TG and the new BKK airport - about as smooth as sandpaper!

[Keith T 2]

Glory glory! Just called AA for a status update - the bag has been located by AA at ORD and picked up by the delivery company. It will arrive at my hotel today.

 

Am very impressed by AA ground service.

 

Moral of the story: Avoid doing connections under 2 hours at Suvarnabhumi.

Edited December 4, 2006 by Keith T

[Andrew Ong 1]

Glory glory! Just called AA for a status update - the bag has been located by AA at ORD and picked up by the delivery company. It will arrive at my hotel today.

 

Am very impressed by AA ground service.

 

Nice to know that your bag is safe and sound.

 

 

Just like the story when MH lost my grandmother's bag when coming from TPE-LAX.

 

My dad called MH and said that one of my grandmother's bag is lost.

 

Apparently MH called my dad back and they said that they found the lost bag in Saudi Arabia (don't know how it got there).

 

They soon delivered that bag to my house where my grandmother is staying.

 

 

I don't blame MH for baggage handling, at least MH have good service when it comes to recovering lost baggage.

[Keith T 2]

Apparently MH called my dad back and they said that they found the lost bag in Saudi Arabia (don't know how it got there).

 

The bag would have been misrouted. What would have happened was either incorrect information was computed into her baggage record or the tracer wasn't working properly. Or if the airport is retro - an incompetent handler who threw it on to the wrong belt.

Edited December 4, 2006 by Keith T

[BC Tam 2]

All I can say is - thanks for the advace warning ! Barring unforseen circumstances, am due at BKK with the wife and kids on tow mid Dec and I suppose we should lower our expectations and raise disaster-alert level !!

[Isaac 0]

All I can say is - thanks for the advace warning ! Barring unforseen circumstances, am due at BKK with the wife and kids on tow mid Dec and I suppose we should lower our expectations and raise disaster-alert level !!

Do not forget to bring your camera along And try to snap some cabin pictures.

 

[BC Tam 2]

Trippie will be typed up when I get home. (end of Dec)

Allows ample for some serious therapy before you put experience into words !!

 

Do not forget to bring your camera along And try to snap some cabin pictures.

Will try and oblige - which part of cattle class you're interested in ?!

[Isaac 0]

Will try and oblige - which part of cattle class you're interested in ?!

All. LOL ! I know i'm greedy. Perhaps some galley shots will be good too. Since there aren't many such pictures around By the way, may i know which carrier are you gonna fly with ?

Edited December 5, 2006 by Isaac

[Sandeep G 1]

Keith,

 

Glad they found your bag and it's on its way.

 

Mine.. still missing.. filling out claims forms soon...

 

How is the windy city? Looking forward to your trippie!

 

Garbage strewn across the bottom of the terminal in view of the public eh??? Maybe they should change the name to: So-u-wanna-broom???

[Keith T 2]

Keith,

 

Glad they found your bag and it's on its way.

 

Mine.. still missing.. filling out claims forms soon...

 

How is the windy city? Looking forward to your trippie!

 

Garbage strewn across the bottom of the terminal in view of the public eh??? Maybe they should change the name to: So-u-wanna-broom???

 

 

LOL! Or Suvarna-poo.

 

Well the bag finally arrived yesterday arvo when I was out shopping. Kudos to the W Hotel concierge (or in W speak - Living Room Manager) for chasing it up with the delivery company. I hope your bag will eventually get to you. Compared to mine which had to travel from BKK via FRA and into a busy ORD, your bag should have a relatively stress-free journey?

 

The windy city is great - just cold and windy.

I'm having a lot of fun; just had coffee with 2 friends who I met when I was in London last July.

 

Flying UA to Philadelphia tomorrow.

Oh btw - apparently photography is not allowed on US flights? Someone at FRA stopped me from taking pics of the boarding gate for my AA flight and told me that my camera would be confiscated if I continued taking pics. As a result - no pics of my AA flight.

Edited December 6, 2006 by Keith T

[Seth K 3]

Flying UA to Philadelphia tomorrow.

Oh btw - apparently photography is not allowed on US flights? Someone at FRA stopped me from taking pics of the boarding gate for my AA flight and told me that my camera would be confiscated if I continued taking pics. As a result - no pics of my AA flight.

