Suvarnabhumi, Bangkok's New Airport - News

[wowpow]

Luggage trolley contract bidding questioned

SUPAWADEE INTHAWONG & AMORNRAT MAHITTHIROOK

Democrat deputy leader Alongkorn Ponlabutr yesterday called into question the bidding for a luggage trolley contract at Suvarnabhumi international airport. The trolley specifications were changed in favour of a certain company, he alleged.

Originally the 9,036 trolleys were required to meet the general specifications of those used at other international airports, he said. They would be in three sizes _ small, medium and large.

The specifications had been changed in favour of the kind of luggage trolleys which could be taken up and down the escalators. There were no escalators at Suvarnabhumi airport and the kind of trolleys which could go up and down escalators were not popular at other international airports, he said.

The contract went to Thai Airport Ground Service Co (TAGS). Other bidders failed to meet the changed specifications and were forced to withdraw. Under the regulations of the Prime Minister's Office the tendering process should have been aborted on the grounds there was only one bidder left, he said.

Meanwhile, Transport Minister Pongsak Raktapongpaisal said the Aviation Department has approved an operation licence for Suvarnabhumi airport. The International Civil Aviation Organisation acted only as an adviser on the airport's readiness. It was now up to Airports of Thailand Plc to ensure the smooth opening of the airport, scheduled for Sept 28, he said.


Bangkok Post 29th June 2006

[manfarang-old]

Anyone expect the departure tax to increase when it opens?

Once again I've been reading rumors about it going up to 700 baht, but I don't believe that there has been any official announcement of such an increase.

[wowpow]

Bangkok Post 3rd July 2006

Thai Airways International has started accepting reservations for historic commercial flights to Suvarnabhumi airport on July 29. THAI will offer three domestic flights to Bangkok's new airport to give passengers the opportunity to experience its facilities and services at the site.

Other airlines offering limited commercial test flights to Suvarnabhumi on the same day to test its readiness are Nok Air, Thai AirAsia, One-Two-Go, PB Air and Bangkok Airways.

The much-delayed airport is currently scheduled to open for full commercial service on Sept 28.

According to Vasing Kittikul, THAI's executive vice-president for commercial affairs, the flights on July 29 will be between Suvarnabhumi and Phuket, Chiang Mai and Don Muang.

The airline offers special one-way economy fares from Suvarnabhumi to Phuket and Chiang Mai starting from 1,999 baht net. All passengers will receive a special boarding pass and certificate.

THAI will provide check-in, ground support and handling services for all airlines operating to Suvarnabhumi on July 29 free of charge.

Tickets are available from THAI sales offices in Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Phuket, or by calling 02-356-1111 and 02-628-2000.

Thai AirAsia has also begun taking reservations for its flights from Udon Thani to Suvarnabhumi and Suvarnabhumi to Narathiwat, at 1,999 baht. To book, call 02-515-9999.

[wowpow]

" Cathay chief questions 35% fee hike, Also warns against premature opening. The Bangkok Post - BOONSONG KOSITCHOTETHANA

Cathay Pacific (CX) has blasted Airports of Thailand Plc (AoT) for a hefty rise in charges at Suvarnabhumi Airport and warned that opening the airport before it's ready would be a huge embarassment. CX chief operating officer Antony Tyler was critical of a 35% jump in overall charges AoT intends to impose at the new airport, saying it was unreasonable, unaccountable and lacked transparency. ''It doesn't make sense to us and we don't like it at all. We need to see some numbers to justify an increase,'' he said in an interview after visiting the 125-billion-baht airport east of Bangkok.

Mr Tyler is the most senior executive of a foreign carrier to openly voice displeasure with AoT, which has been heavily criticised by the industry _ through the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and Board of Airline Representatives in Thailand _ over the fees. He also echoed the view of the global airline bodies that Thai authorities should not try to rush the opening of the much-delayed airport for commercial operation, now set on Sept 28, if it is not truly ready.

Discussing the fee increases, he said: ''What can we do? Because airports are monopoly, their operators tend to raise charges to carriers as they want in the knowledge that airlines have to use their facilities.'' Some airports such as Singapore's Changi are more friendly to carriers by actually reducing charges, handing out discounts, Mr Tyler noted. However, he acknowledged that the charges at Suvarnabhumi were still lower than at Chek Lap Kok in Hong Kong, because Hong Kong was generally an expensive place. AoT has so far turned a deaf ear to the carriers' call for leniency on fees, saying its landing fees are relatively lower than those of Hong Kong, Changi and Kuala Lumpur international airports.

Mr Tyler said he did not know whether Suvarnabhumi would be ready by Sept 28 as authorities have promised. ''You need to make a brave decision to delay it (if the airport is not ready) ... Better to say so in advance than to cope with the consequences,'' he said. ''Often it is not what we see that matters. It's more about systems _ the computers, IT and baggage systems _ which you don't see when you walk around the terminal. What you see is always not the most important things.'' Mr Tyler warned that Thailand should avoid the same mistakes as authorities had made at the Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur airports, which encountered a lot of trouble initially following their premature openings. ''I'm sure AoT and the Thai government are aware of the importance of the opening going well. It will be extremely embarrassing and [could create] a very bad image for the country,'' he said. Even if Suvarnabhumi could be opened as scheduled, Mr Tyler said Thai authorities should brace for some teething problems in the initial stage of operation, which is common for such projects.

