Suvarnabhumi Airport is Hot as Hell

[DJB0Y-old]

I know many of you have written about the new airport, but I'd like to add my observations......

Has anyone felt uncomfortably hot at Bangkok's latest and greatest new airport?

In My Humble Opinion, the air conditioning at this place "sucks" the big one.

I can't believe they spent so much money on this place and it's so poorly organized. Can you imagine in such a hot country like Thailand, they would design such a terrible air conditioning system.

Please be forewarned that you will be very uncomfortable moving through this airport...unless you stay as close as possible to the large stainless steel grates that are placed around the airport----these are the air conditioning vents.

If you need to make a VAT Refund, be forewarned that you'll need plenty plenty extra time to process the paperwork as they are very understaffed for this resulting in long ques. And don't forget to do step 1 at the unmarked VAT office prior to check-in.

All in all, I'm very unimpressed with this new airport. I think they need a lot more time to get the kinks out (particularly with air conditioning and VAT Refunds).

Another tip...for travel to downtown Bangkok, tell your driver to take the Bangkok-Pattaya Motorway...this results in the quickest trip with the lowest fare. Many taxi drivers are taking longer routes to milk the fare.

I wish I could make a better report on the new airport...but really, it's one of the worst airports I've ever been in.

It's one of the worst airports I've ever been in

Haven't been around much, have you, dear?

Another tip...for travel to downtown Bangkok, tell your driver to take the Bangkok-Pattaya Motorway...this results in the quickest trip with the lowest fare. Many taxi drivers are taking longer routes to milk the fare.


Does that mean you caught a metered taxi? I thought it would be fixed fares. Cheers

[allieb]

DJBOY



You must have taken a Viagara before entering the airport and had hot flushes. I arrived on Friday 13th and thought it was OK. I can say nothing negative about the Airport for arrival. Let's see if it's the same for departure when I leave. As for being the worst airport you must be kidding. Try Cairo or Amman. That's just two of about 20 I can think of that suck. Any way an airport is a small part of a trip. Who gives a fuck what its like. The important thing is that you are arriving for fun or leaving after having had fun. Or in the case of some of you moaners, having not had fun.Some peole never stop moaning about the most trivial things.

I read that the new airport is being cooled underfloor and the vents are just for air change? Maybe someone forgot to switch it on or turned up the thermostat.

I have only seen photos of the new airport and it does look gorgeous but few have reported how nice it looks. Madrid's new airport by Lord Rogers just won the Sterling Prize for the Royal Institute of British Architects Building of the Year - buildings in the EU by British architects are allowed to enter. It looks colourful and a delight to travel through.

One of the judges said that whoever gets the prize the newspapers will be lining up to criticize the glitches and I think this syndrome is on full blast at Suvarnabhumi. The harbingers of doom must have been very disappointed that so little has gone wrong - no crashes, no crumbling runways, no major leaks, licenses granted the worst seems to have been the problems with the, notoriously difficult to operate, automatic luggage system but even that seems to be working now.

Have been to both Cairo (recently) and Amman (long ago) and can't see what Allieb is moaning about. Both were perfectly adequate.

Bangkok's new airport is also adequate in most respects, but it's ceratinly not better than the old one. So the billions that were spent on it would have been better invested in education or healthcare.

I have only seen photos of the new airport and it does look gorgeous but few have reported how nice it looks. .

Airports should be judged on their user-friendleness & functionality not on how pretty they look.

I disagree. Although not as important as user-friendliness and efficiency (obviously), attractiveness is definitely part of the equation. And Suvarnabhumi is definiitely attractive (at least, to me -- I admit being partial to the glass-and-concrete industrial look).

[Marsilius]

I've also used Cairo airport recently - and it was the worst organised that I've ever encountered. I hope that the new BKK airport is at least better than that!

[atri1666]

Try Hurghada airport in the thursday afternoon--about more than 3 hours for entering and check in when i stayed there recently.

Mumbai, anyone? Where the cleaning staff beg from passengers?

... is hotter and grottier than your airport

I arrived about 11.15am. Flew into the domestic terminal and then was transferred by bus to the international arrivals. A short walk to passport control, which was very nicely set out and efficient and baggage collection was just beyond that. All spick and span, gleaming new and smelling fresh. I don't recall any problems with heating or air con and I didn't lose any luggage (or have it lost for me) although my bag was one of the last to appear. The arrivals area after customs is a little on the small side and the taxi rank is not obvious, if it exists. I was tracked by a taxi tout trying to sell me a 2,600 baht taxi ride to pattaya and eventually he lowered to 1,500 baht. From touchdown of the aircraft wheels to plonking myself in the taxi was about 40 minutes - not bad I think.