SBIA Reviews

[PhuketJimmy]

The crux of the issue was phyiscal local, certainly one must be eligable...Me, UA 1K takes me into any Star Gold. I.E. until the UA RCC is open at SuwannaBoom, if eligable, you get a pass to the Louis Tavern room which is at the beginning of G so it is a long way. I go into the TG lounge at D and exit to the boarding area via their PVT walk way...Seems D will be used by Star Alliance.....

[von Hirschhorn]

Right PukketJimmy, people these days think only critisism is news. A week ago I had my first encounter and no complains either, exept for the indeed small entry hall after the custums. In my case there was a real traffic jam and struggle for the exit. And even this you can observe - or better feel it from the sunny side, all in all in Bangkok later you'll see much more of it. (and lots of sun as well if not hindered by fumes)
And so was the ride with the Airport Bus, two hours to drop me on the Silom Road, but not a real complain, why, life in itself is short enough. As the Thai says: a warm heart is bad for your condition. And by the way; what else is an Airport others than a transhipment area for people gathered together for a flight, a bit space is more than welcome, and that my friends 'the golden land' offers.

[PhuketJimmy]

I agree that the bus will be tough.

I find it interesting that there are not a specific comments as to the good reports. NO comments on the art. I still thing there are some naibobs lurkinjg that haven't enjoyed the splendor of SuwannaBoom. BTW, I have a couple good maps but I'm not going to rebut issues by counting things like W.C.'s in a certain area etc. I'm pretty much making my comments from memory!

[GWR]

http://www.notstickmanbangkok.com/We...umiAirport.htm

[PhuketJimmy]

http://www.notstickmanbangkok.com/We...umiAirport.htm

Thanks, I look at that site...He did a Great Job. I think the pics are good. He has a good site overall and I'm pleased he did such a good report. I'll take out my digi cam next month and snap some pics myself!

As to the NaiBobs about the hong nam issues and in general other SuwannBoom bashing I posted this on another board but decided to place it here!
New Bagnkok INt'l Airport

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Well, the usual amount of NaiBobs are downing the airport, spoke as Suwannapoom, and one over used line is lack of toilets.
Here is my post from another board!
ole Hong Nam bull.

Look, that are lots of WC's at SuwannaBoom. One problem is non Thai Vets travelers may be missing the signs. On level 2 they are big white signs with the Int'l man/woman thingos...On leverl3 and 4 they are the traditional Thai small green ones which you see all over Asia, in the Airport at Narita etc. Here is where to find the toilets...SuwannaBoom is like a long tube with multilevels inside and tributaaries off shooting to various concourses. A,B,C, on one end as D is the long section in the middle and E,F, G at the other end. in the center of the tube is passenger service areas like shops, moving walk ways etc. On the outer side of the "TUBE" are the WC's or Hong Nam's (water room in Thai) look for the signs I haven't sorteed there since Oct 16 so I'm sure if how much more cleared path to the Potties will be as they werer working alot that night .....I would say that if you stop and look real good and don't see a toilet walk about 3 min and look again as you will see many in this airport. In the passenger walk ways ther are easy to see but in the shopping concourse of Sec D they are not as accessable as other levels but still many abound...This area is where you will actually take a mini (5M) passage way leading to the edge of the tube and actually behind the shops and you'll find the John's back there.. there will be signs. For example in the Intersection where they have a Great Sala (ABCD) the are a few toitoi's but proirity is given to retail/food stall space. there is a big doo doo hut back near the Boots shop and some high end food place. I'm not going to my King Power map and list/count but I can tell you that there are many. Look, I spent 8 hours there, hydrating myself after 24 hours of travel so I visited the squirt locker many times.

Please, everybody....take a deep breathe and remember that SuwannaBoom is a very big place, very big. The interior design is very open with lots and lots of glass so you can see for great distances. I spend 8 hours on a self guided tour via my King Power map and got a good overview of the Marvel of the New BKK Int'l airport! I couldn't get into the Louis Tavern hotel, (all 15 rooms were booked)http://www.bangkokairportonline.com/node/49

So I did a tour....doing my best to learn the place after 24 hours of travel and little sleep. I have gottong into a rut of commenting about SuwannaBoom on a few boards but I have continue to do it by memory!

Hot Tip, Chang Massage and Spa. there are, I think, 7 outlets all of which are really nice. It was a nice break... Aroma Massage, hot shower after long travel and a change of clothes for my 7 am to Phuket! Letg just say the the Chang massage was everything I needed to feel great! Everything!

