airport.  My Impression is that it could well be open in the first half of 2008.
My one concern there is that it will shut down at 11pm.

RR.

[Snick]

The latest article. Notice how airport execs do not even know where their offices will be located, and they have not tested baggage and other IT systems.

[Snick]

Industry hopes for smooth opening
Don Muang airport decision welcomed

BOONSONG KOSITCHOTETHANA

Although airlines remain sceptical about whether Suvarnabhumi airport will be ready for commercial use on Sept 28, they have welcomed the government's decision to close Don Muang airport. Airlines and industry groups contacted by the Bangkok Post were not convinced that the new airport would open when scheduled and warned that rushing operations could result in costs and embarrassment for the country.

At a briefing on the airport's progress on Monday, caretaker prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra announced that the airport would open for commercial services on Sept 28.

Mr Thaksin also decided to revert to the original single-airport policy, which was not to retain Don Muang for scheduled domestic and low-cost carrier flights.

''It does not look like it will be ready and I am absolutely certain it cannot be opened on that date,'' said an aviation executive who has been closely monitoring the 125-billion-baht airport development.

The runways and terminal may be able to accommodate flights by Sept 28, but the airlines are unlikely to be ready by then, he said.

Contrary to what the authorities have suggested, it is not yet clear when airlines would be able to set up their offices at the Suvarnabhumi terminal and some don't even know where they will be located.

''That is just one simple matter, not to mention more much complex technical issues such as the computer and baggage systems, their readiness remains a mystery to us,'' he said.

Airlines need at least three months' notice to set up at the terminal.

''What is important is not the opening date, but to have Suvarnabhumi airport begin commercial operations only when it is operationally ready,'' said Albert Tjoeng, the Asia-Pacific spokesman for the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which represents almost all of the world's airlines.

''This means having undergone the required robust and comprehensive testing and trials to ensure that the various systems are working 100% and are seamlessly integrated,'' he said.

''Let's not forget that airports are no longer the bricks and mortar of the old days, today's airports use incredibly complex automated systems.

''The airport will only be open once. We want it to be a safe and successful opening and cost-efficient in order to be a successful hub. No one wants the cost or embarrassment of a troubled opening.''

IATA yesterday welcomed the announcement that all commercial flights would be moved to Suvarnabhumi when it opens _ which it has long advocated.

But some budget carriers, especially Thai AirAsia, were not happy with the announcement. They had hoped Don Muang would have offered lower airport services and have greater flexibility than Suvarnabhumi.

''Commercial operations using two airports would have been costly to maintain, and can be complicated for passengers, especially for those making connections,'' said Mr Tjoeng.

''While having all flights at one airport would have a positive effect on Suvarnabhumi's potential as a hub, the more important issue is to ensure operational readiness and cost efficiency when Suvarnabhumi opens to maximise Bangkok's potential as a hub in the region.''

[Guest]

Currently my trips to Thailand always start and finish with a three day stay in Bangkok's Nana District. Given that the new airport facility is en-route to Pattaya, come September I shall probably head straight there whilst still finishing off in Bangkok.
Do any other Pattaya revellers have plans to change their arrival & departure habits.

[mardhi]

There really is little difference in the travelling time into Nana from the Old and new airports. Yes Don Muang is technically a little nearer, however Expressways are in operation already from both locations - really you will hardly notice any difference in the time taken by a taxi from either airport.

And yes in answer to Pentire's question - the new airport is basically a 60-90 minute journey time to Pattaya as against 2.5 hours currently - it will inevitably mean that many people will go straight to Pattaya, but I also believe many will still do a Bkk stopover just before their return flight. Some impact, but I doubt it will be really noticable as the tourism market continues to grow. The biggest impact to the growth will be the ability of the airport authority to get more capacity flight wise into the new airport - it will have the space to handle more than Don Muang but in a typically Thai style, they are saying that of course the new airport will be more expensive to land at than the old one - hardly the way to encourage growth as BKK is already a more expensive airport for airlines to land at that both Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. Witness BA/QF's decision to drop one pair of flights a day on the kangeroo route and re-route them through Singpaore (i.e Singapore now has 6 daily flights on the kangeroo route which is London - Sydney, whereas Bkk is down to 2 - they used to be 4 at each airport).