bp888

I will be arriving next month on JL from NRT into the new Suvarnabhumi airport for the first time and I've got to meet up with friends who are arriving on PR from MNL so we can go together in one limo to our hotel.

1. Looking at the terminal map, it looks like all arrivals exit to the same arrival concourse at Level 2 (unlike at Don Muang where there were 2 arrival concourses, one each at Terminals 1 and 2). Is this right?

2. As I'm looking at the map, is the people flow from top to bottom?

3. What are those long black objects numbered 1-23? Are those baggage belts? If so, why is Customs before the belts?

4. It looks like passport control (Immigrations) is decentralized into 5 different locations. Yes? (Noticed a passport control icon in the center of the map away from the gates. Why?)

5. I assume the limo counters, ATMs and forex booths are also located just outside Customs on Level 2?

6. Finally, what is the correct pronunciation of "Suvarnabhumi?"

I must say the terminal map is rather confusing so TIA for any insight.

SaigonCyclo

I like this map better. Scroll your cursor over each area for more detail.

http://www2.airportthai.co.th/airpor...p2.asp?lang=en

Customs is after the baggage belts. Passport control is before.

There's an ATM near baggage belt 10 right next to a small duty free shop and a currency exchange booth. Others outside. The map above shows atm locations.

There is a limo counter just before you pass through customs and one right after you get past customs and into the terminal (AOT I believe).

Soowannapoom is the correct pronounciation.

MegatopLover

To answer your questions:

1) Yes, all arriving passengers from the five international concourses (C through G) all come to the same terminal building at BKK. So do domestic pax, who have a separate "inside Thailand" area. There are, however, two exits from the "border of Thailand" customs zone: exits B and C. Although the customs zone is one big area and you can move freely inside it, the design guides pax who collect bags from belts 7-16 to Exit B and from belts 17-23 to Exit C. If you and your friends come out through different exits, it may be difficult to find one another because, once out of the customs zone and through the small roped-off arrivals area, the crowds are no different from those at Don Muang. For possible solution, see below.

2) Basically, yes. The flow is from all concourses to the area where the monkey guardians are, then from top to bottom. Everything is on the same level unlike, say, Incheon or the old Don Muang.

3) Yes. Customs is not before the baggage belts. Immigration is before the belts, customs after. The little symbols on the map are mislabeled. The little orange one with the guy in uniform holding up a paper is supposed to be immigration, not customs. The little orange one with the guy in uniform going through a suitcase is customs, not shops/restaurants.

4) It's not. Again, the symbols are mislabeled. The little box with the line between two planes is supposed to indicate transit desks/points, not passport control (immigration).

5) There are AoT official limo counters inside the customs zone, before the customs checkpoint. I've never done it myself, but I believe that if you get AoT limo service, the drivers or their helpers go to the belts with you and help you collect your baggage (read: help you drive the inoperable baggage trolleys). There are also Forex booths just inside the customs zone, immediately after you clear immigration. Both limo counters and Forex booths are also available after you clear customs, but the crowds and touts make that area a zoo, so I'd suggest using those inside the customs area. (For that and another reason, see below.) I'm not sure about ATMs.

6) SaigonCyclo has the correct pronounciation: Soo-wan-na-poom. Suvarna means "golden," bhum means "land." Has a nicer ring than "Cobra Swamp."

Yes, the map is very confusing. Mostly because the symbols are mislabeled.

Because BKK can be such a mess after you get out of customs and find yourself right in the middle of the meeters-and-greeters crowds (and taxi touts) in an area far too small for its intended use, I would suggest that if at all possible, whichever of you arrives first clear immigration and collect your baggage but wait in the relatively quiet and spacious baggage hall before clearing customs. You can check the arrivals boards to see where your friend's flight will arrive from, then meet him at the appropriate baggage belt. At that point, arrange for your limo driver and after the last of you arrive, go through customs together. This will keep you out of the crowds (maybe I'm making it sound worse than it is), make meeting up far easier, and solve the problem of possibly passing through different exit points. You should be able to hang out in the baggage-claim hall for a decent amount of time without a problem.

You can find more information about Suvarnabhumi in the Thailand forum here on FT. A search for my name will turn up several threads with extensive descriptions.

Speaking of the Thailand forum, how about getting this thread moved over there?

bp888

SaigonCyclo, thanks for the link. That is indeed a better map.

MegatopLover, thank you so much for your detailed response. I will look up your other posts on BKK in the Thailand forum.

Would an hour be considered a decent amount of time? Are there places to sit in the baggage claim hall? I see in the map that SaigonCyclo linked to that there are shops/restaurants between baggage claim and the meet-and-greet area outside Customs, are the entrances to these shops at the public side?

Oops, I didn't even realize there was a separate forum for Thailand. Mod: please move this thread there. Thanks!

MegatopLover

My pleasure. Glad I can be of help-- returning the favor for all that FT has done for me and whatnot.

IIRC, there are a few seating areas inside the baggage claim hall. Nothing particularly comfy, but if peace-and-quiet is more important than comfort, this should work well. I think you'd be fine for a couple of hours. If someone came over to offer you assistance, you can just say you're waiting for someone and you'll be fine. I wouldn't worry at all. I've done it for a few hours at ICN without any problems.

I don't think there are any restaurants in the baggage claim area. I can't recall seeing any. The symbols on the maps probably indicate a small duty-free stand inside the baggage claim area, your last-ditch opportunity for duty-free shopping in the megamall that airplanes happen to park at. The others are just outside customs.

If you want a restaurant or the like to chill out in, your best bet would be to exit customs, go up to the departures level, then go up again to the SkyTerrace (or whatever it's called) up above the departures hall. That has a bunch of restaurants and should have nice views of the airport and airfield. You can watch for your friends plane to come in and use that as your cue to go downstairs to meet him at the exit from customs.

transpac

If you have cleared Immigration, retrieved your bags and cleared Customs, you will come out into the Arrivals Hall on level 2. You will use one of two exits: B or C. If you look up you will see a flight status board which lists, among other information, which exit a specific flight will use, based on the baggage carousel location. So you should be able to determine which exit your friends will use.

Personally, with a wait of more than 30 minutes, I would clear everything and head up to level 3 where you will find many food and beverage outlets. There is also reasonably comfortable seating on this level and it is relatively quiet, and plenty of bathrooms. I usually wait here, then head down one level ~ 30 minutes after the persons plane has landed.

Based on a dozen or so meets and greets, some with family members I have never met so would not recognize, I now choose an exit door number and level to meet people. Standing outside and facing the front of the main passenger terminal building there are ten (10) doors, labeled conveniently one through 10, left to right. These doors are on levels 1, 2 & 4. So now I just tell people I will, say, meet them at door #6 on level 4. (You can choose level 1, 2 or 4; I choose level 4 as it is usually less congested, and door 6 as it is more or less right in the middle.)

rhodeswood

A further note on the Sky Lounge restaurants which are above the departures level: they are very good for a panoramic view of airfield operations, but they are also often uncomfortably hot. The air conditioning at Suvarnabhumi is terribly underpowered for such a large building, and as the Sky Lounges are at the highest point of the structure - well...heat rises.