My wife and I will be arriving BKK on UA837 around midnight. The next morning at 7:00AM we will depart for HKT (in C). Please tell me if this plan will work:

- Check bags through to HKT
- Use one of the Louis' Tavern day rooms from 00:00 to 05:00
- Check-in for BKK-HKT flight at transit counter
- If shower/bath facilities at the transit hotel are shared (or otherwise nasty) use the showers in the D concourse TG Business Lounge. Otherwise just wait in the lounge.
- Around boarding time go through the international-domestic checkpoint (near the transit counters) and head to the gate
- Clear immigration, pickup bags, and clear customs in HKT

Questions:

Assuming that this plan will work does anyone have any experience with the day room facilities?

Will immigration at HKT be open when our flight arrives (08:20 on a Friday)?

The other option would be to clear immigration at BKK, but that will mean a potentially long line (lots of flights in that bank) and a long wait for bags. Since we'll have (at most) about 4:30 sleep time I would hate to suck up an hour just getting out of the airport and over to the Novotel.

Thoughts?

Thanks!!!

Immigration will be open at HKT.

Assuming UA will interline your bags and you are confident in that process then your plan should work.

On a recent TG flight BKK-HKT, as a domestic passenger, I was in a fixed gate (A6) area in the domestic concourse with ~ 250 passengers (747), most of whom were in international transit. But they could have easily walked back through to the domestic terminal building and entered Thailand bypassing Immigration and Customs. There have been other reports here of domestic pax being bused to the plane, and/or int'l pax being bused to the plane?

AFAIk the TG lounge in concourse A does not have showers. Some TG lounges may still be open (until 01:00?) but I am not sure what their entrance requirements might be. Maybe they'd check you in for the next day's flight?

This will work as long as you have availability in the Louis Tavern rooms which I don't think you can reserve in advance but I am not sure.
You might be able to get your BKK-HKT BP from UA, if not from transit desk international at BKK.
You will not go to domestic gate on your own.
You will leave from an international gate to HKT either direct to plane or by bus.
Immigration at HKT is open.

I did an international to domestic transit a few weeks ago and was allowed to make the trip alone. Well, I had my TG F escort for part of it, but we parted ways before getting to the gate.

IIRC there was a checkpoint between the international and domestic terminals where my BP was checked and I was tagged (literally) as an international passenger. I was then allowed to walk to the gate (A6 IIRC), go through security, and board the plane. There were a number of other international passengers doing the same thing.

Do it many times......
Ok, UA will check you bags, Louis Taven has only a few room right now, ande the TG Transit Desk is a the juinction of ABCD on level two if you get room at LT is on Lev 4 Sec G. A long way from the TG desk. I was the "Ghost of SuwannaBoom" one night but did a self gueded tour as LT had no rooms... There are suppose to be more rooms....
Call them ++66-6-317-2211 do a search on my posts to find more info...Both on TG and UA boards..If you have more questions PM me............ If I have the number I gotta be right<NO?

Thanks for the info, this would be an easy way in the country without going through immigration....
But then in HKT it has always been possible as long as you do not have checked bags.

Last time I was bussed from an international gate to the plane. It might depend on number of passengers. Would prefer to be able to walk....

That is only possible on TG going to Phuket, Chiang Mai, Chinag Rai and Hat Yai, all of which have Immigration and Customs. Other domestic destinations require that you clear Immigraiton and Customs in BKK.

NOTE: the poster stated that the trip was to HKT
BTW chaing Rai is not listed and and Int'l Airport

Well, I called the Louis Tavern dayroom facility and they still are not accepting reservations. When asked she did say that they were often fully booked overnight. Since my flight gets in late I'm not sure if I want to risk it or not.

I would rather not exit the airport in BKK to stay at the Novotel given the very short length of our layover. If we check our bags all the way through to HKT on the hope that a dayroom is available what happens if there is no room and we have to leave the airport?

Aside from the fact that a walk from the low D gates to the end of the G concourse will take some time and likely put us at the end of a very long immigration queue what would we do about our bags? They would come out in the international arrivals area in Phuket.

They don't take reservations, but I think they do take advance prepaid bookings, though don't know if you can do an advance booking via phone/credit card or not. Try to call them back and specifically mention you'd like to pay now for a room on a certain date/time. I think the girl will get confused though if you use the word "reservation". Of course you may not be able to cancel a prepaid room.

Tried thast already and they don't take "tea money" either,
as for the other posters...If I had to be the SuwannaBoom Pee again I would...ther is ample seating at the TG Transit Gate. and here is a good Hint! There are too many Muslim Prayer Rooms but they don;t lock them and it is also a good place to get off you fee for a while.....

Tour the Airport, voew the art work, enjoy some food, smoke a cuban cigar, best of all visit Chjang Massage (7shops) and get relaxed....I took the aroma therapy which included a shower in a nice dimly lighted room with a very nice young lady...Most pleasent and she did a great job earning a good tip! Even with all the room they had at term 1/2 in Don Muang still the late arrivals were truned away and a DO SAY that SuwannBoom is a far better place to be stranded for a few hours. Chang Massage is the palce to go!

I went up to the dayrooms a few days ago to enquire about reservation for a stay mid December. There are only 2 options:

1) Make a booking there on the spot and pay in advance (either cash or cc).
2) Book by calling them on a mobile number and then paying by bank transfer to a local account. There is no option to pay by cc over the phone.
In both cases reservations are strictly non-refundable (no date change allowed either).

As others have indicated they currently seem to fully booked quite often. The girl did mention however that early December another floor will open and she expects the situation to get much better.

Another option might be to just show up and get a suite if their regular rooms are fully booked. Unless of course the suites are also all taken, but usually they have some available. I don't recall the exact prices, but I think they were something like 50% more than the regular rooms. If interested, you can search for that as I posted the exact prices a while back.

Yes, but if paying that price wouldn't it just be better to take a res at the Novotel? I have made a reservation over the phone and faxed in a copy of my credit card (both sides). This was at Don Muang though. The rooms themselves were very . I hope the "new" Louis Tavern is nicer!

Definitely, I'd go for the Novotel over Louis Tavern in that case. But if someone really didn't want to leave the airport it is an option.