brahms77

Sorry if this has been discussed in this thread, but I didn't really feel like going through this long thread...

Anyway, I had a "pleasure" of touring the new BKK this past March... and like most of you, I was vastly disappointed. Bare concrete walls and ceiling, visible pipelines, "cardboard" signs, etc. Ah, not to mention bus shuttle to and from the plane despite having so many gates empty.

The TG lounges are also not too impressive. Showers were still very unprepared. Lights are too dark in the main lounge (the one in the center of the terminal). And why is it that TG's largest lounge (again, the one in the center of the terminal) don't have showers? Is this because of recently opened the "Spa"?

Boy, ICN and HKG, especially considering their designs and purpose are similar, are far superior airports when the first opened (and it will continue to be).

To be honest, I miss DMK and its lounges (the one with a second floor) despite being smaller and old.

Trajan

brahms, to be fair you should try a variety of the TG lounges in Bangkok, there are quite of few as follows: (but I agree, I really like the two Cathay Pacific Lounges in HKG with the noodle bars----but they only have two lounges in total so if its crowded there is no escape)....

Royal First Lounge (Concourse D right after check-in) (1400 sq. meters with 174 seats)

Royal Silk Lounge (Concourse D right after check-in) (2140 sq. meters with 291 seats)

Royal Silk Lounge (Concourse C West) (137 seats)

Royal Silk Lounge (Concourse C East) (137 seats)

Royal Orchid Spa Lounge (Concourse D) (for use by Silks and Firsts)
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Royal Silk Lounge (Concourse E West)

Royal Orchid Lounge (Concourse E East) (with Silk and First zones)

Royal Silk Lounge (Concourse A for domestic flights) (657 sq. meters with 138 seats)
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(in future) Royal Orchid Arrivals Lounge (Arrivals Hall after customs check) (for use by Silks and Firsts)

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I noticed that in http://www.worldairlineawards.com/Aw...06/Lounges.htm
the world rankings were as follows:

(its not a surprise that Cathay Pacific was tops/near tops, but Thai seems to be gaining some ground)

FIRST CLASS LOUNGES
1 Cathay Pacific
2 Lufthansa
3 Thai Airways
4 South African Airways
5 Emirates
6 Malaysia Airlines
7 Gulf Air
8 Singapore Airlines
9 Asiana Airlines
10 British Airways

BUSINESS CLASS LOUNGES
1 Virgin Atlantic
2 Cathay Pacific
3 Gulf Air
4 Malaysia Airlines
5 South African Airways
6 Qantas Airways
7 China Airlines
8 Asiana Airlines
9 Swiss
10 Singapore Airlines

kkjay77

made a mistake here

Trajan

At BKK airport, I noticed that those "Louis Tavern" contract lounges in Concourses F & G are allocated to Star Alliance airlines Asiana(OZ), Austrian(OS), Swiss(LX) and United(UA).....

Im just curious, why dont those Star Alliance airlines just use TG lounges at BKK? [AllNippon(NH), Lufthansa(LH), SAS(SK) and Singapore(SQ) appear to use the TG lounges.....]

Also, can OZ,OS,LX and UA passengers (flying First or Biz or holding a Star Gold card) nevertheless by-pass the contract lounges and use TG lounges?

yalie25

i'm not sure what lounges you're referring to ("Louis Tavern"), but those *A airlines you listed are all welcome to use the TG lounges. if i had to guess why they weren't and using some other contracted lounge instead, it probably has to do with convenience/proximity to the gates for the passengers...if OZ, OS, LX, and UA only use gates in the F 'n G concourse, then maybe it's too much of a hassle for some to trek to concourses A-D to use the TG lounges.

sure, all *A gold and F/C pax on any *A carrier can use the lounge of any other *A carrier on the day of departure when traveling int'l, with few exceptions (e.g. SIN).

like most of us? disappointed? i was pretty impressed by the design of the airport...maybe it's just cause i'm from LA and the eyesore known as LAX airport is far more disappointing than anything i saw at BKK---from the design to the inconvenience of just getting around from one terminal to the other. can't say many other major us airports are any better....and even many major european airports are just as underwhelming. i've been through NRT, PEK, HKG, SYD, SIN, HKT and CNS when it comes to the Asia/Australia part of the globe, but none have been all that memorable...if BKK is so disappointing, what airports are so impressive out of curiosity?

Trajan

I dont believe convenience/proximity is an issue.....its only a few steps to the two Thai lounges in Concourse E (the Louis Tavern lounges are at the intersection of Concourses D,E,F&G----the Thai lounges in Concourse E is a very short distance from that intersection.....) ....there is no need to trek to Concourses A-D.....