SwuannaBoom is a a beautiful place at that is equal to the greatest airports in the world...Shopping, eating, relaxing etc....Great Stuffv Just take a breath and go about things slowly.. Well signed with lots of help options, AOT, King Power and I found that any thai Airways person (noted as to their uniforms are helpful!) the NaiBobs are jumping about because some poor security person who show guards an elevator door and doesn't speak english can't help. Really Now! stooping to pick on SuwannaBoom because a lowly security guards who Kao Jai Mia Dai English is really reaching to be a NaiBob....I love SuwannaBoom

[fffarang]

was a negative one. I landed on Air Asia coming from Xiamen at 11.20 pm. On November 4. The taxiing of the plane and the bus transfer from the plane where much longer (about 3 times) then at Don Muang which is logical as the new airport is much bigger. There are several different spellings of the airport name (Suvanapoom, Suwannapum, Suwanabumi, and so on) which is typical for Thai language transcriptions but somehow one would expect they could handle this situation better.

The drop off area for passengers coming in by bus was very unwelcoming. It was a grey looking concrete hall with no decoration at all. There was an escalator leading up to the arrival hall. The first thing to be noted there was a confusing signage. For instance there was a sign saying “Immigration” pointing to the left and another sign saying “Immigration” pointing to the right. There were other instances of unclear guidance by the signage when I walked towards immigration.

The immigration area looked appealing and there were no queues. There is a new rule for the arrival visa waiver that says one can only stay 90 days in 6 months. The immigration officer used a green text marker to mark the entry stamp he put into my passport and wrote down a “running number”, in my case a “1” next to it. I thought that text marker procedure was ridiculous and gave a bad impression on the organization of Thai immigration. About two years ago they had introduced new immigration cards which were even bigger then the older ones and need to be folded. They are full of spelling and grammar errors as well. There is enough best practice examples around (Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia) that could have been used as orientation.

The luggage belts are right behind the immigration counters. The belts are not working well. Luggage is falling of the belts in the corners. There is no mechanism to detect if luggage is already on the belt so arriving pieces are falling on top of other pieces already on the belt.

The worst aspect of all was the mess right after the customs when one enters the public area (meeting point) where hotel representatives and guides are waiting for arriving guests. It was exactly as previous posts I have read on discussion boards. The area is designed far too small and therefore totally cramped. There are 5 or 6 such exits doors but only one was staffed by customs officers so everybody had to use that door.

I found there were more illegal taxi touts and also more aggressive official airport limousine touts lingering around that at the old airport. As usual I took the lift up to the departure level to catch a cab there. The area outside (curbside) was dirty and full of rubbish. The airport authority clearly failed to take the opening of the New Airport as a new start to cope with the security guard corruption problem. That is very disappointing. They still have “bad” taxi drivers allowed to park their empty cars there by paying money to the guards which they later try to get back by overcharging the passengers. As usual I wait for a taxi that actually brings in passengers as this gives the highest chance to get a “good” guy. The guards approach the taxi drives to ask for 20 Baht even if they do not stop to wait for new passengers. I normally prevent the tipping process by blaming the guard of corruption and starting to take pictures. In this particular case the taxi driver took the 20 Baht and threw it under his car for the guard to pick up after the taxi left.

[mdechgan]

The airport does have its flaws.
Eventhough it is a new airport, it still cannot compete with HK's.

I believe these are teething issues while the airport was rushed into service before it was 100% ready.

The flaws can easily be fixed with a few consultants walking around the airport and listening to their ideas.

That new proposed budget would also help a lot.

[PhuketJimmy]

was a negative one. I landed on Air Asia coming from Xiamen at 11.20 pm. On November 4. The taxiing of the plane and the bus transfer from the plane where much longer (about 3 times) then at Don Muang which is logical as the new airport is much bigger.

THE PROBLEM HER IS BUDGET CARRIES OFFER LESS SERVICES AND PAY LESS FOR AIRPORT SERVICES

There are several different spellings of the airport name (Suvanapoom, Suwannapum, Suwanabumi, and so on) which is typical for Thai language transcriptions but somehow one would expect they could handle this situation better.

NOT POSSIBLE...YOU CAN GO FROM UNIVERSITY TO UNIVERSITY AND GET DIFFERENT SPELLINGS, BTW THE ONE THE AOT USES IS NOT LISTED ABOVE
The drop off area for passengers coming in by bus was very unwelcoming. It was a grey looking concrete hall with no decoration at all. There was an escalator leading up to the arrival hall. The first thing to be noted there was a confusing signage. For instance there was a sign saying “Immigration” pointing to the left and another sign saying “Immigration” pointing to the right. There were other instances of unclear guidance by the signage when I walked towards immigration.

