Archive for September, 2007
Metropolitan Bangkok’s Suvarnbhumi airport has opened a “Help Desk Phuket Case” counter to serve relatives of victims who died or were injured in Sunday’s air crash at Phuket International Airport.
The service also assists the victim’s relatives in travelling to Phuket and transporting the bodies.
Most dead passengers of the doomed aircraft were foreigners. The Suvarnabhumi airport information counter will help family members to travel faster, according to Narongchai Tanadchang-saeng, deputy director of the airport.
The service will facilitate air travel to Phuket and documentation for transporting the bodies of foreigners back to their home countries.
The counter is on the fourth floor (departure level) at Entrance Three of the passenger terminal building and operates from 5am to midnight.
Information services by telephone are available around the clock. The phone number is 02-132-1888.
The service counter will make travel and transport of the remains easier for the families of those who died Sunday when a One Two Go budget carrier flight OG 628 skidded from the runway and crashed into the wooded embankment at Phuket International Airport. (TNA)
Recently introduced, the Royal Silk service offers passengers that unique Thai hospitality before they even leave their destination with small flourishes that make Royal Silk the only way to fly.
We’re going to be honest here, Royal Silk is not another Singapore or Cathay, but there’s something unique about flying with THAI that is special. From check in, to luggage collection, there’s VIP service all the way.
With specialised counters, and usually a nearby sofa, checking-in has never been such a breeze; and if you’re at the new Suvarnabhumi International Airport, every check-in counter has its own individual armchair for weary travellers while your papers are being processed.
Suvarnabhumi, being the airport that THAI calls home, has a host of Royal Silk benefits such as exclusive Royal Silk processing through VIP immigration desks, and a slew of lounges in the terminal – including the famous ‘Spa Lounge’ where travellers can get a quick massage prior to commencing their journey.
Of course, being a Star Alliance member, if there isn’t a THAI lounge in your local airport, there will most likely be another partner lounge that Royal Silk members will have access to. So whether to hold an impromptu meeting, a quick check of the email, a bite to eat before flight, or just to relax with a magazine, the lounges have all the necessities to meet modern day business travel requirements.
After being fast tracked onto the plane and greeted warmly (Sawasdee-ka) by the smiling flight attendants, Royal Silk flyers will be shown to their own cabin, be it segregated or up a flight of stairs, depending on whether you’re flying a B777 or B747.
Met with a welcome drink, your choice of alcoholic or soft, that unique THAI welcome is apparent; from the inflight uniforms made from Thai silk, to that distinctive Thai attitude, flyers are guaranteed service that’s essentially Thai.
With the new shell sleeper seats, customers can recline up to 167º, and allows for a pitch of 60″. So relax in comfort, while you sleep, eat, work or watch some of the latest movies and television shows.
The new entertainment-on-demand system houses a suite of distractions including just released movies, episodes of popular television shows, 110 albums of music, and games to keep the kids entertained. For work, each seat has its own universal power point, individual phones, and shoulder height light in addition to the one fixed on the ceiling above your head.
And of course there’s the food, with a selection of Thai and European options, the five course menus are varied and tempting. Coupled with international wines, and usually rounded out with a selection of cheeses, mealtimes are a journey to themselves.
To top it all off, after you’ve landed and have proceeded to pick up your luggage, you’ll be pleasantly surprised to discover that your checked luggage has been marked ‘Priority’ to ensure a speedy retrieval off the conveyor belt.
The board of Airports of Thailand (AoT) is to decide today if it will invite non-connecting international flights to return to Don Mueang airport to relieve congestion at Suvarnabhumi. An AoT source said the proposal is in line with a directive from the cabinet asking if better use could be made of Don Mueang.
The cabinet instructed AoT to look into the matter last February when it agreed Don Mueang should reopen for non-connecting domestic flights.
AoT then referred the matter for study to the International Civil Aviation Organisation. The ICAO agreed that non-connecting international flights should follow suit, the source said.