I agree, I like the new Bangkok airport...I too am used to the US airports (if you are objective, you would complain about those airports) ...no airport is perfect....but the airports in Asia (like HKG, BKK, KUL, SIN) are my favorites....

Soju

Well said, Trajan, totally agree with you. BKK isn't perfect, but far better than the average airports I've seen around the world. Those of us in Asia tend to get spoiled with the great airports around here. I love ICN, BKK, HKG, and SIN, but each has it's own advantages and disadvantages.

What I love most about BKK is that on average, for me and my flying patterns, it's probably the fastest large international airport for getting me off the plane and into downtown. The ROP lounges are good, but I prefer the lounges (SQ's especially) at ICN. Aesthetically, BKK could definitely be improved, but I still think it's way better than DMK, and way better than the average airport around the world.

RWY02KTM

hello,

I flew through new BKK again this week. This was after a gap of almost 2 months. I think the airport is much improved. Few noticeable things on the lounges

- finally, all lounges seemed to have opened and functional.

-- the Main lounge (concourse D), was less crowded, but still full of people. yet in the morning rush hour, was able to find a table/chair to myself.

- The Councourse C lounge on the right side as u go towards the gate was nice and fairly empty, (the one on the left had more people). Now, the best thing about this lounge are the 'slumber rooms' where full length bunk style beds in small cubicles means that u can actually sleep away if u have long layovers.

-- the councourse C lounge also had noodles and hot food in the morning, which is not usual in the THAI lounges in BKK. Interestingly, their Tea collection seems to appear and disappear (today there was just the regular yellow bag, and chinese tea, whereas last monday there seemed to be more collection of teas.)

- Wifi seems to work on all lounges now.

Now, in general, about the airport

-- the lighting is much much much better. Specially in level 2, (arrivals area), during the first few trips, i always thought why was it so dark.

-- they seemed to have put efforts to clean the glasses, so natural lighting is also much better during the day. A lot of tiles seems to have been cleaned, but you can see where they had to be replaced and stand apart from the other tiles.

-- the bare walls seems to have either got paintings (level 2), or the usual JCdeaux displays.. though not many adverts.. still it's better then bare walls. (and also improves the lighting). not everywhere, but much better.

i guess we'll not see the crowds that we saw in DMK, given this airport is much larger, but was sort of feeling that the airport was way too empty in the mornings. i think the transit passengers are not going to Level 4 at all now.

thanks

TechnoOenology

Can anyone update me with the lounge situation in BKK - namely traveling on LX with a TG domestic connection (all in business class) and I'm *A gold. Which are best - TG Royal Silk lounges or Louis Tavern *A lounges?

Many thanks,

Techno

Thai-Kiwi

No change AFAIK. The THAI Lounges are quite OK, but the D Concourse Lounge (main lounge) can get pretty packed with all those *A*G and *A Biz pax. I prefer the C or E Lounges.

CDG1

Can anybody tell me if the Royal First Lounge at Concourse D still closes between 1.00 AM and 5.00 AM? The same question for the other TG lounges.

I guess Suvarnabhumi does not have anything equivalent to the SKL at Changi Airport that stay open 24 hours round-the-clock daily...

Is the Royal Orchid Spa now open? Has anybody tried it?

transpac

I'm pretty sure that all the lounges close from ~ 00:30 - 05:15.

The Spa is open.

Can anyone describe the TG Lounges in Concourse E, specifically:

1.) It looks like there are two lounges, and perhaps both are open to *G. Is there a difference?

2.) Opening hours?

3.) WiFi?

4.) I assume you need to clear security and head down to level 2. Are there security check-points near the lounge?

It sort of looks like the UA daily (departure) flight has moved from D2 to E2, perhaps as a result of the recent completion of runway and taxi-way repairs, so I'm trying to get up to speed for upcoming departures.

SaigonCyclo

East Side Lounge in E Concourse is open to *G. Looks identical to the lounge in the D Concourse. It's been open at 5:30am when I arrived from LAX. WiFi is available. Security checkpoint is similar to the set up in the D Concourse.

BHIL

As my flight to HAN is usually from on of the bus gates E1a or F1a so I have spent quite some time in both E-lounges:

1) Both are open for *G and there is no significant difference. I prefer the right-hand side lounge as I can watch the traffic on runway 1L/19R.

2) Not sure about the closing time but the lounge is always open when I arrive from CPH, sometimes around 5:40am if we are in early

3) Yes, free WIFI

4) I believe level 2 is arrival level. Lounges are on the normal gate departure level 3 just before the E-concourse security. Perfect location for flights leaving E, F or G concourse or from D5-D8 gates. Normally security checks for these concourses are fast and easy and nothing like the zoo around C-concourse before midnight.

Cheers,