jjpb3
Founding SQTalker
Suvarnabhumi: for now, it's an "ugh" from me
« Thread started on: Oct 23rd, 2006, 12:26pm »
Founding SQTalker
Suvarnabhumi: for now, it's an "ugh" from me
« Thread started on: Oct 23rd, 2006, 12:26pm »
Thought I'd continue the thread on the transition ( http://sqtalk.suddenlaunch3.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=general&num=1154246 125&start=15 ) with a new thread on the actual experience.
My brother and I went through there last week (ah, how time flies). Changi shouldn't be too worried about competition from BKK as a transit point right now. I think it's an improvement over the general feel of Don Muang, but there are numerous points of friction that need to be solved.
Outside the airport's design does look very distinctive and modern, with the roof shapes complementing rather nicely the new TG livery. The walk to immigration was a lot shorter for my flight (SQ68) than for my flights in the past, but the vaunted new levels of efficiency wasn't there that evening. It's the only immigration point so far in all my travels where I was asked for the boarding pass from my incoming flight. Huh? (Yes I had filled in the requisite section of the landing card.) Even Heathrow officers just ask verbally about your point of origin.
The luggage carousels seemed to be all working (with good signage) when we were there -- reminded me of the setup at HKG, actually -- but my brother and I decided not to risk elevated blood pressures and only brought hand luggage.
The arrivals hall was, well, madness. No natural flow of arriving passengers so it was like being gaseous molecules in a hyper-pressurised chamber: people pinging around in multiple directions. CGK was very spot on in his warning to me. We were finally found by one of a roving group of people who offered limousine rides to take us to the Royal Orchid Sheraton. It was a nice civilized ride, although there was nothing to buckle our seat belts into at the bottom of the seats.
On the return, I was thankful to have printed out the directions from the SQ website. The signage is pretty dismal for a new airport. Once you're through Area 5 doors, there is a sign for *A airlines (LH, UA, etc.) which omits SQ. I had to spot the Golden Bird from the signs on top of the checkin counters. FYI, SQ checkin is right next to Orient Thai, so it's easy to miss the familiar red First Class and blue RAFFLES class carpets through the thicket of tour groups with their mountains of luggage.
The entrance to the departure hall is much more dramatic now, with a huge sculpture about one of the events in Thai mythology. It was, IMO, a novel way to remind travellers about the uniqueness of Thai culture, but (1) I wondered how it would look many months from now [would it look unremarkable and a waste of foot space?] and (2) I was bemused by the quick transition to the non-unique (but pleasurable to shoppers like me) experience of shopping for international luxury brands like Ferragamo .
One thing that struck me was how narrow the passageways between the two ends of the airport seemed, and no travellators to ease the walking for those travellers who are still in the middle of their journeys. Again, I didn't detect immediately a natural direction for passenger foot traffic. I imagined that during peaktimes, the foot traffic in front of the premium stores would degenerate into another gaseous particle experience.
I also noted that the white floors already had smudges, which detracted from the clean, spacious feel that I suspect was intended.
I have to say, kudos for SQ for determining how the present layout and signage could be confusing to its passengers. Strategically positioned signs (with prominent Golden Birds) and ground staff would have made it impossible to know in which direction to head for the lounge and for the departure gate.
Off to the operational Silk and First lounges. We entered through the Silk lounge and could walk through a narrow (what's with Suvarnabhumi and narrow passageways?) corridor and see for ourselves how nearly every seat was taken. Fortunately, we then reached the common entrance for the lounges and got through to the First Class Lounge.
This was what Lounges are supposed to be like: serene, with little nooks for groups or individuals who preferred not to be in the common seating area. The food selection paled in comparison with the SKL's but it has potential. There's a bar where you can place orders and they would bring the drinks to your seat. (I liked that.) Now my beef: they also flip through the selections on the flat panel TVs for you then take away the remote control. Huh? Bizarre set-up. We ended up watching a broadcast of women's golf with Thai commentary. Damn my brother's TV addiction.
Off we went to our gates, where there was a line to get processed for security. I guess it was par for secondary screenings: slow.
The departure lounge was definitely something SQ could work on. Large as it was, it was full when we got there, and when boarding was called, there was no effort to enforce priority boarding. I missed the enforcement at LHR and MNL. There was a mad stampede by all passengers (including some very pushy queue-jumpers from China [at least ones with recognizable Beijing accent in Mandarin] with green boarding passes and no status), which experience was eased by a chilled glass of Krug from the cabin crew.
So my grade for the Suvarnabhumi experience: B at best. It could be worse, but it definitely could be lots better. Then again, maybe I just needed more days in Thailand relaxing somewhere before flying back to Singapore.
« Last Edit: Oct 23rd, 2006, 12:31pm by jjpb3 »
« Last Edit: Oct 23rd, 2006, 12:31pm by jjpb3 »
KeithMEL1985
Founding SQTalker
Re: Suvarnabhumi: for now, it's an "ugh" from me
« Reply #1 on: Oct 23rd, 2006, 1:37pm »
Cheers for the extensive review.
Founding SQTalker
Re: Suvarnabhumi: for now, it's an "ugh" from me
« Reply #1 on: Oct 23rd, 2006, 1:37pm »
Cheers for the extensive review.
Given the poor signage and the vastness of the new airport (the general feel I get from reviews I've read), do you think it'd be hard for people with tight connections to find their new gates on their first visit?
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