'Bangkok Airport-Airport of Smiles' BBC3

[Patanawet]

Has anyone seen the new BBC3 fly on the wall documentary 'Bangkok Airport--Airport of Smiles'?
It is both hilarious and at the same time embarrassing.
It seems that the airport is bursting at the seams with smiling Thai staff over eager to help the passengers.
There is the immigration officer, Captain Jack, so camp it's not true 'till he insists that we see his wedding video that he hopes will go viral on Youtube.
And the doctor manning the emergency centre who is actually only doing it in his spare time ----- his real job is as an airline pilot.

Embarrassing because we see the abusive and drunken quality tourists. Sadly they were mostly compatriots of mine.
Duration 60mins. and I think that I read (but could be mistaken here) that it's 10 episodes long.
Here is a Youtube trailer:

[youtube:26t32qkt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlAVooxxJ2U[/youtube:26t32qkt]

[Oliver]

Agreed. Hugely embarrassing. If you aren't British, please don't watch it.

[fountainhall]

I met my niece on Friday. She arrived on an Emirates A380 at 12:15 pm around the same time as a Qatar A380 and an Etihad 777. Not sure how many other flights arrived at the west arrivals area at that time, but she took a full 1 hour 40 minutes to get through Immigration. Told me the organisation of the snake queues was appalling with passengers being moved around from queue to queue and many having to wait longer than had they stayed in their original queues. Several near fights broke out. So much for the "airport of smiles"!

[goji]

Having seen the camp characters in the trailers, I wasn't sure if this was for real, or a follow on from "Come Fly With Me".

I quit watching after 15 minutes of the show.
The Thai characters were OK. However life is too short to spend all that time trying to watch some loser trying to book a ticket home.

[colmx]

What a fantastic show!
Makes me wanna jump on a plane and hang around Suvarnabhumi for a few hours!
Unfortunately for my English and Scottish neighbours... they seem to have dragged up the dregs of the earth for the first episode....
Car Crash TV at its best!

[scottish-guy]

It's been proved many times that TV production companies actively seek out the kind of stereotypes we expect to see in this type of programme.

Hence, so far we've had the "drunken Scot", and the 2 foul-mouthed female "slags" from England.

By episode 3 we might have been introduced to the "thick Irishman" representative - and Colmx might be making another post!

:))

[colmx]

By episode 3 we might have been introduced to the "thick Irishman" representative - and Colmx might be making another post!

Hope the Thicko is from the North and not the Republic! (Sorry NIrishGuy!) :AR! :AR!

[scottish-guy]

I believe Jimmy Cricket is still alive - could be making a guest appearance with his wellies marked L & R

[colmx]

I believe Jimmy Cricket is still alive
I had to google him to see who he was!
Can't say I remember him!
[attachment=0:1uyxdyel]Jiminy_Cricket.png[/attachment:1uyxdyel]

[Nirish guy]

Ha funny you mention Jimmy cricket SG as I haven't heard of him for years but strangely just today in work git an email advertising a concert he was performing in this very night just up the road from my house ! ( no I didn't go). I believe he actually lives full time in England now, where I'm sure he feels right at home :-)

And Colmx unfirrunateky there are all to many thick Irish / N.Irish/ Ulstermen here could quite happily full that fairly accurate stereotype it seems of late - well if you base that on a cross section of our esteemed politicians here anyway as they are surely assholes, every single one of them !! :-(

[Patanawet]

Having seen the camp characters in the trailers, I wasn't sure if this was for real, or a follow on from "Come Fly With Me".


I'm still not sure.
Even more outrageous characters in episode 2.
If Matt Lucas had come up with the VAT refund character, critics would be saying "you've gone too far this time --it's too unbelievable".
There is at least one sour face to make it a bit more realistic.

[aot871]

Im glad to see fountainhalls message as im flying in on the Qatar 380 in april. Im economy this time so no fast track, so have decided to pay for fast track. At 1000bht , its worth it not to stand in line for over 1 hour

[Nirish guy]

Based on my last four or five arrivals I'd save your fast track money if I were you as the arrivals halls have been less than half empty each time I've arrived and checking in through immigration took certainly no more than 10 to 15 minutes tops and two of the times was a straight walk up to the counter with absolutely no queuing at all ! A sign of the times it seems now.


NB I DO realise of course that now that I've said the above I'm now SO screwed on my next visit as I will no doubt have to stand for two hours queuing at immigration whilst cursing this very post ! ;-)

[aot871]

I think it all depends on what time u arrive , both the a380s land with in 20 mins of each other 1210-1230pm

[fountainhall]

I have frequently sailed through the west Immigration desks with late night arrivals around midnight. Mid-late afternoon used to be one of the worst but is now much easier since BA and Qantas now have different arrival times.

The 30 minutes just after noon does seem to be the worst possible in that area. It's not only the 2 A380s arriving within 5 minutes of each other, Emirates also has a 777 arriving at 12:30 and Cathay Pacific and Air Lanka have A330s at 12:05 and 12:15. Then Qatar also has a 777 arriving at 11:30. If it's late, you could end up have 2,300 passengers being disgorged in a 30 minute period (although some will be in transit to other destinations).

