Suvarnabhumi Airport

[rickfarang]

BKKSTAN, your scenerio sounds like a winner. I had forgotten that the arriving taxis will be allowed to pick up passengers. We will be going through there in late October. I think I'll give your plan a try unless I see that they've already set up a taxi stand outside arrivals.

Bubba was not impressed.

Did Bubba get home ok?

Saw the pictures on the news this evening of people standing around the airport looking bored. Let's hope it gets better from here.

[beer monkey]

SUVARNABHUMI AIRPORT OPENS
Touch down...into chaos

Lost baggage, crashed computer check-in systems, shouting passengers - AOT calls opening day a '75% success'


It took the Korean visitors three hours to get their luggage, and they left no one in doubt as to their displeasure. A computer system crash forced staff into the unfamiliar role of manually checking-in passengers. Then more bags were lost and a scrum formed around the "Lost and Found" office. Flights were delayed time and again. Snafu was the order of the day.


Utter chaos for Suvarnabhumi's opening? Definitely not, say the airport's spin doctors.


Officials and system consultants shrugged off the teething problems and expressed complete confidence that Suvarnabhumi Airport would soon be free of "hiccups".


"We are 75 per cent satisfied," Chotisak Asapaviriya, president of Airports of Thailand Plc, said yesterday. "There were some minor problems that have upset us."


At 11am, the centralised check-in system crashed, first paralysing 11 counters of Thai Airways International and later spreading to 13 counters of Nok Air and some international airlines.


Ground staff resorted to using computer notebooks and filling out boarding passes by hand.


According to reports, many passengers on a variety of flights waited for at least two hours to get their luggage. Over 100 visitors from Incheon, arriving on flight OX301, vented their anger at Thai Airways International's counters. They shouted at THAI ground agents when three hours passed and still their luggage had not appeared.


Passengers on other flights encountered similar problems. Those on TG343 from Jakarta also waited for three hours. TG 917 from London landed at 3pm and the designated carousel was empty until 5pm. To the dismay of first-class passengers, they retrieved their belongings at the same time as economy-class travellers.


"The Lost and Found counter was flooded with complaints," said a ground officer who asked not to be named.


"Passengers of airlines including THAI and Aerosvit Airlines faced the same problem," said one AOT official.


Air Chief Marshall Chalit Pukbhasuk, chairman of the Council for Democratic Reform's committee in charge of the airport opening, visited the facility at 7am. He acknowledged the foul ups but said all units were attacking the mishaps one by one.


"Problems are common for the first operating hour of a new airport. We should know better later on," he told a swarm of reporters.


AOT's Chotisak said it took time for ground crews to transfer bags from planes to conveyer belts due to the delay in the relocation of baggage handling equipment from Don Muang to Suvarnabhumi. THAI supplies the AOT with the baggage-handling equipment.


A fierce overnight storm had thrown THAI's schedule for its migration programme completely out of whack. As of 7am, only 80 per cent of the removal was complete.


"The conveyor system functioned well, but there was a problem transferring luggage from the aircraft to the conveyor belts because baggage lorries had not arrived [from Don Muang]," Chotisak said. "This is a minor problem and will not happen again once the transition period is over."


About 200 suitcases were also found left behind at the airport after some THAI flights took off for domestic and international destinations.


THAI president Apinan Sumanaseni was sure that his airline's system functioned well, but the problem could lie with the baggage handling system, which is under AOT's supervision.


"We are contacting the bag owners to send them their belongings. This is a big blunder happening at THAI," he said.


Somchai Swasdipol, director of Suvarnabhumi Airport, said AOT is investigating the matter. The bungling could have arisen from the slow transfer of luggage rather than any trouble with the actual baggage handling system, he said.


The botched baggage handling was partially attributable to flights arriving late. About 17 flights were overdue, 45 minutes in the worst case. Most departing passengers anticipated the delay and arrived at the airport well in advance.


The first commercial flight to alight at Suvarnabhumi was also 20 minutes behind schedule. Flying from Kiev, the Aerosvit Airlines plane landed at 4.30am, instead of the original time of 4.10am. It landed at the same time as an EVA Airways flight from Amsterdam.


"Aerosvit's flight was delayed at the originating port, not because of technical problems at Suvarnabhumi," the AOT official said.


Upon arrival, the first passengers received commemorative souvenirs from AOT chairman Srisook Chandrangsu and his management team, who waited in front of Gate E4. One of the passengers was a local from Udon Thani who was unaware that his plane would put down at the new airport.


"I'm confused. Don Muang is more familiar to me as I don't know the traffic network of Suvarnabhumi," he said.


Aerosvit Airlines also operated the first flight from Suvarnabhumi. Bound for Kiev, it left at 5.40am. It took four minutes for each passenger to check in, instead of the normal two minutes at Don Muang, as staff needed time to get used to the new IT system.