Neve face this problem, but on my CO flights, the stewardess will warn u of using camera. But there's no such problem onboard. Is he/she that stopped you from taking picture is an airport staff or flight crew? You might want to consider CO, friendly way to fly

[Keith T 2]

Neve face this problem, but on my CO flights, the stewardess will warn u of using camera. But there's no such problem onboard. Is he/she that stopped you from taking picture is an airport staff or flight crew? You might want to consider CO, friendly way to fly

 

It was an airport staff member but I did not take pics onboard as I didn't want any security-related issues to occur.

 

Nah it's UA and US from now for American flying - and potentially DL. And of course AA since I'm still putting some mileage on to my AAdvantage account.

Edited December 6, 2006 by Keith T

[Sandeep G 1]

hehehe sorry for being off-topic... perhaps So-whatta-poo! Hehehe

 

I'm sure the AOT people in BKK will fix up their new airport sooner that later.

[Keith T 2]

A response to my complaint:

 

Dear Mr. Tan,

 

We wish to thank you for your E-mail and regret the circumstances which

prompted you to write. We sincerely apologise for the disruption in your

travel plans. We fully realise how frustrating it is for our passengers when

an irregularity happens and wish to assure you that we take all steps

possible to minimize delays and changes. Regrettably the occasional problem

is unavoidable and cannot be completely eliminated, even though we always

follow stringent maintenance schedules for all our equipment . We trust that

you will appreciate our policy which stresses the importance of safety for

all concerned, and has to remain our utmost priority and cannot be

compromised in any way.

Mr. Tan, although we do understand your deep dissatisfaction with the

irregularity and the resulting inconvenience, however , we draw your

attention to the ''Conditions of Carriage" stating that times shown in

timetables or elsewhere are not guaranteed. Schedules and equipment of a

flight are subject to change without notice and THAI cannot assume

responsibility for any delay, cancellation or unavailability of a flight or

equipment change or missed connection.

 

We regret the delay of your Baggage and would suggest that you keep in

contact with the carrier who lodged your Property Irregularity Report.

 

We thank you for your feedback and assure you that we take passenger

comments seriously and make every effort to keep our standards of service at

optimum level. We look forward to welcoming you on board our Royal Orchid

service on 31 December 2006. Until then we send you our best wishes.

 

Yours sincerely

 

 

xxx

Customer Relations

 

My reply:

 

Dear xxx,

 

Thanks for your reply.

 

As an update I've got my suitcase back. But I do hope Thai (and indeed

all carriers) will be able to apply pressure on Airports of Thailand

to improve their baggage handling. From all accounts, it seems that

anyone doing connections of under 2 hours (even if it satisfies the

minimum connection time) is at high risk of having their bags left

behind in the new BKK airport.

 

I do understand that equipment irregularities do happen, and as I am a

participant of an online frequent flyers' forum I have come to

understand that Thai has a reputation for equipment irregularities.

 

On the other hand much would be appreciated if such changes in

equipment could be communicated to passengers, particularly if such a

change would result in a fundamental alteration to the inflight

experience. Such information would have enabled me to change my flight bookings and fly another day when i know the optimal inflight experience (hardware wise anyway) could be delivered.

 

I chose TG for the Australia-South East Asia legs because

I wanted to try out a different Star Alliance carrier (I usually fly

SQ), and one of your staff quite confidently reassured me that I would indeed enjoy the new

flat bed seats on my flight; "Yeah we'd just be like Singapore

Airlines with our new seats by the time you fly."

 

And yes I'm well aware of the Conditions of Carriage, however it makes

the situation no less frustrating when it's been heavily advertised

that the MEL and BNE markets would get brand new seats by glossy

brochures and a brand new website. And I bet it'd be even more

frustrating for people who fly less frequently and who aren't aware of

the Conditons of Carriage.

 

Thanks though - for your prompt response.

 

Keith

Edited December 6, 2006 by Keith T

[KC Sim 2]

What a shoddy reply from TG! There is no attempt at all in service recovery, no sincerity and absolutely no real apology.

 

This surprises me . . . seems like much of this letter is from a template. If you are familiar with the way English is spoken and structured in Thailand, this is definitely not your type-as-you-think response.

 

I recall the occasion when I flew Thai from Yangon to Bangkok (Don Muang) in March 1996 and was transiting to Royal Brunei Airlines to Frankfurt. The Royal Brunei flight left its gate 10 minutes early without waiting for us . . . and in lieu of that, it had to re-booked us on TG. Inspite of a few hours' transit in Don Muang, our luggage was left behind in Bangkok.

 

After we made the Irregularity Report in Frankfurt, we were informed that a check has revealed that our luggage (and exhibition collaterals meant for our booths at ITB in Berlin) were found on the ramp!!! I gather this to mean the baggage sorting area that sometimes spill onto the ramp area. So it seems like old habits die hard with TG.

