Airport Impressions

[JackG]

(katoeylover @ Dec. 08 2006,08:29) btw - are there exchange kiosks past immigration as in the old place?

will need to change some cash on arrival.

Yes and it was one of the few things that impressed me upon arrival.
I'm a fast walker with a long stride and I continued to walk on the "moving sidewalks" and it still took me 10 minutes to reach Immigration.  Smaller people and older people might take 15 -20 minutes to walk from the farthest gates.

To answer your question, yes, there are one or two small currency exchange kiosks before you get there, but centered and just beyond Passport Control is a larger kiosk, equiped with currency scanners and automatic counters.  That was the fastest I've ever changed money, but it was due to the equipment provided by the bank and had nothing to due with the new airport.  A banker has since told me this equipment has been available for years, but I've never seen it used in Thailand on previous trips.

[JackG]

(bangkoksins @ Dec. 08 2006,11:59) Actually Bangkok and HK are very, very similar. Same designers after all........
Bangkok's new airport is a great advertisement as it brings Bangkok's airport up to modern day standards. It is light, easy to get around, quiet, spacious and offers great amenities...............

I'm all for a positive attitude and you are certainly entitled to your opinion, but whatever you're smoking has to be illegal..... and I want some.....

As I said before, and has been pointed out in various reviews of the new airport, to solve some of the problems will require structural changes to the building. Will the government be willing to spend the money to do so is the question.

[bangkoksins]

Actually JackG I am  not smoking anything. I have been to Suvarnabhumi so many times I have lost count.

But, each time I go it gets better, I like it more. Sure some mistakes have been made. There are at every airport, but overall it is a great airport, and in no way second or third class.

It works. Now if someone who has only been there once or perhaps twice, reads all the negativity and to be frank crap press reports in the Bangkok Post etc then perhaps their opinions might be influenced.

A 10-20 minute walk from plane to gate can happen at Singapore, HK, Dubai most new international airport so that is nothing new.

Instead of focusing on the negative people should look at the positive, and there are a lot of positive points  about the new airport.

Is it better than DM? YES - so what's the problem? If things need to be fixed they will be.  Have any of them ever affected my arrivals or departures from the airport - NO.

[Stewart]

Taxi is a bit clearer lets hope by the time i get there is signs

You will find them. just remember to look around and head down an escalator/moving walkway one level, then you will see them. It is just a bit chaotic in the arrivale area

[Stewart]

Ps. I agree with you about Changi. For me that airport is unique and the best in the world although I have not seen Frankfurt which I believe is pretty good too.

Went through frankfurt for first time last month. Yes nice, but an aura of superb German efficiency rather than Asian customer service....or maybe it was just the ugly white women that put me off!!

I don't quite know how Changi does it. It never seems busy, and yet they did over 32m passengers last year, and Terminal 3 will open in 2008 taking capaicity to over 60m. Just a very stress-free experience every time.

They could do 2 things immediately to BKK to improve it no end:

1. Change that f**king arrivals hall so that it is not a rugby scrum when you try to get through, but structurally I don't know how they would do that.
2. Stop people putting up all those hand written signs everywhere....that is just SO tacky

But I am sure it will get better

[Snick]

I'm stinking with my original opinion, The old airport was easier and faster to get in and out, and thats all I really care about.

The new airport has two big problems, physically it was designed to get you to walk past as many shops as possible. And operationally it is designed to overcharge you for transportation, that means limo touts are allowed to block traffic in the arrivals hall, directions to taxi are none existant, and no good taxi queuing system is in place. Bus options are also limited with only 3 buses a day to Pattaya and the last one leaving at 5pm.

Obviously the 2nd set of problems could be fixed, but I doubt they will be.

I also believe due to the nature of the building, and the corners cut when constructing it that it will age quickly. Only time will tell, but I wouldn't be suprised if in 3-5 years the "new" airport looks as run down as the old airport.

MAYBE they will fix the operational problems, repair all the shoddy work, and get an effective light rail to airport up and running. But I wouldn't hold my breath.

[gunslinger]

It 's easy if you know where you are going, like the old tobacco stained Don Muang, we all knew exactly where to go, if you don't , well as soon as you get past customs into the rugby scrum bit just look for a way downstairs and you're home free, the other day I landed at 2pm and was in a cab within 20 minutes which is pretty fuckin good in my book.

[jellybean]

(Snick @ Dec. 09 2006,01:42) I'm stinking with my original opinion, ......... But I wouldn't hold my breath.

So it doesn't smell that bad then      

[thaibound]

(gunslinger @ Dec. 08 2006,07:45) It 's easy if you know where you are going, like the old tobacco stained Don Muang, we all knew exactly where to go, if you don't , well as soon as you get past customs into the rugby scrum bit just look for a way downstairs and you're home free, the other day I landed at 2pm and was in a cab within 20 minutes which is pretty fuckin good in my book.

i like that pace
but if i want that taxi to take me to pattaya straight away instead of nana...can i still do it that way? will a meter taxi even accept a passenger for that trip, and if so how bad will the damage ($$) be?

[jellybean]

Here's a satellite showing relative positions of the Don Muang, Nana and the new airport

[jellybean]

and here's one with Pattaya on it as well.

[Stewart]

Now, I DO like the fact that it is closer to Pattaya, I have to admit!

[Stewart]

the other day I landed at 2pm and was in a cab within 20 minutes which is pretty fuckin good in my book.

First 4 or 5 times I arrived, I flew through customs...loads of staff, zero queue. I was impressed.

I was there last 2 weekends.....20-25 people in line at what seemed less customs points open, and lots of "TRAINEE" signs up....30 min wait each time. Definitely NOT impressed.

- More staff on for the initial opening to create a good first impression?
- High season now means higher volumes?

The other thing is that on departure, there are ALWAYS big queues at passport control. This became a problem at DM when they introduced that camera system about 18 months ago, but I thought the new airport would have solved that problem. Now 20 min waits outbound at passport control every time I have gone through. Not good.

Anyone any idea why this is?

[JackG]

Interesting photos. Thank you.
On the last trip into the new airport we were over water on approach right up to seconds before touchdown.  I don't see a large body of water anywhere nearby, except the Gulf of Thailand and it doesn't extend up to the airport.

[stogie bear]

I used the new airport for the first time a couple of days ago...

First off - it's BIG! In fact it's massive! It seems to be well layed out, but frustratingly expansive if you want to get to a different area of it.

Once I was driving up to the airport and I could see it in the distance it still took ages to actually 'arrive' at departures! But the design is like Snick says - a giant hangar! - but it doesn't look bad for that. In fact as the sun goes down and the blue fluorescent bulbs light up it looks quite clinical and futuristic...

The mafia group King Power obviously own everything here but seem to have gone to a lot of trouble to give each of their identical shops selling the identical product for the identical price a unique identity!!!

But that said; it is still a cheap place to buy booze and ciggies... (200 cigs - 500 Baht - a litre of J & B 550 Baht)

There are plenty of toilets and even an information counter on arrrival, but like anywhere in this new sterile city it takes some walking to get to.

Like another poster previously remarked - it's like a shopping mall with an airport stuck on!

I'll update my post in a month or so when I have gone through 'arrivals' but so far so good.