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The circus at the BKK arrival fast track continues

The circus at the BKK arrival fast track continues

Old May 8, 2012, 7:33 pm
  #46  
 
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Originally Posted by behuman
You raise a very interesting point kittiyut.

(And to reassure all fellow FTalkers: I always carry the new golden vouchers with me and can switch anytime to the central immigration lanes, my thread is about principles and advertised perks - and last but not least in the interest of FTalkers who arrive in BKK for the first time with TG C.)
I do the same, have both the golden and TG's purple ones handy. Never had problems using just the boarding pass though.
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Old May 8, 2012, 7:45 pm
  #47  
 
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Well, I just went through immigration, absolutely a breeze, this morning at 7nish... immigration counter were quite empty with one line of about 4 persons, ... I could have just gone through the normal counter, but no, I chose to go to Fast Track, which was empty and closed, but the diplomatic counter was opened, went there, didnot even need to show boarding pass and got through, no problems.
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Old May 8, 2012, 8:45 pm
  #48  
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Originally Posted by kittiyut
Hmmm, maybe what I experienced was an exception?? I just returned home from HKT to HKG via BKK on the 3rd. My sticker did fall off (and I lost it), I didn't have to go through baggage screening, just a guy looking at my passport and boarding pass (and he was rude about me losing my sticker). Maybe that was the immigration "again" part? BTW, I was bused in to the terminal - maybe the procedure is different if you got a gate?
There are three possibilities when arriving into BKK on a domestic flight and transferring to an international flight.

1) Get a domestic gate: Walk toward B1 and you will see the transfer area. Go through security to gain access to the escalator to the 3rd floor.

2) Get an international gate: While purely domestic pax will be shunted down the stairs to a waiting bus you will be directed into the terminal. This will put you on the 2nd level where you still need to go through transfer security either at the ABCD or DEFG confluence.

3) Get a bus which drops you near D3: Upon reaching the top of the escalator (2nd floor) you will be directed to double back upon yourself where there is a door leading to the international arrival area. Here again you will need to go through transfer security at either ABCD or DEFG conluences.

I'm not sure what happened with you but I've never gained access to floor 3 without passing through security.
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Old May 8, 2012, 10:47 pm
  #49  
 
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Originally Posted by dsquared37

2) Get an international gate: While purely domestic pax will be shunted down the stairs to a waiting bus you will be directed into the terminal. This will put you on the 2nd level where you still need to go through transfer security either at the ABCD or DEFG confluence.

I'm not sure what happened with you but I've never gained access to floor 3 without passing through security.
What happened to me was I had a brain fart. I did have to go through security and baggage check again!!! For some reason that part was temporarily erased from my memory when I was replying. My bad, my bad

After reading your 1) 2) and 3) it popped right back into my head. I got the 2)
and I wasn't even coming from HKT, but rather CNX - was mixed up with another trip. The worst part was getting a nice new 777-200ER for the 1 hour domestic but crappy old 330 for the BKK-HKG
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Old May 9, 2012, 9:24 am
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Thanks for your replies. I was afraid that we wouldn't get the full treatment since it was an award ticket.

Also, it will be my son's first international F trip and I wanted to make sure that he will be totally ruined on coach travel from that point forward
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Old May 9, 2012, 1:47 pm
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Originally Posted by kittiyut
What happened to me was I had a brain fart. I did have to go through security and baggage check again!!! For some reason that part was temporarily erased from my memory when I was replying. My bad, my bad

After reading your 1) 2) and 3) it popped right back into my head. I got the 2)
and I wasn't even coming from HKT, but rather CNX - was mixed up with another trip. The worst part was getting a nice new 777-200ER for the 1 hour domestic but crappy old 330 for the BKK-HKG
My bolding

What a brilliant phrase !!

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Old May 9, 2012, 8:26 pm
  #52  
 
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I'm a first time BKK visitor arriving Sunday at 1AM on TG from ICN on an award C ticket with my wife, and we have an early morning so I want as much sleep as possible. Fast track will be closed at that time?

What's my best bet for breezing through? Is there usually no lineup at this time of night? From the sounds of the thread, I should just go to the diplomatic line without asking permission? I'm a little concerned I'll waste time in that line and then I'll be told to PFO once I get to the front. Is the diplomatic line closed as well?
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Old May 10, 2012, 1:31 pm
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Originally Posted by ride red
I'm a first time BKK visitor arriving Sunday at 1AM on TG from ICN on an award C ticket with my wife, and we have an early morning so I want as much sleep as possible. ............. Is the diplomatic line closed as well?
You have an " early morning " with your wife ? I support your idea to assemble as much sleep as possible for the purpose but what does it have to do with the diplomatic line ?
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Old May 10, 2012, 5:32 pm
  #54  
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Originally Posted by somkiat
You have an " early morning " with your wife ? I support your idea to assemble as much sleep as possible for the purpose but what does it have to do with the diplomatic line ?
Thank you somkiat, the quality of FT is declining rapidly with all this OT stuff posted where we discuss an issue which I (very) stupidly thought would be of interest to all.

I should have shut up and used my new golden passes. But no, I will try to be a good FTalker and soon report back from the diplomatic line war front.
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Old May 10, 2012, 5:55 pm
  #55  
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Originally Posted by somkiat
You have an " early morning " with your wife ? I support your idea to assemble as much sleep as possible for the purpose but what does it have to do with the diplomatic line ?
If he and his wife need to get up early for a tour they'd want to arrive at the hotel quickly. What's so odd?
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Old May 10, 2012, 6:43 pm
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Originally Posted by somkiat
You have an " early morning " with your wife ? I support your idea to assemble as much sleep as possible for the purpose but what does it have to do with the diplomatic line ?
Maybe I should have been more clear.