Cathay Pacific also operated a flight from Hong Kong, but with only a 55-per-cent load factor rather than the usual 80 per cent.


"Passengers were worried about convenience on the first day of operations," said Yongyut Lujintanont, marketing manager for Thailand and Burma. The cabin factor should return to normal today, he said.


The chaotic environment on the first day also dulled the appetite for shopping among passengers. Most of the visitors concentrated on checking out the airport's amenities. Some of the duty free shops were still being fitted out and were not open yet.


A manager for individual Power Duty Free Shop said total sales on the first day were only Bt3,000-Bt4,000, less than 10 per cent of what the company used to ring up at Don Muang. However, she was optimistic that more customers would come later.

Suchat Sritma

The Nation

[beer monkey]

One of the passengers was a local from Udon Thani who was unaware that his plane would put down at the new airport.


"I'm confused.

come on hands up, which one of you was it.....was it you bubba ? .

[BKKSTAN]

Bubba was there today, returning home from a international mini holiday. Coudn't make it out of Bkk yesterday due to the lack of prior planning and the fact that all the flights were full. Nok didn't even fly today. Forced to overnight in Bkk and have more fun.
Long trip to the new airport, particularly when you think you're going to be late.
Taxi about 275 baht, plus 40 baht toll. People standing in the line for domestic flights, unlike Don Muang that has signs for each destination Thai Air has 20 lines "to all destinations".
Media all around, filled with VIPS feeling important for each other. The computer system crashes. No lines moving.
Finally after waiting for about 25 minutes the herd all the Udon passengers to a corner and process us on a laptop.
Flight was late.
Bubba was not impressed.

Some questions for clarity,hope you don't mind?

Taxi:where did you get your taxi from the airport?was there a 100 baht loading fee?Was the 315 baht for going or coming and was that meter price?What was your BK destination?

All destinations,did you have to wait till you got to the head of the line to book or check your flight?How do they seperate the different flights customers?

How long did it take you to get from the plane to baggage?How far was it walking time?Did you have to carry your luggage far?Were there luggage carts?

Was Immigration faster than Don Muang?

What time did your flight get in?what time was your scheduled flight to Udon originally?
Thanks,Stan

[BKKSTAN]

More first day summaries

Confusing, tiring first day at new airport

ONNUCHA HUTASINGH

For passengers who enjoyed full facilities at the small but cosy Don Muang airport, the first day at the more ''impressive'' Suvarnabhumi airport made them tired and confused. Many arrived at the new airport hours before their morning flights to make sure they would not miss their planes in the unfamiliar terminal, but encountered problems anyway. They included cancelled flights, insufficient toilets, and a long queue to buy food.

''I'll check with THAI but I'm not sure there will be any tickets left. It's very confusing. Nothing is ready down here,'' a young passenger was overheard telling his friend on a mobile phone.

He was among the passengers who woke early and managed to get to the terminal around 4am to catch a 6am flight to Chiang Mai.

But Nok Air, the budget airline, decided to cancel the flight.

The airline attributed the cancellation to concerns over how the airport system would work on the first day. However, its ticketing agency did not tell passengers, forcing many to buy more expensive tickets with Thai Airways International instead.

Others were also told to check in at the airport at least two hours before departure.

They did that, but when they went to sit down they found there were not enough seats.

Some left the crowded scene and went to the toilets to refresh themselves. But they had to wait in a long line due to the insufficient number of toilets. The large crowds also prevented staff from cleaning the toilets.

''The toilets are small, the air was stuffy and people began to get annoyed,'' said cleaner Prapaisri Deemak.

There was also not enough food because many restaurants had not opened. The result was another long queue for passengers.

Airports of Thailand president Chotisak Asapaviriya acknowledged all the passenger complaints. He promised the problems would be solved soon, especially those concerning the toilets

[JimboPSM]

More first day summaries

........ Some left the crowded scene and went to the toilets to refresh themselves. But they had to wait in a long line due to the insufficient number of toilets. The large crowds also prevented staff from cleaning the toilets.

''The toilets are small, the air was stuffy and people began to get annoyed,'' said cleaner Prapaisri Deemak.

Airports of Thailand president Chotisak Asapaviriya acknowledged all the passenger complaints. He promised the problems would be solved soon, especially those concerning the toilets

• Hmm... does this mean they may be taking up the suggestion by Papaguido - Porta-Johns

[papaguido]

I don't know Jimbo, maybe have to start packing one of these...






Imagin their reaction when they see me come off the plane with one of these and looking around for a place to set it up.

[valentine]

Hope the ITV cameras are there again today. It was amusing sitting in my armchair, gin and tonic in hand watching red faced farangs ranting at the cameras about missing bags, incompetent idiots and many other unreapatable expressions. welcome to Thailand folks.

