gearsau wrote:

Re The Bangkok Airport. It MAY be relevant to Aus Aviation
because many on here travel through it . Also a few threads recently
indicate
not so off topic.
So if we are half smart may learn a few lessons from
the Thais stuff ups Other perceived relevance is Aus Airlines transit
through there
and some safety issues need to be watched.
FYI soem stuff about The kingdom and BKK airport in further detail

In The Bangkok Post

AoT chief has one week to save job
AMORNRAT MAHITTHIROOK

An official of the Airports of Thailand (AoT), right, measures aircraft
noise at a housing estate near Suvarnabhumi airport. The official on
Monday accompanied AoT president Chotisak Asapaviriya and a team of
executives during a visit to affected communities and to accept
complaints from local residents. - SOMCHAI POOMLARD

The National Legislative Assembly's special committee on Suvarnabhumi
airport has given Airports of Thailand (AoT) president Chotisak
Asapaviriya one week to fix flaws at the new airport or it will
recommend his dismissal. As committee members toured the new airport
yesterday, chairman Adm Bannawit Kengrian said he was disheartened
because quality at Suvarnabhumi had not been improved since its opening
more than two months ago.

''I am sad. Two months have passed and [problems] remain the same.
Nothing changes or improves. I order AoT to improve it in a week,
especially cleanliness in the airport,'' Adm Bannawit said.

He gave the one-week deadline for the completion of tasks such as
getting rid of cobwebs on the terminal ceiling and adding lights in the
ground-floor space where luggage is sorted. He also complained about
poor ventilation and insufficient toilets for staff.

More than 1,000 workers sorted luggage but there were only two toilets
for them, Adm Bannawit said.

Also to be addressed urgently are problems from mafia-type taxi queue
operators and illegal tour guides at the airport.

Unless Mr Chotisak had the problems addressed in a week, Adm Bannawit
said, he would recommend the dismissal of the AoT president.

Deputy Transport Minister Sansern Wongcha-um admitted that problems
with the facilities which should have been sorted out a long time ago
still existed and more of them were popping up.

He cited the ''untimely'' damage of trolleys.

''All the problems resulted from the rushed opening of Suvarnabhumi
airport. It was the wrong decision from the start. The question rests
with the party who approved the opening of this airport and they should
be held responsible for what is happening,'' he said.

In addition, Adm Bannawit's committee will look into
Suvarnabhumi-related contracts awarded to companies without a bidding
contest. They include a 10-year contract for a rubbish disposal service
awarded to telecom company Samart.

The contract for King Power International Group Co to operate all
commercial space at Suvarnabhumi for 10 years will also be examined.

**********************************

"The question rests with the party who approved the opening of this
airport and they should be held responsible for what is happening".

What was his name again? :)

It's quite a contrast after immigration to walk through the Kingpower
department store, (some of the shops are beautiful) and then after
passing through security and descending the escalator in to the
departure lounge (F1a) area to find yourself in what reminded me of a
jail in a futuristic movie. raw concrete and glass finishes, grey, cold
and drab, sparsely furnished with uncomfortable grey plastic chairs.
The one TV screen in the 'lounge' was out of action that day.
I still think Suvarnabhumi will be a good airport but it's 2 years away

***********************8
And In November This

Lingering problems dim sparkle of Bangkok's new airport

November 23, 2006

BANGKOK - Flying into Bangkok's new Suvarnabhumi Airport, there's
enough sparkle to ensure the terminal building lives up to its name,
which means "golden land" in Thai.

But inside, passengers complain that the magnificent exterior is marred
by grimy and inadequate bathrooms, long lines and crowded check-in
counters.

"It has gotten dirty already -- not only the toilets, but in general --
even though it's brand new. It's poor maintenance," said American
property manager Brian Hodde, pointing at rubbish on the floor in a
restaurant he just left.

"From outside, it is very impressive. But when sitting here, it looks
unfinished as you can see bare concrete ceiling and uncovered coils
hanging at the top of the restaurant," the 44-year-old said.

The airport authority has said the bare walls are part of the
building's modern design, but with construction still going on in parts
of the terminal, the confusion is understandable.

And since the airport opened on September 28, complaints have poured in
from passengers.

"I was approached by too many taxi drivers stopping me everywhere and
asking aggressive questions," said 65-year-old Briton Peter Wood.

"It took me a very long time to walk from the aircraft to the
immigration. It is not comfortable," Wood said after arriving from
Phnom Penh.

