Airport Impressions

[mardhi]

I vote that we should make rxpharm the Asian TS roving travel reporter - always ahead of the times on everything travel related

Off course this move has NOTHING to do with King Power suddenly being able to open up ALL their old shops as well the approx: double what they should have at Swampacrack airport.


Cheers
Mardhi

[daveduke007]

I dont care which BKK airport I land at, I dont hang around long enough to look at the fixture and fittings

As long as I get to the Church, sorry Guess Bar on time Im not bothered

And on the way back Im normally outside the airport smoking cigs and in a deep depression

[Torurot]

Who is going to coordinate overall air traffic control seeing both airports are so close together?

Sky train link between the two airports?

[Road Runner]

(Torurot @ Feb. 07 2007,09:30) Sky train link between the two airports?

They will probably get it finished in time for the first Thai Airways flight to Mars

RR.

[Guest]

Just received this from the FCO regarding departure tax.

Airport Tax

With effect from 1 February 2007, airport tax of 700 Baht per person will be incorporated into the cost of tickets. Airport tax for domestic flights is also included in tickets.  The exception is Koh Samui where there is a domestic departure tax of 400 Baht per person.

Apologies if it's old news.

[katoeylover]

but you still have to buy your 500bt departure tax at the airport, right?

[Guest]

No, got this off the ThaiVisa site. Has anyone any more info?

Departure taxes charged by the Airports Authority of Thailand will be increased effective from February 1st, 2007.

1. Flights within Thailand from THB 50 to 100 per sector

2. Departing International Flights from THB 500 to THB 700

These new taxes will be included in all paid and Award tickets for travel commencing February 1, 2007 onwards.

[Snick]

The old 500 Baht Airport Fee (for international departure) is now 700 Baht

It will be added to all new tickets.

(I Think) If you bought a ticket before Feb 1st for departure after Feb 1st, you will have to pay the 700 Baht AT THE TICKET COUNTER, Not the the booth outside passport control. Not 100% sure on the last bit.

( no idea whats going to happen once they re-open DM )

[Road Runner]

Hello Snick,

As Madcat stated you will not see it as a separate charge it will be bundled into the ticket price.

The tax booths (and machines at Don Muang) will disappear fairly rapidly.

RR.

[Snick]

it will be bundled for NEW tickets, but some of us have tickets purchased before they changed the rate and policy. For those people you will have to pay the 700 at the ticket counter.

[Road Runner]

Hello Snick,

Sorry   -  it helps if you read the post properly!

Probably they will send you away from the check-in to the ticket counter to pay and get a receipt.
Then you will have to return and show it to the check-in staff.

RR.

[Guest]

(Road Runner @ Feb. 08 2007,11:07) Hello Snick,

Sorry    -  it helps if you read the post properly!

Probably they will send you away from the check-in to the ticket counter to pay and get a receipt.
Then you will have to return and show it to the check-in staff.

RR.

my tickets brought before feb 1 interested in knowing

[rxpharm]

Unfortunately due to the lack of consultation with the airlines on the decision to reopen the old airport some confusion has arisen - as reported by The Nation, Feb. 9/07

DON MUANG
Twin-hub plan leaves airlines in confusion

Carriers call on government to make clear which of them will stay at Suvarnabhumi


Alocally-based association of airlines is baulking at recommending its members move back to Don Muang until aviation officials explain how they plan to operate two international airports in Bangkok simultaneously.


The Board of Airline Representatives in Thailand (BAR) has about 70 members.


"BAR is ready to meet with the public sector on how to operate the two airports. But so far, we have not been contacted by any government agencies," BAR president Brian Sinclair-Thompson, told Krungthep Turakij.


He said the government should be clear about which airlines would be allowed to operate at Don Muang and which ones would be allowed to remain at Suvarnabhumi Airport.


He said it remained unclear how and when the repairs at Suvarnabhumi would be carried out and completed.


The association plans to submit a letter to Airports of Thailand (AOT) asking for details about its plans for the two airports.


A big question concerns connecting flights. Don Muang is on the northern outskirts of Bangkok, while Suvarnabhumi lies to the east.


Sinclair-Thompson told the International Herald Tribune that connection times between flights would probably have to be about four to five hours if a passenger had to change airports. This compares with 75 minutes at Suvarnabhumi and 60 minutes within Don Muang.


While supporting the dual airport concept due to the fast growing number of passengers, Thailand Research Development Institute president Chalongbhop Sussangkarn urged the government to devise clear plans on how to operate the two airports and how to link them.


He noted that what worries the public is the damage at Suvarnabhumi. If the problems stem from design or substandard construction, the government is wise to move to Don Muang, he said.


Several airlines have expressed readiness to return to Don Muang, including Thai AirAsia, One-Two-Go, Nok Air and Thai Airways (THAI).


Many other airlines, mostly foreign ones, remain confused and have not made a move.


THAI chairman Chalit Pukbhasuk said the airline would operate from both airports. Initially, it plans to offer domestic flights from Don Muang to assist the sister company Nok Air, which faces an aircraft shortage.


Later, it will move its domestic flights back to Suvarnabhumi where it would operate both domestic and international flights.


"We have not yet finalised the plan but we're ready to respond to the government's decision," Chalit said.