AFTERF LONG TRIPS SOME PEOPLE MISS A FEW QUES TO DIRECTION. THE UP PEOPLE MOVEER IS LARGER THAT DM AND THEY DO HAVE AN ELEVATOR FOR THOSE WHO NEED MORE HELP

The immigration area looked appealing and there were no queues. There is a new rule for the arrival visa waiver that says one can only stay 90 days in 6 months. The immigration officer used a green text marker to mark the entry stamp he put into my passport and wrote down a “running number”, in my case a “1” next to it. I thought that text marker procedure was ridiculous and gave a bad impression on the organization of Thai immigration.

BE ADVISED THAT THAI IMMI CAN MAKE WHAT EVER MARKS THEY WISH AND A SMALL MARK IS MUCH LESS THAT SAY CAMBODIA WHO USES UP TWO PAGES PER VISIT....
About two years ago they had introduced new immigration cards which were even bigger then the older ones and need to be folded. They are full of spelling and grammar errors as well. There is enough best practice examples around (Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia) that could have been used as orientation.

NO COMMENT
The luggage belts are right behind the immigration counters. The belts are not working well. Luggage is falling of the belts in the corners. There is no mechanism to detect if luggage is already on the belt so arriving pieces are falling on top of other pieces already on the belt.

AGAIN, UNITED HAS A NUMBER OF WORKERS AT THE BELT WAY, I EXPECT YOU ARE VICTEM OF A BUDGET CARRIED
The worst aspect of all was the mess right after the customs when one enters the public area (meeting point) where hotel representatives and guides are waiting for arriving guests. It was exactly as previous posts I have read on discussion boards. The area is designed far too small and therefore totally cramped. There are 5 or 6 such exits doors but only one was staffed by customs officers so everybody had to use that door.

AT DM THERE WAS USUALLY ONLY ON DOOR IN BOTH TEREM 1 AND 2...THERE IS NO PROBLEM AS YOU JUST WALK PAST, REMEMBER NO FORM TO DROP OFF!

I found there were more illegal taxi touts and also more aggressive official airport limousine touts lingering around that at the old airport. As usual I took the lift up to the departure level to catch a cab there. The area outside (curbside) was dirty and full of rubbish. The airport authority clearly failed to take the opening of the New Airport as a new start to cope with the security guard corruption problem. That is very disappointing. They still have “bad” taxi drivers allowed to park their empty cars there by paying money to the guards which they later try to get back by overcharging the passengers. As usual I wait for a taxi that actually brings in passengers as this gives the highest chance to get a “good” guy. The guards approach the taxi drives to ask for 20 Baht even if they do not stop to wait for new passengers. I normally prevent the tipping process by blaming the guard of corruption and starting to take pictures. In this particular case the taxi driver took the 20 Baht and threw it under his car for the guard to pick up after the taxi left.

TEA MONEY IS A WAY OF LIFE IN THAILAND, IF FACT TRAFFIC OFFICERS ARE PERMITTED TO KEEP A CERTAIN PRECENTAGE OF THEIR ISSUES FINES AS PART OF THE PAYMENT, TAXI'S TIP THE DOOR MEN (EVEN IN AMERICA) AND PEOPLE REGULARLY TIP CAR PARK PEOPLE WHO DO NOTHING BUT DIRECT YOU TO A STALL WITH THE BLOWWING OF A WHISTLE.


SORRY YOU DIDN'T LIKE SUWANNBOOM BUT A LITTLE MORE FAMILIARITY WITH THE LIFE IN THAILAND AND STAYING AWAY FROM BUDGET CARRIERS WILL MAKE LIFE MORE EASY FOR ARRIVALS AT THE " PRIDE OF THAILAND"......SUWANNABOOM

[jerryfin]

I found a good place to eat and relax with westernized Thai food at genuine food court prices...ie a can of Pepsi at Bht15. It's on level 1 (ground-level) at the very left-hand end of the building overlooking the garden with the royal barges. It has inside and outside dining/sitting and is not crowded in the evenings(the only time I've used it). The food court at the other end of the building is almost always crowded and doesn't spread out over a pleasant garden.
Another place for cheap food (quiches, fruit tarts and sandwiches) is at Puff & Pie's (Thai Airways Catering) outlet at the bus terminal...but unfortunately it closes at 5pm..
Also at the bus station there are 4 long lines of urinals!
Yet another bonus: The main visitor car-parks right in front of the terminal are free! They start charging again (they were charging on day one but then stopped because of no gates/machines) on December 1 at Bht25 1st hour and then additional hours at a higher rate up till Bht250/day.
Yesterday I saw them towing cars parked and left at level 4. Some owners who came back to their cars before they had finished fitting the dolly wheels tried to bribe the tow truck driver and helpers but they were rebuffed! I applauded the tow staff and gave them 2 Puff & Pie sandwiches.