Suvarnabhumi was designed to serve up to 45 million passengers annually. But this year’s traffic is expected to rise to 46.7 million passengers, from 43.12 million last year.
Traffic congestion has eased slightly as Thai Airways International, Nok Air and One-Two-Go airlines moved their non-connecting domestic flights back to Don Mueang when it reopened on March 25.
AoT will invite 25 airlines, including eight no-frills flyers, to move their non-connecting international flights back to Don Mueang on a voluntary basis.
Non-connecting international services of the 25 airlines account for 23% of all flights and 15% of all passengers visiting Suvarnabhumi airport.
If all these international flights return, the passenger volume at Suvarnabhumi airport will drop to about 37.2 million passengers a year. This means the new airport will not reach its saturation point until 2013.
This will also allow AoT to delay investing in Suvarnabhumi’s expansion.
Transport permanent secretary Chaisawat Kittipornpaiboon said the tripartite committee agreed yesterday to urge AoT
to finalise compensation within the next month for people living around Suvarnabhui who were subjected to more than 70 decibels of noise.
AoT should conclude agreements to buy the 154 properties currently enduring that noise level.
Source : Bangkokpost
Pullman Bangkok King Power, the city’s hottest new property catering to a modern urban clientele, is poised to revolutionize Bangkok’s accommodation sector with stunning architecture and interior design, new technologies and upscale meetings and business facilities.
The 386-room Pullman Bangkok King Power offers contemporary accommodation in four room categories with a single rate that includes a unique set of benefits according to room type. In room facilities include interactive TVs offering satellite programmes and fast internet access. It will also soon add an innovative e-check-in tool on the hotel’s website.
According to Accor Managing Director Michael Issenberg, Pullman Bangkok King Power brings a fresh perspective and attitude to hotel accommodation in Bangkok.
“The hotel has a unique look and feel to it. There is an excitement when you walk through the public areas, restaurants and rooms. It has a great design aesthetic that runs through the entire development. But Pullman Bangkok King Power is not only stunning in appearance, it is also very functional and user friendly which will make popular with both MICE planners and corporate clients.
“High end incentives, corporate meetings and conferences will be a growing segment for Pullman Bangkok King Power as it establishes itself very quickly both in domestically and overseas MICE markets.
Pullman Bangkok’s main Ballroom can accommodate over 1,000 persons supported by cutting edge audio video technology. These “smart” venues were conceived and built to attract up market MICE events, and the hotel promises acknowledgement of corporate requests within 45 minutes and will provide a tailor-made package in less than 24 hours.
Mr. Issenberg also noted Pullman Bangkok King Power’s other strength was its ‘new generation’ of business facilities catering to an increasingly dynamic and tech savvy market.
“Pullman Bangkok King Power has been developed to cater to a new generation of corporate clientele. The owner and management team has put a lot of thought of thinking ahead of guest expectations, so Pullman Bangkok King Power has established pro-active procedures in terms of service and catering to road weary corporate traveler.”
Pullman Bangkok King Power offers an Executive Floor supported by the hotel’s Executive Lounge where guests enjoy exclusive check-in and check-out privileges. This valued added service extends to Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport, where they will be given exclusive access to the King Power Executive Lounge at Suvarnabhumi Airport.
Located in central Bangkok, Pullman Bangkok King Power blends the convenience of a city hotel with a modern design. The hotel is attached to the new King Power Complex on Rangnam Road, close to the Victory Monument, and within walking distance to an emerging shopping, dining and entertainment enclave that is attracting affluent young professionals and families. This prime city location offers access to two BTS Skytrain stations within walking distance and easy access to Bangkok Suvarnabhumi International Airport via two expressway entrances.
The hotel’s restaurants and bars serve a range of genuine Thai, Asian, European and Californian cuisines. Extensive shopping options and dining outlets are also available at the adjacent King Power Duty Free complex.