Udom Santiprasongchai, executive director of low-cost airline One-Two-Go, said that airlines may not be able to move to Don Muang within 45 days as planned due to the delayed decision on how to handle damage at Suvarnabhumi and details on Don Muang's reopening.


The Cabinet on February 6 resolved to reopen Don Muang for domestic and international flights, to pave the way for repairs and ease traffic at Suvarnabhumi.


Today, engineers and architects will convene to discuss their how to handle problems at Suvarnabhumi.


Bannawit Kengrien, chairman of the National Legislative Assembly committee inspecting problems at Suvarnabhumi,


said yesterday that he would propose the AOT shut down the new airport if an integrated runway repair is necessary.


"If the grand-scale repair is to be carried out, there is no way left but closing it to avoid causing safety problems. It could be six to 10 months," he said, adding that if all airlines were to move back to Don Muang, AOT should not shoulder the cost given that the incident was unexpected.


Krai Tungsnga, vice-chairman of the Engineering Institute of Thailand, however said the problems at Suvarnabhumi were not serious enough to require it to be shut. Krai, a member of the Bannawit-chaired committee, said while taxiways were damaged, the runway functions.


"The airport could be partially closed for the repairs. There is no need for the shutdown as that could lead to immense damage. Foreign airlines might be against the proposal while moving could cause chaos and numerous subsequent problems. The damage could be done step by step without the entire airport shutdown," he told Krungthep Turakij.

TIT!


Bannawit Kengrien, squatting second left, who chairs the National Legislative Assembly's committee inspecting problems at Suvarnabhumi Airport, makes a point while talking to other panel members during their inspection of Don Muang Airport yesterday.

[rxpharm]

Still no definite answers as to the reason why the taxiways and runways are cracking - as reported by The Nation, Feb. 9/07. Also some other problems coming to light - the revolving doors were not fitted with tempered glass, so 17 of 27 have broken, which could have caused injury to the users.


Engineers unable to agree on root cause of airport cracks

The public is supposed to know on Monday the conclusion of the root cause of the problem with Suvarnabhumi's runways and other parts of the airport.

But judging by yesterday's discussion among the country's leading engineers and architects, there seemed to be little confidence that the professionals were closer to understanding the problem, much less the implementation of the solution.

Although many engineers agreed that drainage and subsurface water might be responsible for the ruts and cracks in the airport, they could not agree on the sources of the problematic water in the sand layer that had weakened the strength of the asphalt on the surface of the taxiways.

Some engineers, including Ampai Poosripong of the Engineering Association of Thailand, suggested the water could be evidence of either poor engineering in draining the water out from the soft swamp soil about a decade ago, or a problem with the current surface-water management by the airport operator.

However, Malaysian geotechnical engineer Dr Tian Ho Seah, from the consulting firm MAA Geotechnics, which took part in underground water drainage a decade ago, made a presentation that focused on poor surface-water management.

He argued that poor engineering techniques could not be the cause of the problem as evidenced by the standard rate of settlement of soil in the airfield.

He instead pinpointed the problem of water overflows from nearby canals onto the airfield, which remained in the sand layer about one metre under the taxiways.

Nonetheless, Seah admitted that nobody yet understood the entire picture. He used the analogy of an elephant and a group of blind men, in which each of them assumed the shape of the elephant from the parts they touched, with none having a concept of the whole animal.

"Do we have enough facts? Or is everybody just talking about different things?" Seah asked.

There were a lot of concerns at the passenger terminal too, said architect Yodyiem Theptaranon, who was recently appointed to sit on the board of directors of Airports of Thailand Plc. He cited the example of the 27 revolving doors, 17 of which have broken glass. It was also found that the glass was not tempered or laminated to protect passengers from getting injured.

"Suvarnabhumi is the apex of shame of our profession," he said. "There are many problems that we still don't know of. We have to start looking at the other side of the coin. What's most important in arriving at a solution is finding out what we don't know."

The issue of the independence of professionals involved in identifying the problem and the solution was raised again yesterday.

Professor Dr Panithan Lakanaprasit from Chulalongkorn University's Engineering Faculty said he was concerned about the potential conflict of interest as most people in the engineering and architecture professions had had something to do with the nearly five-decade-long airport project.

He urged professional organisations, including the Engineering Association of Thailand, the Siamese Architects' Association, the Engineering Consultation Association and the Construction Association, which jointly held the meeting yesterday, to make sure they put the right people in charge to revive the faith of the public about people in these professions.

Regardless of all the uncertainties, Tortrakul Yomnark, chairman of the committee appointed to determine the cause of the airport problem, will hold a press conference on Monday to announce his findings.

He said he was convinced that water could be responsible for ruts and cracks but a lot more tests would have to be done to reach a final conclusion.

Nantiya Tangwisutijit

The Nation

TIT!

[Stewart]

I timed myself yesterday at Changi.

From taxi stopping to drop me off outside the terminal to me sitting down in the SIA longe.......2 mins 30 seconds.

That includes checkin (gold star thingy)...1 person in queue in front of me, passport control....1 person in queue, and sign into lounge....no-one in queue.

When I fly INTO Changi, I usually reserve seat near front of plane to get off fast, I am a fast walker, there is rarely any queue at immigration, and 7 times out of 10 my luggage beats ME to the carousel. I don't know how they do it!