[Scuba22]

I've been through there about a half-dozen times thus far, and frankly I really don't understand why so many people get worked up about it, positive or negative. It's a freaking airport for heaven's sake, isn't there anything else to get all hot and bothered about?

OK, so here's my 2 cents:

More spacious check-in is a plus, and immigration is far smoother especially on arrival. They've put up some tape-barriers at arrival after customs, and this has helped the previous bottlenecks. Why they couldn't figure this out in the design is beyond me - was it a suprise that the arrivals hall is likely to have lots of people? Bathrooms continue to be a disaster.

The TG business lounge has been totally packed while other airline lounges are still being finished, the first class lounge is more open, but not nearly as inviting as either the SQ lounge in Changi or the CX lounge in HK. Still, I'm thankful for the lounges as the regular departure areas seem pretty small and uncomfortable. I'm also thankful that my departure gates have been close to the lounge, there's a major danger of a marathon walk otherwise.

The overall aesthetic is not to my taste. I think they would have been far better off emphasizing Thai tradition rather than some kind of globalized glass-and-steel modernity that seems like a copy of HK or KL airports. The Jakarta airport, with its temple-like departure gates and gardens is far more pleasant to look at, IMO, though there's not much more positive to say about that place.

I'm also not a shopper, and I have a visceral distaste for ostentatious luxury, so you can imagine what I think of the airport's emphasis on retail. In Changi, there are free internet areas, a fish pond, a live entertainment area, free movies, a gym and swimming pool, a budget phone call area, and very nice TimesNewsLink bookstores in addition to the Hermes and Chanel shops. I think Thailand goes overboard on fawning to the rich, but that's not limited to the airport.

Don Muang, for all its faults (remember the exit to the highway that led directly to a bus stop?) was much easier to get to on the toll road - for Suwannaphum, it's all about the time of day. God help you if you're caught at rush hour, it can take over 2 hours to get to town - reminds me of the old days of DM, before the toll road.

So for functionality, I give the new airport a 6 out of 10. Better than DM overall, but not even close to the likes of Changi or HK.

For aesthetics, 2/10 for me. I particularly find the juxtaposition of traditional arts with the hypermodern structure to be erratic and ill conceived, like hanging a Klee in a temple. I especially found the churning of the sea of milk sculpture rather Disneyfied, especially considering how the motif is carried off at the entrance of Angkor Thom or the bas-relief at Angkor Wat. But all that's a matter of taste of course.

OK, so there's my netidiocy. Flame away.

Cheers,

Scuba

[FarangBha]

The last 2 times I've been out there, the taxi has come off the highway towards the end of one of the runways. The road loops around the far end and then runs parallel with it all the way into the terminals.

The road is only a 100m or so from the tarmac (close enough to take pot shots), and there's always cars parked taking pics of planes coming and going. Some ice-cream sellers are even making the most of it.

Does anyone have a map of this road and / or know the name of the highway exit? Me and a mate are taking his kids out there next week to get up close and personal... just like in 'pushing tin'.

[ncr]

Which access road are you talking about? Sounds like the one from the south (Bang Na - Trat Expressway)?

[jerryfin]

Good to see they are still towing illegaly parked cars on 2nd floor today. Still no charge in the multi story carparks....although they have a lot of staff handing out tickets and collecting them and recording the time. I guess they are calculating how much money they are losing and will no doubt blame the loss on Thaksin for "opening too soon".

[GWR]

http://www.youtube.com/v/3ZOsMskD5JY

I've been trying to figure out how to embed videos in this forum, but so far nothing I have tried has been successful. Below is also a link to the forum where this video was displayed, so that anyone with a bit more .html savvy than myself can tinker with the code source if they wish to enlighten us: -

http://www.tip-forum.de/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=6001

Scroll down past Tom_bkk's pictures (and a short reply) to his second post that has a Youtube video very obviously integrated into it. My visits to the forum's engine room suggest that such inclusions are allowed, but the various helpfiles don't help much.

[BangkokPundit]

I've been through there about a half-dozen times thus far, and frankly I really don't understand why so many people get worked up about it, positive or negative. It's a freaking airport for heaven's sake, isn't there anything else to get all hot and bothered about?

The stars must be aligned today as this is something we agree upon. I thought the new airport was ok. It is better than Don Muang, but I never liked the place. Nevertheless, it certainly is nowhere as good as Changi, but then again I never expected it would be.

The biggest problem with the new airport is location, but this is nothing to do with the construction of the airport and the Airport Link, when it is finished, will certainly help.

Either the toilet situation has improved recently or I just got lucky, but I didn't find there were any problems.