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PussyLover 69
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Report from The Nation dated Wednesday 24 May 2006 :-
New airport awaits certifying body's safety approval
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Caretaker Transport Minister Pongsak Ruktapongpisal says he expects the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) to approve safety standards at Suvarnabhumi International Airport on July 6, paving the way for commercial operations.
The Civil Aviation Department has already issued an aviation safety certificate for the new airport, Pongsak said. The next step to do is to draw up an operations manual for the ICAO's consideration.
He said he expected the organisation, whose primary concern is international airport safety standards, should give its approval by July 6 at the latest.
"Once this is done we will notify airlines around the world that the new airport is ready. But the official opening date will not be fixed until later," he said.
However, Pongsak admitted some outsourced projects are yet to be completed, though he said most construction works under the government agencies' supervision are nearly complete.
"We expect all systems to be ready for testing in June," he said.
Once all projects are complete the authorities can finalise plans to move personnel and equipment from Bangkok International Airport to the new site.
Caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is scheduled to attend a meeting at the airport tomorrow to speed up construction work.
The airport was originally set to open on September 28, 2005.
However, delayed construction works as well as the scandal over the bomb-detection equipment meant the opening was put back until June, 2006.
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Bangkok Girls : Meet Attractive Thai Girls
Posted on: 10:20 pm on May 23, 2006
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PussyLover 69
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Report from Bangkok Post dated Friday 26 May 2006 :-
Suvarnabhumi Airport opening now set for September : New deadline greeted with much scepticism
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First it was June, then August, then October _ and yesterday the opening date for the much-delayed Suvarnabhumi airport was changed again, for the fourth time this month. This time, caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra waded in and brought the deadline forward a bit to September.
The aviation industry remained largely unconvinced.
One of Mr Thaksin's first tasks after his controversial 45-day political break was to chair the Suvarnabhumi development committee, and he placed speeding up the airport's construction at the top of the agenda.
He also made a short visit to the airport to see the troubles for himself _ and that slowed the work in progress.
''The airport will open and offer commercial services within the month of September,'' Mr Thaksin said firmly after the meeting.
He played down the more than 100 cracks in the passenger terminal and the fact some roofing materials need replacing.
''Don't worry. Experts told me they [the cracks] could be fixed,'' Mr Thaksin said.
The prime minister wanted sub-contractors to finish construction next month. Then there would be a two-month testing period of all facilities. Airport staff would work during that period.
''Planes will be allowed to land and take off... but the airport will open for commercial use in September,'' said caretaker Transport Minister Pongsak Raktapongpaisal. September would be an appropriate time as it was the high tourist season, he added. This would ease the pressure on Don Muang airport.
The sub-contracting process had slowed the work, Airports of Thailand Plc managing director Chotesak Artpawiriya said. With so many companies interested it took time to choose the right ones.
Other airport executives also expressed confidence the airport could open in September, but many aviation executives remained sceptical.
They questioned whether the new opening target was achievable, given the number of problems still to be settled and the number of dates that had been repeatedly missed.
''It is critical that Suvarnabhumi airport should begin commercial operations only when it is ready,'' said Albert Tjoeng, a spokesman for the International Air Transport Association. ''This should be only after robust and comprehensive testing of the systems.
''New airports use incredibly complex systems that must be integrated and work efficiently. And it is important that airlines are involved in the process.
''Ample notice of the opening date should also be given to airlines to give them time to prepare for the shift to Suvarnabhumi airport,'' he said.
Capt Yothin Pamon-Montri, president of PB Air, said last night he did not believe the opening deadline could be met.
''The government has lost all credibility when they speak about the opening date. Could they work out a possible and definite date before announcing it to the public, instead of keeping on changing the date?''
John Evans, Gulf Air general manager for Thailand, said the airline had started preparations to move to the airport after recently receiving clearance for space and guidelines from Airports of Thailand.
''We expect to put ourselves together at the new site over the next three months, on my personal interpretation that the airport will be ready for commercial start-up in September,'' he said.
Suvarnabhumi airport director Somchai Sawasdeepon said main construction work, luggage conveyor and communication systems were completed. Decoration of the duty-free zone and airline offices was still under way, but would be finished in July.