Some of the most glaring problems have already been fixed. Computer
glitches with the baggage system have been repaired, and signs in the
terminal have been improved after complaints they were too confusing to
navigate the long halls.

Airport of Thailand, which operates Suvarnabhumi, says it will spend 40
million baht to add 200 toilets to address complaints about the
restrooms being too few and too dirty.

But less visible problems remain -- including cracks in the runways,
noise pollution for the surrounding neighborhoods, and allegations of
sexual harassment of flight attendants.

AoT has pledged to spend one billion baht to improve security to
address the complaints of flight attendants, who said they were groped
and stalked by construction workers at the airport.

Compensation for the noise pollution is expected to cost seven billion
baht so nearby residents can soundproof their homes or move away.

"There is a load of problems to be fixed," Air Chief Marshal Chalit
Phukphasuk told the Bangkok Post newspaper, estimating it would take
six months to address them all.

Deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a coup
less than two weeks before the airport opened, had pushed to open the
airport months before experts believed it would be ready. dry.gif
annoyed.gif

But travel agents blame poor management rather than hurried
construction for many of the problems, saying service at Suvarnabhumi
still lags behind regional rivals like Hong Kong and Singapore.

"Speeding up the completion contributed to the havoc, but poor
management since the opening is the main reason," said Suparerk
Soorangura, managing director of NS Travel and Tours.

"The management was aware of the problems for some time but so far they
have yet to fix them," Suparerk told AFP.

"It will take some time for Thailand to improve our services to compete
with those two hubs, even with the world-class facility we have now,"
said Suparerk, a former president of the Association of Thai Travel
Agents.

AOT president Chotisak Asapaviriya told AFP that all the complaints
were being taken into account and improvements were underway.

"We're handling over 100,000 passengers and 10 million bags every day,
and the new airport is still perfecting its services," said Chotisak.
- AFP

**********
Really it is my view unless on Business Aussies should forget Thailand
as
it really is going down the toilet -Certainly in provinces near
Malaysia
go there and very good chance of being dead or injured Koh Samui
once a popular Island resort is
now almost a murder a week and rape a day both locals and tourists

Pattaya - why any NORMAL human being would even want to go that hole of
sleaze is beyond me
Phuket and Chiang Mai are bearable and now that FIJI is in a bind we
lose that alternative to overseas holidays
Bali - well never been a big fan of that
Sadly work tasks take me to China and Thailand but no longer look
forward to it

The hidden dual pricing of the Thais is legend - See below a letter to
editor from
this weeks bkk post
Bangkok Post Postbag

Kids get a cold, hard lesson in racial discrimination

I am a Frenchman who has been living and paying tax in Thailand for 13
years and I thought I had seen it all until Monday 11 December. I was
on my way from our home in Buri Ram to Bangkok with my 10-year-old
daughter and my 4-year-old son, both Thai citizens from their mother's
side. Their mother had to stay behind to take care of some business
upcountry. We thought that taking a break at the famous Pang Si Da
Waterfall would be fun.

The kids were all excited about the trip - until we got to the gate.
There were two signs there: one in English that read "Entry fee Bt400
per person", and one in Thai that read "Entry fee Bt20 per person". I
found that paying 20 times more because I am a foreigner was already
outrageous as I pay tax in this country, but this was nothing: the
guard told us (and we were having this conversation in Thai) that
unless I could prove my kids were Thai, the entry fee would be Bt1,200
for the three of us, and not 440. I did not have this kind of money to
spend on a roadside break, and so I had to back out my car 100 metres
as the guard would not even let us do a U-turn inside. My daughter
broke down in tears and it took me an hour to get her to stop sobbing.
After she was done crying she got angry and told me that if she ever
went to France and set up a business there, she would charge her fellow
Thai citizens 20 times the regular price as well. I told her that she
should not do that for two reasons: it is bad to discriminate against
people for revenge or other reasons, and it is illegal to do that in
France. She asked me why Thailand did not have laws against
discrimination as well, and I told her to take that up with her teacher
as I was running out of arguments.

The bright side of this story is that my daughter now understands what
it feels like to be discriminated against and has promised me never to
do that to anyone.

A frog in the mist
Bangkok

**********************

Really IMO until these clowns get their house in order (wont happen in
my lifetime)
Go there with your eyes wide open
But for diving and tropical paradise type things. Cook Islands and
other places apart from here at home
offer a lot more Aus is truly a paradise and still plenty of it left.