11:35 B777 - QR828 from Doha
12:05 A333 - CX615 from HKG
12:05 A380 - EK384 from Dubai
12:10 A380 - QR836 from Doha
12:15 A330 - UL422 from Colombo
12:30 B777 - EK376 from Dubai

[Smiles]

Given that Suvarnaphumi is not the most efficient airport on the planet (and Thailand in general is hardly 'efficient' at anything ... it does well with less Germanic tasks though ;;) bless their hearts) I'd guess that any airport would be highly stressed at receiving thousands of tired and grouchy off-loaders arriving at Immigration queues all at the same time.
I fly mostly Korean these days and the 11:30 pm arrivals at BKK are a joy ... even if the immigration dudes are not in particularly joucular moods.

Fountainhead gives the very dramatic numbers in the post above . . . so select you time and airline accordingly.

[Oliver]

My arrival on Tuesday (about1530) was met by the most crowded Immigration hall I've seen in twenty years. Nevertheless, it was handled efficiently and I was through in thirty-five minutes....this was despite a change of shift which brought everything to a standstill.

i'd like to meet the cheerful officer who told the BBC that he just loves tourists and smiles and chats happily to each and every one. I gave up saying "sawatdee khrap" ten years ago.

By the way, though off-subject, I should mention that new arrivals should stay clear of the currency-changing booths; the rates offered are poor -only 46 bht to the pound while those in Silom were giving 48.

[colmx]

Best episode of all so far! (Ep5)
Car crash TV at its best!
First Poor John the ex-squaddie with his afghanistan injuries and PTSD, then the crazy Indian guy getting sedated in the tourist police office, followed by the mad aussie girl looking for a mcDonalds bag for her panic atacks, finally the finnish guy waking up in a forest with with his phone&wallet stolen and a dog collar around his neck - with a clock hanging off of it!... Who could have asked for more!!
The producers must have been rubbing their hands with glee!

[Nirish guy]

Oh I just wanted to slap thon drama queen Aussie girl. God love the poor Thais working away genuinely trying to assist her with their medical team and even wheeling her to the plane when all she needed was a kick in the arse and to be told to get over herself. At least the lady doctor got it in one when she said there was nothing wrong with her physically and that she just was suffering from mental insanity lol - she got it in one but it wasn't in the medical way she meant, more just in the big fat spoilt child way that that someone should have slapped out of her years ago. Grrrrrr

And before someone even thinks of posting about "oh you shouldn't say slap someone with mental issues, don't bother as whilst you're right, she hadn't mental issues she was just a spoil bitch who needed told bluntly to wise the fuck up and act her age.

And when she said about she didn't need these annoying medical staff as she could cure herself with an empty McDonald's bag I felt like telling her that "aye well looking at the size of you love you look like at least you'd never run the risk of not having one of those to hand !" Lol

There, rant over. :/)

On a serious note it appeared that the Inidan guy may have had some firm of Bi polar incident but I wonder was that explained to him so he could go get help and medication for that in his own country as his "oh I lost it for a day or two and thought the airport was a battleground but I'm fine now 3 days later and know how I should behave now" was sad as it means he may well be set to repeat his behaviour and maybe next time with more serious repercussions perhaps somewhere.

[Halfhansum]

Calm down Nirish ... It`s only a commercial .... 555
PS. I think a plastic bag would have been better for her than a macca bag... Pulled right down over her head ...

[christianpfc]

You made me curious.

It's available on http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0 ... -of-smiles (http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b050glpb/bangkok-airport-1-the-airport-of-smiles) but only from locations in the UK.

It's on youtube as well https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGmezK3q37c but the episodes are about 50 minutes long, whereas BBC says 60 minutes. What is missing on youtube? They cut just when the final credits start, but that can't be 10 minutes difference?

[fountainhall]

but the episodes are about 50 minutes long, whereas BBC says 60 minutes. What is missing on youtube?
Not certain, but I expect nothing! When the BBC makes and commissions programmes, it does so often with sales to overseas broadcasters in mind. Since most of these will require time for commercial breaks, the programmes themselves will rarely be more than 48 - 50 minutes. I assume in the UK they then fill in the remaining minutes with programme promos, weather reports and other bits and pieces.

[scottish-guy]

Hmmmm I dunno about that FH. The only way to know if something's cut from the YouTube versions would be either to gave a photographic memory or to watch the two versions simultaneously - so I doubt anybody's gonna do that.

Yes, the BBC carries promos for its own programming, but only at the beginning and end of each programme, not during it - i.e. there's no breaks - and I'm hard pushed to accept there's 10 mins worth of promos at the beginning/end. News bulletins and weather reports are all scheduled - so they don't affect the programme length.

I think what clinches it for me us that when you see a BBC programmed on satellite (originally scheduled at 30mins) - it's now 45-50mins because of the ads - which suggests that if the BBC say it's 30mins of content, it probably is.

So.....a mystery!