[BKKSTAN]

PapaG,is that a ''sitter'' or a ''squatter''?Before I put my glasses on and enlarged the pic,I thought it was a laundry basket for dirty diapers

[arjay]

A look back at the first day at Suvarnabhumi, quote from bangkok Post newspaper:

First-day fliers left irked

Baggage and check-in delays at new airport

AMORNRAT MAHITTHIROOK

Frustration and confusion were among the sentiments of many passengers using Suvarnabhumi airport, which opened for full operations yesterday. The new airport, which took over duties from Don Muang at 3am, encountered several problems. The most serious was the luggage handling system run by Thai Airways International (THAI).

Other problems, less serious, were the failure of the check-in system run by Airports of Thailand Plc (AoT) and the dearth of signs inside the terminal.

Complaints from 400 South Korean passengers highlighted the dissatisfaction. ''I lost my baggage,'' one told TV crews last night after waiting for five hours after Orient Air flight OX301 from Seoul landed at 2.30pm with no sign of the luggage.

In fact, the problems began early yesterday morning. Some passengers on delayed flights, including THAI flights TG951 from Copenhagen, TG326 from Bangalore, TG945 from Rome, and Etihad Airways flight EY403 from Abu Dhabi, ran out of patience and complained when they had to wait for more than an hour to get their bags, with not an official in sight to help them out.

The opening was low-key, without an official ceremony. Only senior officials from AoT, the Transport Ministry, THAI and the Council for Democratic Reform (CDR) attended.

The atmosphere may well have been different had Thaksin Shinawatra still been in power. The launch date was set by the ousted prime minister, despite warnings from airlines and some officials, when he was head of the government before the coup on Sept 19.

Mr Thaksin, now in London after the CDR's takeover, hoped to use the airport to boost the popularity of his Thai Rak Thai party ahead of a general election.

''Had Mr Thaksin been here, the airport would have had an extravagant opening ceremony that would have been remembered for a long time,'' said an AoT official who insisted she was not pro-Thaksin.

Suvarnabhumi, located in Samut Prakan's Bang Phli district, hosted 813 flights on its first day of operations.

The airport commissioned THAI and Bangkok Airways for the ground handling services. Most airlines, including Orient Thai, hired the national flag carrier.

But THAI could not provide services for everyone. It struggled to handle luggage even for its own passengers as it did not provide enough luggage lorries.

AoT said the conveyor system functioned properly but the problem was caused because luggage lorries had not reached Suvarnabhumi from Don Muang.

THAI president Apinan Sumanaseni said all 880 lorries were moved from Don Muang to Suvarnabhumi by 2pm yesterday, but the airline later apologised for the problem.

AoT president Chotisak Asapaviriya had to solve the luggage problem by urgently hiring Thai Airports Ground Service (TAGS) to work at the new airport until this morning. . TAGS was a ground service firm at Don Muang but it lost out in its bid to work at Suvarnabhumi.

The check-in system run by AoT did not work properly from the morning-scheduled flights, causing delays for 17 out of 19 flights operated by THAI. About 200 pieces of luggage did not accompany planes carrying passengers out of the airport. The delays were between 15 and 45 minutes, the THAI president said.

THAI staff had to issue boarding passes and luggage tags by hand. The problem was due to an information overload in the system, transport permanent secretary Wanchai Sarathulthat said.

Mr Wanchai admitted that signs inside the terminal were inadequate, causing several passengers to struggle to find their way once they disembarked from aircraft.

The official ordered AoT to relocate a duty free shop and its advertising signs operated by individual Power out of the arrival zone, saying they blocked the passage of passengers from airplanes to the immigration area.

individual Power chief executive officer Vichai Raksriaksorn said the problem was not serious and added that the firm, which runs commercial areas at the airport, was still ready for negotiations.

AoT and Transport Ministry executives had said before the opening that the problems were not beyond their expectations for the first day of a new airport's operations. ''This is a minor problem and will not happen again once the transition period is over,'' Mr Chotisak said

[papaguido]

PapaG,is that a ''sitter'' or a ''squatter''?Before I put my glasses on and enlarged the pic,I thought it was a laundry basket for dirty diapers

It's a sitter, portable and collapsable and fits in the overhead bin

[BKKSTAN]

YOUR overhead bin,not MINE I wonder if they would charge duty or confiscate it on entering the country I guess it would depend whether it was used or not

[beer monkey]

The airports first casualty..

Suvarnabhumi baggage executive fired

(Compiled by Bangkokpost.com)
Thai Airways International said today it has fired the executive in charge of the slow, criticised baggage handling at the new Suvarnabhumi Airport.

"The luggage problem was caused by internal management disorders at Thai Airways. We have already sacked a top person in charge of handling luggage," said THAI president Apinan Sumanaseni.

