BKK "Transfer"
 

Hi everyone,

My boyfriend and I are traveling to Thailand in April. We are going to arrive in BKK and then take a domestic flight (out of the international airport) out to Chiang Mai. I am worried about that transfer. We booked the domestic flight separately with the domestic airline Thai SMILES, so they have no idea that we are arriving 2 hours before they are due to depart. Does anyone know what we can do to help this go smoothly? So I'm concerned with:

1) Do we have to go through customs first and get our passports stamped, then come back in to check in again for the domestic flight? Or can we just go straight to domestic and stamp our passports in Chiang Mai?

2) The luggage! We were planning on checking bags so we'd have to wait for our bags to come out and then check them again? Is there a better way? Like maybe calling the airport or airlines and see if we can coordinate it? Or would I risk losing my luggage more, if I try to get them to transfer it?

With such a tiny time window, I'm scared we won't have time for customs AND waiting for the luggage AND checking in AND going thru security and everything again!

1) Yes. Why would you think it was different? Immigration after you have taken a domestic flight?!

2) You might convince the carrier taking you to BKK to check the bags all the way, but you would still have to pick them up and clear customs.

If money isn't an object, you can pay about 75 USD for two people for airport VIP service which lets you cut the line in immigration; great service if you don't have a fast pass. You even get a ride in an electric buggy if you have a distant gate.

Great info! Thanks so much! ^

This should probably be moved to the Thailand forum for the most accurate answer.

Actually I believe for some flights you can clear customs/immigration at your ultimate destination (including CNX and HKT). But some of the Thailand experts can answer that definitively.

Does Thai Smiles Airways fly out of the new BKK?

As a domestic carrier, I think they are out of the old airport Don Mung (sp).
If so, no way you can do a 2 hour transfer between airports

You can not clear immigration at your ultimate destination.
Immigration is done at first port of entry, BKK in this case.
Thai Smiles flies from BKK (Suvarnabhumi) airport and bags can be interlined if they have a agreement.
Otherwise you have to recheck your bags in Bangkok.

It's definitely out of Suvarnabhumi Airport BKK as it is a Thai Airways flight operated by Thai Smiles. Not sure what would have happened if I did Thai Smiles directly though. I definitely didn't want to go to Don Mueng or else I probably could have done a cheaper Nok Air or Asia Air.

About the bags, I did call BKK and they said we could "check through" our bags but we'd have to call Emirates (the airline we are taking from the US) first. I tried calling them and they didn't seem like they could do it, but the lady on the phone seemed to have a hard time understanding what I was even asking for...

Thanks for all your help everyone!! :)

Let's set the record straight here:

1) There is a transfer desk on the international arrival levels for domestic flights to select airports and CNX is one of these airports. So long as your bag is checked through to CNX you will not go through the regular immigration lane to streetside. Rather you will pick up your domestic BP on the 2nd (arrival) floor at the confluence of concourses A/B/C/D and go through Transfer Immigration there. You will pick up your bags and proceed through customs in CNX.

-All arriving passengers into BKK go through immigration whether it's ending up streetside through the main areas or transfer immigration when proceeding to a domestic flight. Customs can be dealt with at select airports which have these facilities and CNX is one of those.

2) When you check in with EK show them your separate itin to CNX and ask for your bags to be sent to the final destination. I know TG interlines with EK and see no reason why the inverse would be any different. Also, stop being concerned about TG vs TG :). This is all TG. Don't confuse anyone with extraneous information.

In the extreme case where EK says they cannot interline your bag then you'll be pressured for time but it absolutely can be done. Two hours is a legal connection if you need to get your bags in BKK. You'll need to go through the regular immigration lanes then get your bags. Customs is a breeze. Go up to the 4th floor and checkin. Domestic security is a breeze as well.

That being said, going through all this will be tight. The cutoff for domestic check in is 40 min IIRC so any delay in your incoming flight or baggage delivery can compromise the connection.

But, and this should be noted, you should have no problem getting your bags sent through to CNX.


[KVS Availability Tool 7.1.7 - Reference: Minimum Connection Time [MCT]: BKK/EK-TG]

http://www.suvarnabhumiairport.com/p...ic_noBD_en.php


Just in case you may not be aware of the annual smoke, smog and dust problems in the north of Thailand...but based on your handle you may know about this problem?


http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/...13-chiang-mai/

http://www.chiangmaicitynews.com/res...burning+season

http://aqmthai.com/


Maybe bring some masks?

Thank you so much for this info! That transfer immigration is a huge sigh of relief. I assume the lines will be shorter there. I will definitely try and check my bags through to CNX! I hope we don't run into issues...

I saw that TG allowed you to checkin online so I was hoping to save time by checking in online in DXB (I have a layover there about 6 hours before I arrive in BKK).

Also, thanks for this info! That first link was very helpful :)

And good eye! I am Thai but I haven't been back since I was really young so I guess I'll have to ask my uncle how bad the smog is. I really hope it's not so bad that I won't be able to do things like ziplining!!

I did a search (Google, not FT search), and lo! This appeared. Exactly what I was looking for, thanks for the info. dsquared37.

In February, I'll be flying to Koh Samui on two separate reservations, one booked on points (JFK-FRA-BKK) and another at cost (BKK-USM).

On the rewards itinerary ...
JFK-FRA is on LH
FRA-BKK is on TG

On the paid itinerary, I'm on Bangkok Airways.

I know that Thai Aiways and Bangkok Airways have an interline agreement at BKK, where I can check my bags all the way through to USM. However, will Lufthansa give me problems checking in my bags at JFK?

Closing the loop on my previous question ...

Lufthansa was nice enough to check our bags all the way to Koh Samui, even though one of my legs was on Bangkok Airways. The agent could not print our boarding passes though, which was expected, but I was able to print these at the domestic transfer desk at BKK with not much issue.

Furthermore, 2 hours was sufficient for this international to domestic transfer. I still had about 20 minutes to relax at the Bangkok Airways lounge after about 35 minutes of walking.