Propping to Paradise on Bangkok Airways (BKK-USM, USM-HKT, HKT-KUL)

Introduction

Hello, welcome to my first trip report and first post here at Airliners.net. I’ve been hanging around for the past 4 years, and now finally decided to sign up. A little bit about myself: 24 years old, from the Netherlands, graduate in Marketing and Economics, and currently in between jobs after travelling a large part of the Southern and Western United States and Indonesia and Thailand for months as well as taking two summer courses at the University of California, Berkeley (Go Bears!). When it comes to the aviation hobby, I’m more interested in the operation side of the wonderful world of aviation, as well as the overall travel experience. Most trips I take tend to include an interesting city as well and a 2nd mode of transportation beside an airplane. I especially like exploring countries by train, guess you can call that a hobby as well. It isn’t just about the flying  

Anyway, the past 4 months I’ve done quite a bit of travelling – and made over 70 flights. I was not really planning on writing any trip reports on any of these flights, but by coincidence I had taken some more pictures then I usually do about a couple of the flights. This includes my journey to the small Thai island of Ko Tao, in the Gulf of Thailand, which is featured in this trip report.

Trip planning

Right, so I knew I had to be on the small island Ko Tao in the in last week of October to take a PADI Open Water Diving Course (I think I’m addicted to scuba diving now, a new hobby perhaps?) No airport there, so a ferry or boat ride is required. There are several means to get to Ko Tao from Bangkok. A combination of overnight trains and busses to Chumpron, followed by a lengthy ferry ride is the most backpacker-ish and cheapest option, whilst flying to the nearby island of Ko Samui and taking a fastboat from there the most quick and expensive one. Getting to Malaysia from Ko Tao basically offers the same options, the ferry to Chumpron and then on the train to Kuala Lumpur, or a fastboat back to Ko Samui and fly to KL. The Chumpron option definitely didn’t appeal, both because of the time it would take and well, because it wouldn’t involve any flying. So via Ko Samui it was.

The inbound flight was quite straightforward. Bangkok Airways – Asia’s Boutique Airline, as they call themselves – operates an almost hourly service between Bangkoks Suvarnabhumi Airport and the Ko Samui Airport. Bangkok Airways actually privately owns the airport on Ko Samui and it has only been a few years since also Thai Airways has 2 daily flights between the capitol and the island. I opted for Bangkok Airways (PG), because of the many flights to choose from, and to experience their boutique service, which includes meals on all flights and lounge access for all passengers. Most of PG’s flights between Bangkok and Samui Airport are on Airbus A319’s, but a few of them are on ATR 72’s. Since I have logged almost 20 Airbus A319’s, but only 1 ATR, the choice was simple. On a related note, you can easy recognize the ATR’s in PG’s schedule. The Airbus-operated flights are blocked at 1 hour, whilst the slower ATR needs 1 hour and 30 minutes to reach the island.

For the outbound flight I could have chosen to fly the 1 daily flight by Firefly, between Ko Samui and Kuala Lumpurs Subang Airport. But that would just be too easy. I was keen on taking a small detour via Phuket, to experience the Sint Maarten-like conditions of Phukets beachside airport. I toyed around with the idea of flying back to Bangkok, and catch a Airbus A300 or domestic 747 flight to Phuket but in the end I settled on a direct flight from Ko Samui to Phuket, once again on a Bangkok Airways ATR 72.
Finally the last leg, from Phuket to Kuala Lumpur. Two direct options here, Air Asia and Malaysian Airlines. I chose the latter, no fuss with bag fees and all that, and I wouldn’t mind trying some Malaysian Hospitality. Added bonus: MH’s flight was operated by a Boeing 737-400, which is off course getting a lot more rare then another ‘boring’ Airbus A320 that Air Asia operates.

The final routing as illustrated by the Great Circle Mapper:

Monday, October 24th 2011
Bangkok Airways Flight PG906
Bangkok Suvarnabhumi (BKK) – Samui International Airport (USM)
ATR 72-500
Seat 15A

142nd overall flight
1st flight on Bangkok Airways
1st flight on an ATR 72-500 (2nd flight on an ATR 42/72)
1st flight on an Bangkok Airways ATR 72-500 (1st flight on a Bangkok Airways ATR 42/72)
2nd visit to BKK (1st take-off from BKK) and 1st visit to USM (1st landing at USM)

Departure Time (Scheduled/Actual): 15.35 / unknown
Arrival Time (Scheduled/Actual): 17.05 / unknown
Block time (Scheduled / Actual): 1.30 / unknow
Flight duration: unknown (approx. 1 and 15 minutes)
Mileage: 288 nm

PG offers check-in 24 hours before departure, so I checked myself in to a nice window seat from my hostel the day before. When checking in on-line I noticed that the flight had been rescheduled to 16.00 hours, I had not received any message about this at all. The retiming was reflected in the flight schedule for the entire week, but once on the airport it was still listed on the FIDS as departing at 15.35. The boarding pass did list the new departure time. Confusing stuff.
I heard some bad things about PG’s check-in process at BKK (long queues), but it didn’t turn out to be all that bad. 3 check-in desk were open, and about 10 groups of passengers waiting, so I was quickly able to drop my bag. Security to the domestic departures area was quick too, and quite a breeze compared to the TSA security checks I grew accustomed to in the US. No need to take off shoes and belt, and I even forget to take some coins out of my pockets – it didn’t set off any alarms.