Aviation experts evaluating Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport after one year of operation have said the airport is losing competitiveness due to high charges while still being poor in public services.
They urge authorities to add more capacity, either through a mid-field terminal or a low-cost terminal.
International and local aviation associations as well as airport users were asked to comment on the airport, which will mark its first anniversary of operation on September 28.
According to Albert Tjoeng, International Air Transport Association (Iata) manager of corporate communications for Asia Pacific, general operations at Suvarnabhumi are better than when it opened.
He said signposting had improved and there were more toilets but there was still work to be done before Suvarnabhumi could be a world-class airport ranking among the top 20 airports in the Airports Council International’s survey.
These include more signs, redesigning the retail area, installing more toilets and adding more capacity, either through a mid-field terminal or a low-cost terminal.
Tjoeng said Airports of Thailand (AOT) should quickly rectify the remaining deficiencies as well as addressing the outstanding problems identified during the operations and security audits conducted in April this year.
AOT has reassured Iata that it is addressing these findings in consultation with the International Civil Aviation Organisation (Icao).
Regarding the airport’s competitiveness, Iata was critical of the unilateral 15-per-cent increase in landing/parking charges, along with increases in other airport charges in April. The concession fees levied by AOT on ground-handling companies are being passed on to airlines.
The total turnaround costs at Bangkok are higher than at Kuala Lumpur or Singapore for various aircraft types, so airlines pay more than at Kuala Lumpur or Singapore and yet get worse service.
Moving forward, AOT needs to establish an effective consultation process with Iata and the airlines to reach a long-term charges agreement to be in line with international best practices, Tjoeng said, and AOT needs to take steps to improve cost efficiency to ensure that its own expenses and investments are cost efficient.
Productivity improvements, lack of wasteful investment and optimal procurement policies are important to keep costs to a minimum: “Airlines should not be burdened with additional costs due to poor planning, compensation issues, repair costs arising from defects at the airport, duplicated services as a result of operating two airports, and the other mistakes of AOT,” he added.
Iata is also opposed to AOT’s suggestion of a noise charge on passengers and airlines. Airlines and their passengers cannot be made responsible for measures aimed at alleviating noise when they have had little or no influence on the location of airports or on the land-use policies in the vicinity of an airport.
The charge would increase the cost of operations without addressing the core issue, he noted, suggesting instead that AOT fund any compensation from its own finances.
Icao’s balanced approach should also be adopted by having an effective land-use policy, reducing noise at source, and implementing noise-abatement air-traffic-control procedures, he said.
Tjoeng also commented on the use of two airports, saying Iata continued to advocate a single airport as the preferred long-term solution if Bangkok was to be a strong aviation hub in the region. “Having two airports splits the passengers, airlines and AOT’s resources and leads to lower cost-efficiency and inconvenience for passengers.”
Hence AOT should urgently inject additional capacity at Suvarnabhumi by building either a mid-field terminal or a low-cost terminal. If the decision is to operate two airports, then it is critical that there be a level playing field for all airlines. “All carriers should be given the choice of where they wish to operate from. Airport charges should be transparent and accurately allocated, and there should not be any cross-subsidisation between the two airports.”
Brian Sinclair Thompson of the Board of Airline Representatives at Thailand said newly opened airports generally had many problems.
Yet he noted that Suvarnabhumi Airport’s capacity was already full, so that airline operators were urging the government to develop a third terminal in order to meet higher demand.
“The airlines want to see further investment at the airport next year when the new government is established,” said Thomson, adding that AOT itself needed to solve internal problems, especially the search for a new leader.
Thomson also said Bangkok should have a single airport, Suvarnabhumi, and must attract users with low charges.
“AOT is focusing on increasing revenue, unlike many busy airports such as London’s Heathrow, which receives charges worth 15 per cent of total revenue,” he said.
