Air Asia to switch to Don Mueang from 1 October

[lonelywombat]

The mess that Bangkok has with its main airport is getting worse. Air Asia just released this statement this afternoon.

The press release was through AAP

AirAsia is planning to move its Bangkok operations to the city's second biggest airport, Don Mueang, by October 1, the airline says.
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THAI AirAsia said in a statement that passengers affected by the switch could reschedule their flight or exchange their ticket for a credit to be used within 90 days.

[goteed1]

Does this airport have a bus that goes to Pattaya, like BKK does?

A couple of weeks ago , we flew into DonMueang from Udon Thani...but had to get a taxi from the airport to Bkk bus station for bus to Pattaya so dont think there is a bus from that airport.

[NickysGayPattaya]

I have no personal experience of getting to Don Mueang (I will be researching it soon for all of you) but I was talking to a friend last night. He said it was easy. He took the bus (Jomtien/Suvarnabhumi) then said it only took him an hour to get to Don Mueang.

His solution was rail link to the centre of Bangkok, Sky Train to Mo Chit and then taxi to Don Mueang.

Now maybe I'm getting old and feeble, but that hardly sounds easy to me ....

Their own website lists under transportation "Taxi stand" no bus, rail or other links http://www.donmuangairportonline.com/transportation

If I can't find a better - one system - way of doing it, I for one will not be bothering with Air Asia any more

Nicky

[morse]

I began travelling to Thailands regularly in 1997 and lamented the industry's move to Suvarnabhumi from Don Mueang in 2006. In those days I spent most of my time in Chiangmai and so only came into Bangkok if I had to spend several days for some reason (Bangkok was then so poluted and congested that I really dreaded a day in the city-but that has all changed now- ) and there was good bus service to downtown and bus service on the hotel routes and taxi service similar to that now available at Suvarnabhumi. You may have noticed the concrete pylons marching from Don Mueang into the city; at one time there were plans for a mass transit link to the airport which was never built, except for the pylons. Although there are flights to Chiangmai from Don Mueang, I always take the flights from Suvarnabhumi because of Rail Link and taxi service into the city. I think you are stuck getting to the airpor via taxi and that is your only option for flights heading east to Udon Thani, etc. I believe. There are eight or 10 person passenger buses which run between the airports and thus to Pattaya and they seem to depart frequently during the busy times of the day. There is another alternative for the adventurous and for those with lots of time. One can take to subway to Hualamphong and catch the trains heading north and they stop at Don Mueang. I don't know the schedule, but I know the train to and from Chiangmai makes the stop.

[fountainhall]

His solution was rail link to the centre of Bangkok, Sky Train to Mo Chit and then taxi to Don Mueang.
I agree the slower (and much cheaper) City Line train from the airport, linking with the Skytrain at Phaya Thai to Mo Chit, and then taxi from there seems the obvious route - but not for those with a couple of heavy bags. I have not done the whole route, but I have been at the Phaya Thai link. There are escalators going up to the City Line, but not coming down. So you have to look for the small passenger lift. And having crossed over to the Phaya Thai Skytrain station, there are two entrances, left and right: only one each side has escalators going up; the other means lugging bags up more steps!

I have also been to Mo Chit BTS station and attempted to get a taxi north from there around 3:00 on a clear weekday afternoon. Outside Mo Chit the traffic on Phahonyothin was horrendous. Vehicles flowing north were almost permanently stuck because there is a large, difficult intersection on to the airport road about 600 meters further on. It took 20 minutes of crawling just to get past it. What it must be like in heavy rain or during the later afternoon peak, I shudder to think!

Going to Don Mueang, I suspect it would be easier to take the MRT subway to one of the stations before the airport highway and try get a taxi from that side. You could perhaps try Phahonyothin station and use Exit 1, or one stop further back at Ladphrao using the forward left exit. But that means linking first at Makkasan and quite an obstacle course to get to the Petchaburi MRT station until a better link is opened. Plus all your bags will have to go through a manual search on entering MRT stations. So that route is probably only suitable for those with a small trolley bag. Plus, if you take either the MRT or the BTS and it is raining, you are likely at some point to get drenched.

I'll be interested to read Nicky's evaluation in due course. I suspect a direct coach service will end up being the most convenient and reasonably fast. The most difficult time, though, will be for early morning arrivals at BKK transiting to Don Mueang. I have many times seen 5 kms and more of traffic slowly crawling into town between 7:00 and 8:30 am as I go in the opposite direction for an early flight. For speed, the fast Airport Express link to Makkasan and then a taxi on to the tollway to Don Mueang should be the fastest. But it will be a lot more expensive.

Yes ..when i was last at Don Mueang i was thinking if the concreate pylons were meant for a transport link that was never compleated....thanks for the info.....i know Don mueang is not as hi-tec as Suvanbumi but still a nice airport..so dont be afraid to use it...if your going there for Air asisa ...you might as well use Nok air...their cheeper and the service is just as good..i think the staff try harder to please.