So Bangkok Airways offers lounge access to their so called ‘Boutique Lounge’ for all passengers. There is also a separate (probably more elaborate) lounge for business class passengers. Let’s check out this boutique lounge. I apologize for low quality and lack of pictures, not planning to write a report, remember?





The lounge was pretty large, with comfortable benches and seats. Several drinks were on offer, coffee and tea (both brewed and from a machine), juices and lemonades, and several snacks such as small sandwiches and peanuts. There was also free wifi, login to this wifi was possible by typing in your flight number, seat number and name as written on your boarding pass. Unfortunately, this was not working for me. I chatted a bit with a lady next to me, who was later able to log in using her details. Oh well.

After some coffee and sandwiches I made my way to the gate. Since there was no plane at the gate, and I could see some ATR’s in the fair distance at the remote stands, I assumed we would be bussed to the plane. After a little while two busses arrived, as well as an Airbus that had just landed and would be operating the 16.30 flight to Ko Samui, and would – due it’s faster cruising speed – arrive at about the same time as our 16.00 departure. Boarding was done in zones, with pax seated in rows 1-12 in the first bus, and rows 12 – 20 and the remaining passengers in the 2nd bus.







The flight was quite uneventful. From my A window seat I had a very nice view over the Thai shoreline from Bangkok to Sattahip before our journey over the open sea started. After about 20 minutes the inflight service started. PG advertises meals on all flights, so I was curious to see what they would come up with for this short flight. It turn outs an entire tray was served, with a sliced sandwich, a small cake, coffee/tea and juice. After an hour flying we started our descent, and on time arrival was announced by the captain.









No jet bridges at the small Samui Airport, only about 5 remote stands. No busses to get you to the terminal either, but cute little golfcar-like trams instead. The arrivals building consisted of two pagoda-shaped buildings, one for domestic arrivals and one for international arrivals. Many outdoor areas and vegetation, making it fit in to the surrounding landscape in a very nice way. You can find more pictures of the airport in the report on the outbound flight. The last picture below is the flight from Bangkok that departed after my flight, backtracking after its landing.















Ko Tao
From Ko Samui, Lomprayah High Speed Ferry took me to Ko Tao, and I must say, I had a great time there. Great atmosphere, great scenery, loads of fun, and yes, I’m addicted to diving now. A few pictures to illustrate this paradise on earth.





















Friday, November 4th 2011
Bangkok Airways Flight PG259
Samui International Airport (USM) – Phuket International Airport (HKT)
ATR 72-500
Seat 15A

143rd overall flight
2nd flight on Bangkok Airways
2nd flight on an ATR 72-500 (3rd flight on an ATR 42/72)
2nd flight on an Bangkok Airways ATR 72-500 (2nd flight on a Bangkok Airways ATR 42/72)
2nd visit to USM (1st take-off from USM) and 1st visit to HKT (1st landing at HKT)

Departure Time (Scheduled/Actual): 11.00 / unknown
Arrival Time (Scheduled/Actual): 12.00 / unknown
Block time (Scheduled / Actual): 1.00 / unknown
Flight duration: unknown (approx. 40 minutes)
Mileage: 155 nm

Samui International Airport basically consists of three different buildings. An arrivals building, check-in building and departures building. My taxi dropped me off at the check-in area, where my bag was quickly checked and boarding was issued. You then walk to the departures via a small shopping street. The arrivals building seemed to be completely separate, I could find a walkway towards the arrivals hall. The entire complex consists of small wooden pagoda’s, with flower gardens, small ponds and grass. It felt more like a golf resort or something then an airport. The departures area has 5 gates, and a so called courtesy corner for Bangkok Airways passengers. Once again free coffee, tea and juices were available, as well as some small snacks.

Main building and shopping street:







Walkway after security, duty free on the left, gates on the right:



Courtesy corner and waiting lounge for gate 1:







Some more pictures of the ‘resort’ airport:









Two PG birds awaiting their next flight, and a big sister arriving:



My ride today, appropriately named Phuket:



Beautiful view of the island just after take-off:



This being an even shorter flight, I was curious to see what kind of meal they would serve today. I was not disappointed. No trays, but a small box was handed out, with the choice of either coffee/tea or juice. In the box was a potato salad with a selection of cheese and meats. Very tasty, better than the sandwich on the earlier flight, imo. A short flight, so it wasn’t until long before we started our descent. We were treated to a great view of some of the small islands northeast of Phuket. One of these islands is known as the James Bond Island, because the main villain from the Bond movie ‘The Man With The Golden Gun’ had his fictional headquarters on one of these islands.