We will be arriving late at night and we have to wake up early in the morning, so we would like to know the fastest way through customs, given the current "circus" at fast track for incoming business class passengers. Others in this thread have used a diplomatic line, I would like to know more about it.

Originally Posted by behuman
Thank you somkiat, the quality of FT is declining rapidly with all this OT stuff posted where we discuss an issue which I (very) stupidly thought would be of interest to all.

I should have shut up and used my new golden passes. But no, I will try to be a good FTalker and soon report back from the diplomatic line war front.
I'm not getting your point. Are you suggesting that I'm off topic?
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Old May 10, 2012, 11:20 pm
  #57  
 
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ride red,

let me try to help you. i go through bkk several times a year. the fastrack thing is truly a circus, it seems to change everytime i go. so be ready to have option B, C, etc... first of all, you are arriving towards the end of a busy period, arrivals 10pm to 12pm. even sunday can be crowded but probably less btwn may and nov. are you checking bags ? if so, my guess is your bags won't be on the carousel for at least 30 minutes. if you have to go through the normal immigration channels (assume no special line for C boarding pass), you won't wait more than 30 minutes. my guess is no more than 15. i don't recall immigration lines being the hold up in bkk when you check bags, it is usually the wait for the bags that kills you. yes, the lines can seem long but then you just wait for your baggage.

i almost always arrive at the C concourse using TG. the immigration hall near the C concourse has had a lane for fastrack/diplomatic in the past. due to circus, you have no idea if it will be there tomorrow (or even now, etc...). so take a look at the first immigration hall you come to. you can (i) try the fastrack lane with the boarding pass, if such lane exists (ii) get in the regular line if it doesn't look very long.

if that doesn't workout (no fastrack, overcrowded), walk towards the E concourse and you'll pass immigration hall #2, which is the real diplomatic/premium passenger area. i don't think they'll take your boarding pass but you could try. i went through there once with TG but i think TG can't go there anymore (but again, who knows what the deal will be tomorrow or next month......).

if you are shut out at the first hall and the second hall, then you end up at the last hall near concourse E. if you are lucky, the lines there will not be as full as they were at the first one. they may or may not have a fastrack.

i've had pretty good luck bypassing the hall near C concourse for the hall at E concourse (when traveling economy, no premium lane access). i think one reason is the people who bus in from the planes get directed to the C concourse. they get dropped off and go up an escalator, then keep walking straight to the immigration hall in front of them. what they don't know is there is another hall behind them and they can make a u-turn at the top of the escalator to get to it. so they bus in 400 people and all those passengers go to same immigration hall. very few go up the escalator and take a uturn at the top and go to E concourse immigration.

when you land and get inside the terminal, verify which concourse you are in. if you are in C, great. if you are in E,F, or G, then you do your first check in the immigration hall next to E, and do the above in reverse.
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Old May 10, 2012, 11:21 pm
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Originally Posted by ride red


Others in this thread have used a diplomatic line, I would like to know more about it.
I don't think you will get anywhere near the diplomatic line, security will pick you off, but if you are arriving after 1am, transferring or exiting BKK at this time is easy. Once you have picked up your bags, walk through the "nothing to declare" doors
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Old May 11, 2012, 5:32 am
  #59  
 
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Originally Posted by ride red
I'm a first time BKK visitor arriving Sunday at 1AM on TG from ICN on an award C ticket with my wife, and we have an early morning so I want as much sleep as possible. Fast track will be closed at that time?

What's my best bet for breezing through? Is there usually no lineup at this time of night? From the sounds of the thread, I should just go to the diplomatic line without asking permission? I'm a little concerned I'll waste time in that line and then I'll be told to PFO once I get to the front. Is the diplomatic line closed as well?
Up until two weeks ago I would have said you wouldn't have any problem arriving on that flight, even if you cannot use the fast track lane. I've used that very same flight extensively and never even bothered with fast-track when I did have it because there was never any waiting to speak of in all the times I've arrived at that time. But two weeks ago when I last flew that flight, it was a madhouse at that time. I made a brief report of that earlier in this thread. Not that my one-time experience means anything statistically, so you might end up breezing through. But I wouldn't count on it if I were you. Sorry I don't know how good your chances of using Fast-track are. I was in economy on my last flight so didn't inquire, and forgot to bring some of my surplus cards I had from the past.
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Old May 13, 2012, 5:03 am
  #60  
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Thumbs up Procedure for TG C arrivals now in place but poorly/not communicated

After an unhappy experience 10 days ago, I investigated the situation at BKK for the benefit of fellow FTalkers yesterday and can report the following:

At the arrival immigration checkpoint nearest to the C gates I noticed that on the far right, even more right than the diplomatic counter, there is now a counter where a large golden sticker "premium" is affixed.

I showed my TG C boarding pass at that counter and engaged the officer in a conversation regarding actual procedures (yes, I can speak Thai). He explained to me that the central "Suvarnabhumi Premium" counters have now a counter here too and all arriving passengers have to show the new golden premium cards if they wish to be served there (he had a nice stack beside him), EXCEPT for TG C (and the anyway escorted TG F) passengers who can show the TG boarding card instead. It appears that TG finally made a deal with "Suvarnabhumi Premium" which is not too early and a good thing.

Please report your experiences. For the moment it appears that we are all OK, except for that there is no signage and the flight crews are clueless. The only hint is the published benefit on the TG website.
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