Mr Chotesak said they might have to use buses from the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority to serve airport passengers and get trolleys from Don Muang if ground service facilities were not ready in time.
Aviation Department chief Chaisak Angkasuwan said airlines worldwide had already been given details of runways and parking bays so they would be familiar with the airport.
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Bangkok Women : Meet Sensual Bangkok Women
Posted on: 2:33 am on May 26, 2006
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Basil Bush
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I have already booked flights in and out of Bangkok in late autumn this year, funny my chosen airline has not advised its customers the arrival/departure airport may change; maybe they know more than us.
I still think the odds are 6-1 for June/July but which year I have not a clue...
BB
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Thai Girls : Meet Sexy Thai Girls
Posted on: 12:38 pm on May 26, 2006
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Bangkoksexydotcom
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Met a German girl working for a company that making the airport. She told me that actully all contracts ends in MAY this year and most of the people are planning to go home to Europe and USA for the summer Holliday. No one have contact them regarding working to september....And she did not belive that the airport would be finish by then either even if they stayed on.
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Bangkok Girls : Meet Sexy Bangkok Girls
Posted on: 5:42 am on May 28, 2006
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Will Smith
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PussyLover69
Thanks for the info on the trains as well as the new airport.
Now what about them there buses?
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Bangkok Girls : Meet Attractive Thai Girls
Posted on: 7:38 pm on May 31, 2006
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DaffyDuck
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Quote: from Bangkoksexydotcom on 6:35 pm on May 28, 2006
Met a German girl working for a company that making the airport. She told me that actully all contracts ends in MAY this year and most of the people are planning to go home to Europe and USA for the summer Holliday. No one have contact them regarding working to september....And she did not belive that the airport would be finish by then either even if they stayed on.
Hey, that's great news.
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Bangkok Women : Meet Beautiful Thai Girls
Posted on: 11:36 pm on May 31, 2006
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Buai
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Quote: from Will Smith on 8:31 am on June 1, 2006
Now what about them there buses?
...and the tuk tuks.
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Bangkok Girls : Meet Attractive Thai Girls
Posted on: 2:43 am on June 1, 2006
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PussyLover 69
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Report from Bangkok Post dated Monday 5 June 2006 :-
Opening of Suvarnabhumi Airport : Airlines demand definite date - Fees at new airport also cause concern
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International airlines are growing increasingly frustrated with the repeated delays to the opening of Suvarnabhumi airport and are calling for the government to set an achievable date, once and for all.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA), the Board of Airline Representatives in Thailand (BAR) and the Star Alliance have also expressed their concerns over the fees that Airports of Thailand Plc (AoT) intends to impose at the new airport, according to industry sources.
The BAR, which consists of 56 carriers operating in and out of Thailand, is reportedly seeking a meeting with Pongsak Raktapongpaisal, the caretaker transport minister, to ask for a clear position from the government about its concerns.
BAR members also want three months' advance notification of the airport opening so they can prepare for the move, which poses huge logistical challenges.
International airline heads in Bangkok still cannot secure their budgets for setting up shop at Suvarnabhumi from their respective head offices because the most crucial factor, the airport opening date, remains unknown.
The government has kept postponing the date for the inauguration of commercial operations at the 125-billion-baht airport - first it was September 2005, then June 2006, then August and now October.
The aviation industry remains highly sceptical about the opening date, given reports about delays and flaws in construction as well as AoT's failure to call bids for scores of outsourcing contracts, involving the provision of services related to the new airport's operations.
Airing a common view in the aviation industry, IATA, a coalition of 265 airlines, said it was unhappy with what it regards as excessive fees, including landing charges, at Suvarnabhumi.
AoT intends to raise the landing/parking fees by 15% from the current rates it charges at Don Muang.
Airlines are upset about other fees too, such as the rents for office space at Suvarnabhumi, and have asked AoT to reconsider the rates, which would become an additional cost pressure on top of burdens such as high oil prices.
Albert Tjoeng, IATA's Asia-Pacific spokesman, said the association was in consultations with AoT about the charges at Suvarnabhumi. He declined to elaborate.
However, AoT president Chotisak Asapaviriya insisted the landing and parking fees at Suvarnabhumi were lower than those at the Singapore, Hong Kong and Narita (Japan) airports.