The baggage handling was the chief source of criticism on opening day at Suvranabhumi on Thursday. It was no better on Friday, and airport officials were fed up.

"The airline must look after problems for passengers," said Chotisak Aspaviriya, president of Airports of Thailand, the airport operator.

"Luggage handling equipment from Thai Airways International did not arrive on time and some luggage handlers from the airline did not even show up at the airport," he said.

Sawas Napol, coordinator of the Association of Thai Travel Agents,said much the same thing.

"I have no idea why the new airport had such major delays. I hope airport authorities will fix any problems quickly to shore up the image of our new airport," said Mr Sawat.

Baggage handling by Friday afternoon was said to be functioning well. Flight Officer Apinan said Friday afternoon he had no specific reports of problems.

[arjay]

In the light of the many reported teething troubles at the new airport, Udonmap realises how important it is to its members to be able to successfully navigate their way through the new Suvarnabhumi airport and to be aware of any pitfalls to watch out for, (for example what to do if caught short). So it has decided, in true entrepreneurial fashion, to send one of its own staff into the lions mouth (and we hope out the otherside), to give a first hand account to members of navigating ones way through both the domestic and international terminals of the new airport.

At this very moment a heated debate is taking place at map headquarters, to determine which intrepid reporter will make their way into the "Jaws of Suvarnabhumi", through the belly of the beast, and hopefully out the otherside, unscathed!

(For the names of the likely contenders see the Jokes thread)

Whoever it is, we hope to receive their report in a couple of days time, assuming of course that they make it out the otherside, and with their important pieces (of luggage) intact.

Watch this space for further news.

[beer monkey]

I don't know Jimbo, maybe have to start packing one of these...






Imagin their reaction when they see me come off the plane with one of these and looking around for a place to set it up.

i think you might be better off with one of these papaguido.and would save time trying to get a Taxi.

[papaguido]

Good idea BM. Better yet as big as the new terminal is suppose to be, have them roving around throughout the terminal for passsenger's assistance

[JimboPSM]

They may need more convenience stores

[arjay]

Noise affecting schools around Suvarnabhumi, from the Bangkok Post:

SUVARNABHUMI / SCHOOLS SUFFER FROM AIRCRAFT DIN

BMA seeks compensation for noise-proof insulation

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration will demand 30 million baht in compensation from the Airports of Thailand (AoT) to pay for the installation of noise-proof insulation at schools beset by aircraft noise from Suvarnabhumi airport. City officials have measured noise levels in 10 city-run schools near the airport and found three of them _ Wat Lat Krabang, Wat Plooksatta, and Wat Bamrungruen schools _ hard hit by noise pollution.

According to the National Environment Board, the noise level should not exceed 70 decibels.

''But the levels recorded at the three schools are beyond acceptable standards,'' said Bangkok Governor Apirak Kosayodhin yesterday.

He said City Hall would hold talks with the AoT, which oversees Suvarnabhumi airport, on the compensation and on finding a solution to the noise problem.

The BMA's Education Department initially estimated that around 30 million baht would be needed to keep aircraft noise from school classrooms.

The airport's environmental impact assessment report states that as many as 46 schools and universities would suffer from aircraft noise.

Earlier, an individual Mongkut's Institute of Technology Lat Krabang (KMITL), which is located around 3.5 km north of the airport, had demanded 214 million baht in compensation from the AoT for the installation of noise barriers at its 22 buildings.

KMITL students said their teachers were forced to pause every time a plane flew over their campus.

There will be almost 80 aircraft taking off and landing at the airport per hour at peak time.

Several housing estates in the vicinity of the new airport have also demanded that the airport operators take serious steps to tackle noise pollution.

The AoT, however, has neither approved a compensation budget nor come up with a noise impact mitigation scheme so far.

The agency claimed that it needs more studies on the noise-relief measures and to draft the criteria on compensation disbursement to ensure that all affected parties receive a fair compensation.

The studies, due to be completed next month, are being carried out by the National Institute of Development Administration.

Lat Krabang district chief Pornlert Panwatana said Suvarnabhumi airport had increased the level of noise and air pollution in the area, which would soon become a major transportation hub.

Traffic in the area will be more congested due to more vehicles passing through the airport. Heavy transportation and construction activities will lead to severe land subsidence of around 10 centimetres a year, he said. However, the new airport had also had positively impacts for the people, Mr Pornlert said.

He said that the airport would help boost tourism and real estate businesses in the nearby areas, which would lead to a surge in land prices and the creation of more jobs.

[BKKSTAN]

Maybe they will collect more feesfrom travelers.

[nevket240]

It would be nice to never ever ever see the place.
If Tiger or Air Asia employees view this forum, is there even a hint of Singapore to Udon happening this millenium???