Neil Ray is a British photo/journalist living in Bangkok and formerly from Bristol. Following the controversy regarding the opening of what is a major Asian hub he brings ABTN readers, and the airline industry, right up to date. http://www.neilrayphoto.com
To be fair, this latest addition to Asia”s growing list of ”Asia Hubs”, the new Suvarnabhumi Airport for Bangkok and Thailand, has had no more of a rough time in its first few months, than many of its counterparts. I remember rotting cabbages on the tarmac at Hong Kong and the longest wait, ever, for luggage, at Kuala Lumpur. A brand new airport is bound to have its teething problems and this one is no exception.
However, Suvarnabhumi has come in for some damning criticism from many passengers and airlines. There are also the politicians hoping to make ex-premier Thaksin a scapegoat for just about everything that goes wrong in the country. They may be right, but its all part of the Thai accusation and counter accusation game at the moment. There have almost certainly been some dodgy deals and corruption, but this is Asia ” it”s the norm. Rumours abound of shoddy workmanship, cracked apron areas, and broken toilets in the terminal. Certainly if you arrive late at night there seems to be an unusual amount of ”maintenance” work going on. Other complaints have included long walks to the gates, but that”s what you get when you have a big airport! Heathrow, Schiphol and Frankfurt aren”t exactly the smallest places in the world to move around.
I have been in and out of the new airport some eight times in the last two months, which is more than I care for, but to date, I”ve found it to be no worse than anywhere else, and in some areas a lot better. My airlines have been the national carrier Thai International, plus the UAE”s Etihad, Lufthansa, Thai Air Asia and Nok Air (the latter two local budget airlines). All but one flight has departed and arrived on time. The one that was late was coming in from Xiamen in China, so that can hardly be blamed on Suvarnabhumi or its air traffic managers. So given all this, I have wondered what all the fuss was about, and although I have found the luggage system to be slow, it”s not that bad. Incoming immigration is much better than it used to be at the old airport, Don Muang, with something like 30 booths, all manned with a welcoming smile. For those on fast track, immigration procedures are even quicker. The business lounges are well stocked and comfortable, the catering options plentiful, and apart from the odd closed lavatory, everything else seems to work well. (There was one case of passengers caught in a broken lift, but that can happen anywhere).
As for the location, and the ease of traveling to the city, maybe that is not great. At the moment there are only two ways into the centre: taxi or bus. The various taxi services range from the Thai International Limo service at 800 Baht (about ”11/$22) to the public metered taxi at 200 Baht, plus a 50 Baht surcharge and toll fees. There are a whole host of welcoming taxi services to greet the incoming passenger, but the recommendation is to either use the Thai Airways service or go downstairs for the public taxi. Hotels do have meeting services and pick up points, which can be booked in advance of arriving.
It”s about a 30-minute journey into town using the toll expressways, which is to be recommended. This is about 10 minutes more than it used to be from Don Muang. The airport bus is not really much of an option since they are charging 150 Baht, which is far too close to the taxi fare, and then the likelihood is that a taxi will be needed to get to the hotel. Eventually there will be a high speed dedicated rail link from the airport directly to a new terminus in the city centre. This is due to be completed next year, and will make the whole process of getting to and from Suvarnabhumi a lot easier.
However, having said all that, there has been a decision last week by the AOT (Airport Operations of Thailand) to reopen the old airport, Don Muang, and this decision has been quickly followed up by Thai International saying it will operate some domestic services out of the old facility. These services will only be the ones which they feel would not affect international travellers needing transfers. Phuket, Chiang Mai, Krabi and other popular routes will remain at Suvarnabhumi. Other airlines following suit are both budget airlines ” One Two Go and Nok Air ” and both provide only domestic routes.
The reason for the switch back to DM is of course the higher operating costs for all the airlines whose expenditure has soared with the new airport charges. Some airlines have welcomed the decision to open Don Muang as a low cost ”no frills” airport for domestic flights, but it remains to be seen if this is feasible. Given the potential for getting spectacularly stuck in a Bangkok traffic jam many passengers will feel a touch nervous about trying to connect from one to the other. It”s a distance of about 70kms (43.5 )miles between the two, and the possible consequences are not attractive.
So, for business travellers and international airlines alike, the hope is that Suvarnabhumi will sort out its teething problems, and eventually there will be an airport where visitors can use the new fast train to the city, have some decent hotel facilities nearby (at the moment there is only a Novotel) and there are no cracks in the tarmac.
In the meantime, let”s not allow the negative publicity to overshadow the fact that this is one of the biggest construction projects Thailand has ever undertaken, and when seen at night, or by day for that matter, it is a beautiful design, catering potentially for some 45m passengers a year.