Maybe some drivers start the meter when they leave the taxi lot, which is about that distance away? Taxis wait for hours in a lot on the airport grounds before being dispatched to the level 1 queue.

I haven't taken at taxi from SBIA/BKK is well over a year, not that I'd notice the meter reading in Km. You were "scammed", if that is the appropriate term, by at most 3 baht. The 35 baht flag-fall covers the first Km.


People should also be reminded that there is a traffic surcharge, so if you are stuck in traffic (or moving very slowly) and see the meter progressing please do not automatically assume you are being ripped off.