Yongyut Lujintanon, Cathay Pacific sales and marketing manager for Thailand and Burma, said the overall operation had improved, particularly in infrastructure, while people working at the airport were now familiar with the new place.
The airport’s vision of being an aviation hub was still unclear, he said, though in spite of poor policy, many airlines were waiting to broaden their network or add flights into Thailand.
(BangkokPost.com) – After nearly one year of wrangling with aviation authorities, there has been some progress in compensation disbursement to victims of noise pollution around Suvarnabhumi airport.
According to the Airports of Thailand (AoT), the company is ready to allocate a budget of 2.1 million baht which will go towards a mobile medical unit for residents of the Lad Krabang area in Samut Prakarn province.
The mobile medical units will be in service during the weekends from 9:00am-15:30pm until November 2007.
Another 900,000 baht has also been set aside for Lad Krabang district authorities to use in dealing with flood problems.
The move comes just weeks after a threat was made by a group of affected residents to release balloons to disrupt air traffic if their calls for help were not answered.
National and international airlines have praised an overall improved service at Suvarnabhumi airport which will mark its first anniversary on Sep 28, airport director Serirat Prasutanond said Thursday.
He said a number of airline managers have lauded the continuous improvement of service at Suvarnbhumi airport, adding that airport officials had followed up on arising problems and worked out solutions accordingly.
One of the positive changes is a permission for licensed taxis to offer service on the second floor of the passenger terminal, starting Oct. 1 to solve the problem of unauthorized taxis touting for passengers, Serirat said.
The ongoing improvement of the airport includes additional restrooms in October and more check-in counters for passengers soon.
Serirat said the CTX luggage scanner system has been fully operated after some technical problems earlier.
On the noise pollution which has triggered dissatisfaction among residents near the airport, Serirat said
negotiations with affected homeowners would help find solutions that satisfy both sides.
The Airports of Thailand (AoT) will pay a combined compensation of 170 million baht to affected residents on Friday.
Asked about an extension of space for airline offices at Suvarnabhumi, the airport director said the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) would be in charge of drawing out an initial plan.
The ICAO will also conduct a feasibility study to determine if Don Mueang airport should be operated in compatible with Suvarnabhumi airport. All issues will be finalized in October, he said. (TNA)
Following the deadly One-Two-Go plane crash that took place Sunday evening in Phuket, Thai Airways International has cancelled its return flights on the route between Bangkok and Phuket until the airport reopens.
The company has now adjusted its flight schedule for departure and arrival of flights routed to and from Phuket International Airport. The flight routed Bangkok – Phuket will today operate Bangkok – Krabi instead, as a special flight to serve those needing to travel to Phuket, by landing in Krabi and providing ground transportation to Phuket, as follows:
- Flight TG 1205, routed Don Muang – Krabi: Departs Don Muang at 10.40 hrs., arrives in Krabi at 12.00 hrs.
– Flight TG 1206, routed Krabi – Don Muang: Departs Krabi at 12.45 hrs., arrives in Don Muang at 14.10 hrs.
– Flight TG 1245, routed Don Muang – Krabi: Departs Don Muang at 14.45 hrs., arrives in Krabi at 16.05 hrs.
– Flight TG 1246, routed Krabi – Don Muang: Departs Krabi at 16.50 hrs., arrives in Don Muang at 18.10 hrs.
– Flight TG 203, routed Suvarnabhumi – Krabi: Departs Suvarnabhumi at 10.15 hrs., arrives in Krabi at 11.35 hrs.
– Flight TG 1204, routed Krabi – Suvarnabhumi: Departs Krabi at 12.25 hrs., arrives in Suvarnabhumi at 13.45 hrs.
Passengers are being requested to check the flight schedule or inquire for more information by calling THAI’s Sales Office in Phuket at Tel. +66-76-351218, +66-76-205334, and Call Center Tel. +66-2356-1111.
Currently, Phuket International Airport is expected to reopen for normal service from 17.00 hours local time today (Monday, 17 September).
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