Phuket – Nai Yang Beach and Nai Yang Beach Resort
I spent my single night in Phuket nearby the airport, in the small town of Nai Yang Beach. I decided to go splurge here, and booked the only resort in this town, with the rather non-imaginary name Nai Yang Beach Resort. Quite expensive for Thai standards, but worth the money. In excellent condition, friendly staff, delicious breakfast buffet, comfy beds, several swimming pools to choose from, and 2 minutes walking to the town ‘center’ and the beach. From the beach you can walk to Phuket’s runway in about 20-30 minutes. Unfortunately, landings were to the west this time, so no Sint Maarten-style landings today. But, the take-offs over the beach were quite impressive too. Having a triple seven blast off over your head while swimming in a nice and warm ocean is quite an experience, I must say.

Two A.net database pictures to illustrate how close the Phuket Airport runway is to the beach:

View Large View Medium Photo © Jakkrit Prasertwit

View Large View Medium Photo © Bill Blanchard - AirTeamImages

Nai Yang Beach, with a Malaysian Airlines Boeing 737 taking off in the far distance:



Nai Yang Beach main street:



Nai Yang Beach Resort reception area:



The resort itself consists of several of these ‘wings’ as they call it. A swimming pool with a bunch of bungalows around them. My bungalow was the left (not in picture):



Saturday, November 5th 2011
Malaysian Airlines Flight 787
Phuket International Airport (HKT) – Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KUL)
Boeing 737-400
Seat 23F

144th overall flight
1st flight on Malaysian Airlines
4th flight on an Boeing 737-400 (28th flight on a Boeing 737)
1st flight on an Malaysian Airlines Boeing 737-400 (1st flight on a Malaysian Airlines Boeing 737)
2nd visit to HKT (1st take-off from HKT) and 1st visit to KUL (1st landing at KUL)

Departure Time (Scheduled/Actual): 10.30 / unknown
Arrival Time (Scheduled/Actual): 12.55 / unknown
Block time (Scheduled / Actual): 1.25 / unknown
Flight duration: unknown (approx. 1 hour and 15 minutes)
Mileage: 437 nm

The next morning I treated myself to the huge breakfast buffet in the resort. Many fresh Asian and Western options, very nice after eating more basic food in Ko Tao for 10 days   Then the hotel shuttle dropped me of at Phuket Airport. No offence to the airport, but the place is a dump. It’s crowded, it’s cramped, it’s ugly. Fortunately my flight departed at a quiet moment, I can’t imagine what a mess it would be if there a bunch of widebodies departing at the same time. Anyway, the check-in desks for MH weren’t busy and neither was security. MH offers only check in 72 hours in advance, and I originally checked myself in for seat 27F. However, when I was at the beach the other day I noticed that the views on the other side were much better. You can only check online once at MH, so I had to ask the check in agent to change my seat. She looked at me as if it was the strangest request she had all week, but changed my seat to 27A. And that turned out to be a good choice, the view after take-off was splendid - Nai Yang Beach is all the way to the left:



A light load today, about 60% I think - I had the entire row to myself. If I recall correct, there were 4 flight attendants working this flight, two in the business class section and two in economy class. The two in the back were very friendly, definitely working on the Malaysian Hospitality. I was curious to see what kind of inflight catering this flight would have. Once again a short flight, but on my confirmation it said “Meals: provided”. Let’s see what kind of meal it would turn out to be… Well, again I was not disappointed: a hot meal was served, and there was even a choice between a Western meal (a waffle) or an Asian meal (chicken noodles). I opted for the latter, which was served on a small tray with some chocolates, a small cake and a cup of OJ. Also a choice of hot and cold drinks was offered, including beer and wine. A second round of drinks was offered later on - all with friendly smiles. Although this type of noodles isn’t my favorite (I prefer the thinner ones, such as in pad thai) the meal was quite tasty. Good job MH!





Flying time was about 1 and 15 minutes, I think. We had a downwind approach into KUL, with a nice flight path straight over the city. Arrival was about 10 minutes late, but with KUL being such an easy airport to navigate and efficient immigration, I believe I was on my way to the city around 13.30.





General conclusion:
I was rather impressed with my first true taste of true Asian airlines. As a European used to carriers that resort to a simple snack on flights shorter than 1 hour and 30 minutes (Sucre ou Salé, Air France?) the catering on both airlines was excellent. On ground service on all airports was quick and efficient. The Bangkok Airways experience was especially nice, I can definitely recommend them for flights in and around Thailand. When searching for other options for flights I noticed that they weren’t even necessarily more expensive then Thai Airways or Air Asia – boutique airline is definitely a great description, and I can see why they’ve won the Best Regional Airline Award a couple of times in a row.

Comments and questions are appreciated!