What to Expect Departing Suvarnabhumi on Thai's International Flights: BKK - RGN and BKK - JFK
 

I know that people have posted from time to time since the opening of the new airport about the situation there. Here are my questions:

1. Traveling to Myanmar on Thai Airways, economy class - how early should we arrive and where do we check in?

2. Traveling to JFK (New York) on Thai Airways, business class - how early should we arrive and is there separate check in for business class? Where is (are) the business class lounge(s) located and which (if there are more than one) is best?

Any other suggestions/advice will be much appreciated.

the new airport has check in desks arranged by airline as they did in the old airport....as you come into the airport you will see a monitor straight ahead that will list the airlines and their check in locations...as i remember these are by letter location....it is one very long hall for all check-ins...i believe all airlines check in all flights from all of their check-in locations, and there are special desks for business/first...you will see them easily...there are also small signs overhead as you come up to the airport building listing the airlines in that area....they are not too helpful, however...

i would follow the same time rules that you use in usa for arrival at airport....keep in mind that the walks are quite far in this new airport, so it is not uncommon to be in transit from check-in to gate for more than 20 minutes....so i would allow an extra 1/2 hour for that and also time for your visit to the club.... clubs are well marked also...there are tons of shops all along the walk as well, not that you would ever look in any of them...

i assume that the airport will continue to operate as it is now for the duration of your trip, but its thailand so you never know??....maybe you will be lucky and end up at the old airport and be able to stay at the amari for $45....PAYBACK....

WE WISH YOU A WONDERFUL TRIP...

K&B

We just came back from BKK to JFK on the Thai Airways flight. We were advised to allow plenty of time as it seems they are still sorting through issues like baggage handling etc. & every once in a while there are hold ups in the smooth functioning of the new airport. Hence, we were told to get there 3 hours before. Nothing went wrong at the airport & we had at least an hour to spare & go to the duty free shops (most numerous & some of the best at any airport I've seen). We actually ended up buying quite a few things at the airport, like ties etc at JIm Thompson's shop...
2 hours should suffice if there are no hitches in the process. There was an airport tax of 500 Baht /pp but I believe it has gone up since Feb 1. So carry the required amount in cash in local currency.
Don't know about the lounges & business class.

Craig,

For the Myanmar flight arrive around 2 hours before departure time as the economy lines are quite long. For the Thai C class to JFK I would arrive 2 - 3 hours before departure and yes there is a separate check in area for 1st and business class passengers.

Bob has made a good point about the long.... walk - be prepare!

For checking in: http://www.thaiair.com/Travel_Destin...port_index.htm

For your lounge info: http://www.thaiair.com/Travel_Destin...es/default.htm

Craig-we got there about 3 hours ahead and had plenty of time to check in (this is a madhouse at that time of night. A complete madhouse), get our VAT refund and pass through the various security screenings and an hour to goof off.

You no longer have to buy a departure tax coupon, UNLESS your ticket was issued before they started including it in the ticket price. You may not be able to figure this out until you check in for your international flight. IF it wasn't included, you have to pay 700 Baht when you check in.

This is slowing down check-in processes, but it should quickly go away over the course of the next month.

Michael, do you pay for the departure tax at check-in or at the usual place just after check-in - will they accept credit cards or bahts only?

They accept Baht only for Departure Tax.

Also, ALL your carry on bags will be searched by CHUBB Agents prior to you boarding the flight to JFK, so this is an additional time constraint you need to be aware of.

If you want to use wireless internet, on the Royal Silk Lounge on the left side of the C Concourse has this. They did not have wireless in the Royal Silk Lounge this is directly opposite as of 2/4/07.

on air france none of our carry-on bags were searched in december

That's because AF wasn't flying directly to the USA.

Bis---european carriers have now adopted more stringent rules, similar to usa...

Carryons are only hand-searched for flights flying to the US.

When I've departed Bangkok in the past (at the old airport), the cashier counter always had a sign: Thai Bhat or Credit Card. There were never problems on the way out of Thailand.

rkkwan answered for me, rhkkmk. Your bags weren't searched because your flight wasn't going to the USA.