The proposed fee for a Boeing 747-400 jet at Suvarnabhumi is US$1,795, compared with $2,241 at Singapore, $3,445 at Hong Kong and $8,055 at Narita.
At the recent meeting with BAR representatives, the AoT president vowed to charge "reasonable" amounts for various services and was open to more dialogue with airlines, sources said.
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Thai Girls : Meet Active Thai Girls
Posted on: 9:51 pm on June 4, 2006
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PussyLover 69
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Report from Bangkok Post dated Friday 9 June 2006 :-
Suvarnabhumi Airport : Construction scramble to meet Sept 28 opening target
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Construction at Suvarnabhumi Airport is being accelerated again - to meet the government's goal of opening it for commercial flights on Sept 28. Deputy transport ministers Phumtham Wechayachai and Chainant Charoensiri met executives of Thai Airways International (THAI) yesterday to discuss the progress of the work at the new airport.
They were also updated on the preparations for the transfer of all systems from Don Muang airport to Suvarnabhumi.
The Suvarnabhumi airport development committee has set Sept 28 as the opening date of the airport for commercial operations.
Mr Phumtham said the meeting agreed that a panel should be set up to supervise the transfer of all equipment and coordinate work with relevant agencies.
The panel, chaired by Gen Chainant, will also serve as a forum for solving problems and obstacles at the new airport. It will come up with a report on construction progress by June 17, before caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra holds another meeting to discuss headway.
Gen Chainant said work needs to proceed faster in the passenger terminal and at a concourse building. Leaking terminal roofs must be fixed and the concourse building and duty-free zone need to be decorated.
Repairs to the roofs and cracks at the passenger terminal were expected to be finished this month.
The chairman of the THAI board, transport permanent secretary Wanchai Salthoonthat, said the national airline was ready to move to the new airport.
The transfer of all systems and equipment at Don Muang airport to Suvarnabhumi would take about a month, the permanent secretary said.
There were over a million pieces of equipment to be shifted, he said.
The board has approved a budget of 500 million baht to repair THAI's flight catering building, which was damaged by a fire in January, Mr Wanchai said.
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Thai Women : Meet Matured Thai Women
Posted on: 10:16 pm on June 8, 2006
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PussyLover 69
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Report from Bangkok Post dated Friday 9 June 2006 :-
Test flights for new airport set on July 29, 2006
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Thailand's domestic and budget carriers will conduct test flights in and out of the new Suvarnabhumi airport on July 29,2006. Airlines, including Bangkok Airways, Nok Air, One-Two-Go, PB Air and Thai AirAsia, yesterday agreed to take part in the drill as politicians and authorities set their sights on opening the airport on Sept 28 after numerous delays.
Unlike the first two high-profile test flights on Sept 29 last year, which involved two Thai Airways International wide-bodied jets and caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, July 29 will involve real passengers and actual flights.
The Bangkok-based airlines will each divert one flight from the provinces to land at the 125-billion-baht airport, with another taking off from the airport, according to Chaisak Angkasuwan, the director-general of the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA).
The agreement was reached yesterday at a meeting between the DCA, Airports of Thailand Plc and the airlines.
It will be a one-off test for the airlines before the airport opening, as authorities want to familiarise personnel, carriers and passengers with the new operations.
AoT will waive fees for landing, parking and aircraft fuelling for the participating airlines, said Mr Chaisak.
The agreement came as the airlines, with the exception of Bangkok Airways, remained unclear as to whether they would continue to operate in and out of the existing Bangkok International Airport (Don Muang) or the new facility.
Authorities indicated earlier that Don Muang would remain open for domestic, low-cost and charter flights.
Mr Thaksin will chair a meeting on the development of Suvarnabhumi airport on June 20, after which he is scheduled to announce its official opening date.
Chainant Charoensiri, the acting deputy transport minister, was quoted by the state-run Thai News Agency as saying on Wednesday: ''Only some minor works are to be settled over the next four months, so, I can say we're now ready for the opening of the new airport on Sept 28.''
On Sept 29 last year Mr Thaksin presided over a ''symbolic'' airport opening and promised that it would be ready for commercial use by July of this year.
The proposal to build the new airport was first made in 1961.
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Bangkok Girls : Meet Attractive Thai Girls
Posted on: 10:23 pm on June 8, 2006
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