 

From the way I see it, Thailand has merely exported every procedure, every old habit and every ancient mindset from Don Muang to Suvarnabhumi. It did not take the opportunity to re-invent the processes that would have made Suvarnabhumi a joy to all travellers. I still hold out for things to change over time . . . perhaps.

 

KC Sim

[Keith T 2]

What a shoddy reply from TG! There is no attempt at all in service recovery, no sincerity and absolutely no real apology.

 

This surprises me . . . seems like much of this letter is from a template. If you are familiar with the way English is spoken and structured in Thailand, this is definitely not your type-as-you-think response.

 

It's actually a response from the Melbourne office. Nonetheless, it's an appalling response, if you could even consider it a response at all.

[Jessnor Arif 1]

So has the situation improve in BKK? anybody knows it?

[Keith T 2]

So has the situation improve in BKK? anybody knows it?

 

I'm passing through again on the 31st of December; spending 8 hours there in fact. If you can wait till then I can provide an update.

AFAIK, they've opened up another TG lounge so that should slightly alleviate the crowding situation in general.

[BC Tam 2]

By the way, may i know which carrier are you gonna fly with ?

Cattle class = AK !

[Jessnor Arif 1]

I'm passing through again on the 31st of December; spending 8 hours there in fact. If you can wait till then I can provide an update.

 

 

Dont worry.. I always have time .. but mean while if anyone has any update on BKK is welcome to reply

[Ivan L. 0]

Just passed through Suvarnabhumi yesterday, took AK frm KUL. The luggage carousel didn't move until about half hour or so of waiting, in total I had to wait around 45minutes just to get my luggage. Definitely not impressed. Seems that luggage handling seems to be a teething problems in this new airport. In addition, the luggage trolley is so hard to take and pull from where its being held. You'll need a superman to pull it.

[Sandeep G 1]

Got word of this just now. Seems AoT is seriously considering immediately reopening Don-Muang for LCC ops. This is a real boon for the LCC market in Thailand - but unfortunately, not a very good deal for So-what-to-do airport.

 

A study by Airports of Thailand (AoT) has reportedly favoured an immediate reopening of Bangkok Don Muang Airport to serve only non-connecting LCC services (Bangkok Post, 11-Dec-06). The study revealed that the reopening of Don Muang could postpone the second stage development of Bangkok Suvarnabhumi International Airport from 2007 to 2010, and defer the third stage expansion from 2008 to 2015. The expansion projects are expected to cost AoT approximately USD2.8 billion. The Government's current policy is to exclusively mantain Suvarnabhumi, however AoT and the Government are expected to hold talks in Jan-07.

Edited December 12, 2006 by Sandeep G

[Azman MN 1]

oh oh.... have a 1hr. 40m transfer at BKK next month.... will my golf bag make it?

 

 

[Pieter C. 5]

Seems pretty tight, Azman, would suggest to take a later flight: less worries and some additional spotting time

[Keith T 2]

Hm, 1 hr 15 mins connection TG-LH, bus gate - no wonder my bag didn;t make it. Even though advertised MCT is much shorter.

 

oh oh.... have a 1hr. 40m transfer at BKK next month.... will my golf bag make it?

 

You might have more luck if you don't hit a bus gate.

 

My mate had a TG-TG transfer just last week and they still managed to leave his bags behind. He had all his work stuff in there - he was not happy. Try to get it up to over a 2 hour connection if you can. Then you'd have a more leisurely transfer and even check out the new (albeit overcrowded) TG lounges.

Edited December 12, 2006 by Keith T

[Sandeep G 1]

My mate had a TG-TG transfer just last week and they still managed to leave his bags behind. He had all his work stuff in there - he was not happy. Try to get it up to over a 2 hour connection if you can. Then you'd have a more leisurely transfer and even check out the new (albeit overcrowded) TG lounges.

 

Geez, that's quite poor on behalf of TG...... But from the sounds of the chaotic operations at BKK, it's really no suprise.. I've heard of stories where aircraft dock at the designated gate from the Ground Controller, but the service crews are waiting at a different gate - leaving passengers onboard for up to 30 minutes after shutdown waiting for the air-stairs in the case of parking at a remote gate.

 

Furthermore, the baggage from remote stands has to be brought to a central area for further processing and then sent out again - this sounds like where they are having problems for transit luggage... plus at a place like BKK where there are PLENTY of transit luggage, it only make's it messier.