I took the jeep out for a spin yesterday in moderate traffic - down past the turn-off to the new airport. The time from the Rama IV turnoff (near Silom) and the new airport was 20 minutes (both directions). Hedda tells me it's around 1 hour 40 minutes from the airport to Pattaya
For those of us in Bangkok the travel time is likely to be the same (depending on where in Bangkok) but it will be a bit closer for those who are Pattaya-bound. If you're hoping to use the SkyTrain link any time soon - dream on. There is activity, but you can go for miles and see support pylons in various stages of construction, and I think I caught sight of 3 sections of the overhead line itself - the longest spanning only 5 pylons ie. 4/5 of 5/8 of bugger all