CX will be ready to operate from the new airport as and when the airport is up and running, he asserted. ''We have lots of experience with new airports going many years back _ Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, Kuala Lumpur, Frankfurt.'' The airline will have a fallback plan to carry out operations manually in case Suvarnabhumi is not functioning.

Bangkok is Cathay Pacific's busiest hub in Southeast Asia. It operates 51 flights a week with 35,000 passenger seats in and out of Bangkok. It flies from Bangkok to Hong Kong, Singapore, Colombo, Mumbai and Karachi."

[Doug]

I'm scheduled to fly into Don Muang on September 15. My concern is that at that time probably half of Don Muang's staff will be at the new airport getting ready for the opening. I'm expecting slow-downs and problems due to staff shortages.

well, I am arrriving with SAS on September the 28th and departing October 14th. Have heard nothing from the airline about changes of airports on my departure. I assume they will still use Dong Muang untill the new airport has shown it works? BTW I have the plan to buy a one way ticket to Chiang Mai when arriving in Don Muang. Do I have to change airports?, I think I need to call SAS tomorrow. My fligts just show Bangkok International, and that could be both of the airports.

[AMARETTO-old]

Low-cost terminal to be built at Suvarnabhumi


Suchat Sritama

A separate terminal for low-cost airlines is to be built at Bangkok's new Suvarnabhumi Airport at a cost of about Bt600 million.

After proposing the new terminal about a month ago, the three leading low-cost operators, AirAsia, Nok Air and One Two Go, learned of the green light for the new building at a meeting yesterday with the Civil Aviation Department and related agencies. Construction is expected to begin in the next few months.

Earlier, the government decided that all domestic, international, and low-cost airlines would be moved from the old Don Muang Airport to Suvarnabhumi in time for full-scale commercial operations to kick off at the new airport on September 28.

Some low-cost operators said they preferred to stay at Don Muang because of the lower operational costs there.

However, Airports of Thailand Plc (AOT), which runs both airports, has decided to move all airlines to Suvarnabhumi and close all operations at Don Muang except maintenance work and private jet traffic.

AirAsia chief executive Tassapon Bijleveld said the Transport Ministry has approved development of the new terminal and the Civil Aviation Department and AOT will be responsible for its construction.

Alongside the striking architecture of Suvarnabhumi's main terminal, what does Tassapon expect for the appearance of the new low-cost terminal?

"Building the low-cost terminal is so easy," he said. "We need a space about the size of a football field with an uncomplicated roof."

He said the three low-cost operators wanted their own terminal because of their special needs and, in particular, lower costs than other airlines will pay at the new airport.

The total number of passengers carried by the three low-cost airlines will be between five million and six million this year and this is expected to rise to 10 million in the next two years, he said. The three airlines generate revenue of Bt5 billion and this will gradually increase in line with passenger growth.

Both Singapore and Malaysia have recently opened low-cost terminals at their main airports. In Singapore, passengers using the main airport terminal pay an airport tax of US$14 (Bt530) per person, compared to $7 (Bt265) per person when using the low-cost terminal.

AirAsia expects its total number of passengers to increase from 1.8 million last year to three million this year. However, profit growth will decrease because of higher costs.

The three no-frills airlines are talking about increasing their fares and fuel surcharges soon, in the light of increased operating costs arising from oil price rises.

Source : THE NATION : Jul 21, 2006

[AMARETTO-old]

All flights must use new airport from Sept 28

Suvarnabhumi international airport will handle all regular commercial flights into Bangkok from Sept 28, caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra announced yesterday. Mr Thaksin, who chaired a meeting of the Suvarnabhumi airport development committee yesterday, based his announcement on briefings he received on progress in the airport's construction.

Progress and system checks justified the confidence that Suvarnabhumi could take over all regular commercial operations from Don Muang airport in one go at 3am on Sept 28, he said.

He had ordered Airports of Thailand Plc (AoT) to inform all airlines flying into Bangkok of the decision.

A plan for Don Muang airport to serve low-cost airlines had been cancelled, Mr Thaksin said.

''All regular commercial flights will switch to Suvarnabhumi, while Don Muang airport will, from then on, serve only government and military flights, along with private and charter flights,'' he said.

Don Muang could be used to reduce the workload of Suvarnabhumi in the future if the new airport reaches its full capacity of serving 45 million passengers annually, he said.

Don Muang's air passenger volume stands at 39 million annually.

Caretaker Transport Minister Pongsak Raktapongpaisal expected Suvarnabhumi to be at full capacity in three years.

The first international terminal building and the domestic terminal at Don Muang would be maintained for possible future use. The second international terminal would be developed into a museum and exhibition complex.

Mr Pongsak said expanding Suvarnabhumi had not been discussed seriously yet to protect the price of AOT shares.

Ahead of Sept 28, Thai Airways International, Bangkok Airways, PB Air, Nok Air, One-Two-Go and Thai AirAsia would direct some of their non-connecting domestic flights to land at Suvarnabhumi from July 29 for real tests. But flights out of Bangkok would depart from Don Muang as usual.

There would be enough public transport services and facilities available to serve passengers of the selected flights from July 29 onwards, and the passengers would also receive special certificates to mark their early appearance at the new airport, said Mr Pongsak.

SOURCE : http://www.bangkokairportonline.com/

Will believe it when i land - not before!

[bkkguy]

Will believe it when i land - not before!

or skid off the runway perhaps?

AIRPORT RUNWAYS - Condition of tarmac again raises fears (The Nation July 21)
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/search/ ... d=30009233

bkkguy