[vnman]

They are making it easier for people (me at least) to go for other airlines. Paying 50 bucks more for a ticket could be well worth it. In fact, saving myself taxi costs to and fro the airport would already make up for it.

[NickysGayPattaya]

First i'm sorry this is a long post, but there's a lot of information to put in. If anyone has tried any of the options below and can speak from personal experience PLEASE PM me as I'd like to chat about it.

I got the following from the Air Asia website FAQ section - http://www.airasia.com/ask/template.do?id=548

7. How far is Suvarnabhumi from Don Mueang airport?
The distance between the two airports are approximately 45km but travel time varies from 45 minutes to 2 hours depending on traffic conditions.

8. Will AirAsia be assisting guests in transferring between Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang airports?
Shuttle busses for guests to transfer between the two airports have been arranged by Airports of Thailand Plc. (AoT). Refer to http://www.bangkokairportonline.com/node/56
for more information on Bus Number 554 from Suvarnabhumi Airport to Don Mueang Airport. This service is provided from the Suvarnabhumi Bus Terminal at the Transport Center.

9. How far is Don Mueang airport from Bangkok City Center?
It is about 30 km (19 miles) north of downtown Bangkok. The easiest way to get downtown is by taxi, but be mindful that the journey can take anything from 45 minutes (non-peak hour traffic during the week and weekends) and 1-2 hours (peak hour). A cheaper option is to take a train from Don Mueang Train Station. Tickets to Hualamphong Train Station in central Bangkok cost 5 baht. There are also a number of public transport buses going by the airport, just follow the signs out toward the train station. Buses towards central Bangkok are at the airport's side of the road, so don't cross the highway. For further detail you can refer to the following link: http://wikitravel.org/en/Bangkok#Don_Muang_Airport

This final link gives you a page on wikitravel which offers the following:

Across a covered overpass from the airport is Don Muang Train Station. Tickets to Hualamphong Train Station in central Bangkok cost 5 baht at the ticket booth. While taking the train is the cheapest way to get from the airport to Bangkok, it is not for the faint-of-heart: schedules are erratic, the run-down passenger cars often have beggars roaming through them, and are relatively empty late at night.

There are also a number of public transport buses going by the airport, just follow the signs out toward the train station. Buses towards central Bangkok are at the airport's side of the road, so don't cross the highway. These are useful bus lines:
Air-conditioned bus 504 will take you to CentralWorld at Ratchaprasong intersection (close to Siam Square), as well as to Lumphini Park and Silom, from where you can have access to the Skytrain.
Ordinary and air-conditioned bus 29 will take you to Hualamphong Train Station passing by many places, including Victory Monument and Siam Square. You can also get off at the Chatuchak Weekend Market, where you can switch onto the metro or Skytrain.
Air-conditioned bus 59 will take you to Sanam Luang in Rattanakosin. This route is time-consuming as Rattanakosin is far off from the airport.

In short - it's not easy. The train service is not to be relied on. Any bus can take ages to get there and have you tried recently to get a Thai bus in Bangkok? My considered "best" from Pattaya will be one of the following:

1) Bus from Jomtien to Suvarnabhumi as before (134B from the place on the corner of Thappraya and Thepprasit Roads) then taxi from Suvarnabhumi to Don Mueang (quoted cost around 500B - allow UP TO 2 HOURS depending on time of day for the taxi alone). Total journey time between 2 1/2 hours (if you're very, very lucky) and 4 hours.

2) Minibus from Pattaya to Victory Monument (100 B from many places, including outside the family mart in Pattaya Tai just East of Wat Chai and before you get to Tukcom) and then taxi to Don Mueang (quoted cost around 200 to 300B. again allow around 90 minutes). Total journey time between 3 and 4 hours.

However, before taking either of these I'd really search out a new airline. Sorry Air Asia, until there's a direct bus Pattaya/Don Mueang I'll be looking for other airlines.

Nicky

[vnman]

Thanks nicky. You put together some pretty decent info.

I especially agree with your last sentence. In my case, I did some research and chose different dates with 4 full service airlines and the difference is just a few dollars. Things like meals, seat reservation, no booking fees, 23 kilo luggage allowance tips the scale well in the balance of other airlines. Like I said in another thread, I just booked a flight with a full service airline (5 days notice) and was actually cheaper off. I haven't flown anything other than Airasia in a while so I be happy to report about the difference I experienced.

[Neal]

RAINBOW POSTED:

All you guys who use Air Asia, do please note that they will move to Don Muang airport (from Suvarnabhumi) as from 1 October.
Apparently they will have a shuttle bus service for an unspecified length of time, in addition to the existing bus 554 that runs between the two airports.

This post moved to here. Please note this was posted a few days or weeks ago. Da Boss