U-Tapao airport to serve as Bangkok's 3rd international airport.

[itchief]

The link below has a good story on how U-Tapao will serve as Bangkok's 3rd airport. The link contains a few other links to stories about making the changeover to an international airport. My guess is that this will not help us who travel from the USA or Europe but you might get some flights from within Asia.

 

 

http://www.airliners.net/aviation-forums/general_aviation/read.main/6418121/

[ricktoronto]

Isn't it already receiving flights from Cambodia? It was for a while there. Makes it an international airport already then.

 

It has flights from Russia and China (charters, no doubt, oh joy) today. 

[Daddee]

yep, it's an international airport, gets flights from china and russia already, and air asia was supposed to start flights in from KL just recently...  dunno about Cambodia.

[Luv2Phuket]

Aren't the flights from China and Russia chartered flights?

 

Frankly, I don't know WTF the difference is....but thought I'd ask anyway!  55555

[LRanger]

Utapao to Pattaya - 1 hour 7 minutes

 

Bangkok to Pattaya - 1 hour 45 minutes

 

Not a stunning difference really. 

[muldoon]

Utapao to Pattaya - 1 hour 7 minutes

 

Bangkok to Pattaya - 1 hour 45 minutes

 

Not a stunning difference really. 

 

U-Tapao doesn't look that from from Pattaya on the map.

Maybe 1/4 the distance of BKK to Patts as the crow flies.

 

Why does it take so long (e.g. 67 minutes?)

 

Is the road a donkey track, or just a heavily used one lane (each way) road?

 

Air Asia are planning to have flight from KLIA to U-Tapao which would be good if I am not flying direct to BKK from Melbourne.

I hope the road from A-Tapao to Patts gets an upgrade in the not too distant future.

[LRanger]

that's just the google times.

 

whilst nice idea, it really depends on arrival times and with limited competition I woudnt expect AA to be cheap.  and connections zero.

 

any option to pattaya is good though!!

 

Mr T charges a little less from UTP I think.

[shadowcat]

AIR ASIA flyutp kl next month. Last time I flew Phuket -UTP  With Bangkok  Air i think it only took 45min to get into Patts

[Sick Water Buffalo]

The way things are going, just opening up UTP to commercial flights from China would probably free up significant space at BKK/DMG.

Get the Chinese coming into Pattaya nowadays to fly through UTP instead...   ...Air Asia is already planning six UTP-to-China commercial routes for later this year.  

 

Unless the Powers That Be decide to finally build the oft-proposed-and-studied-yet-never-decided high speed rail link from BKK past Pattaya to Rayong, I wouldn't expect UTP to take significant passenger traffic from DMG and BKK.  Perhaps in addition to China, it could entice Japan Air Lines and Korean Air to change their current UTP charter flights from Tokyo/Osaka and Seoul/Busan into regular commercial flights. If they want significant passenger traffic through UTP, they're going to have to build the bullet train to Bangkok (with a midway stop outside Pattaya, naturally).

 

It probably won't make a difference to many farang since direct long-haul flights (from Europe and NA) will likely all still go into BKK. But if you're doing a connection in Singapore (for Aussies), Hong Kong, even Kuala Lumpur, you may be able to get UTP flights from there (Air Asia starts this next month) relatively soon; perhaps in a few years connections from elsewhere in Asia?

 

One interesting thing looking at the flight statistics is that it seems to me that there are a lot fewer flights coming from India than I'd expect (considering how many of our subcontinental friends are around town)... New Delhi is 10th (barely beating out Saigon) and Mumbai 21st (basically the same as Sydney) for BKK passengers, and doesn't even make the list for DMG. How do all the Indians get here?

 

What they could do is shift a bunch of cargo handling from BKK to UTP, which would at least free up some flight slots but wouldn't make a difference in alleviating passenger traffic bottlenecks.

 

Unsure what the UTP general strategy would be in addition to being the China-Pattaya link, aside from just taking whatever flights they can from the more central Bangkok airports. DMG is pretty much set now as a short-haul domestic and regional hub for low-cost airlines; and BKK for the mainline airlines and longer routes.

[chris2004]

Utapao to Pattaya - 1 hour 7 minutes

 

Bangkok to Pattaya - 1 hour 45 minutes

 

Not a stunning difference really. 

 

Last time i came back from Don Meung to Pattaya it was 6 hours door to door. I bet i could drive to Utapao in under an hour.

[roger buttmore]

Last time i came back from Don Meung to Pattaya it was 6 hours door to door. I bet i could drive to Utapao in under an hour.

 

I bet you could too.

 

It takes about 45 minutes to get from U-Tapao to Pattaya, Soi Leng Kee as it happens. I know because I did it, travelling regular speeds.

[davidge]

Didn't the motorway extension to Rayong recently get the go ahead?

 

It may reduce driving time a little if there's a decent link road to the airport.

Even if it's not a direct route, it may at least take some of the traffic off the other roads.

[bonlondon]

The Chinese flyers at BKK are grtting harder and harder to tolerate

 

Woukd be great to have them follow their flag bearer to Utapao

[nixonsbest]

I have flown in and out of Utapao anyone else?

[LRanger]

All new options are good options.

[vimto66]

I have flown in and out of Utapao anyone else?

I flew out of utapao on singapore airline `silk air` 20 odd years ago,flown into utapao but not from another country,it was from koh samui,that was Bangkok airways.

[Stillearly]

Utapao to Pattaya - 1 hour 7 minutes

 

Bangkok to Pattaya - 1 hour 45 minutes

 

Not a stunning difference really.

 

Plus it only takes about five mins from landing to collecting your luggage and leaving the Airport at Utapao

 

Same when you check in and go through security , very easy

[Daddee]

I flew into UTapao last trip, on Kan Air, from Udon Thani, was quite nice... 

[Nws]

I travel from KL, last 2 trips I've gone with Malaysian Air to BKK, for my next trip I've just booked Air Asia to UTP.

 

Flight is cheaper by some way.

 

Expect the time from touchdown to clearing customs to be a lot less at UTP to BKK as well as about 45min less for ground transfer, so wins for me all day long, just hope they open up more flights as currently only 5 a week

[QuotaMan]

Flew into Utap last trip from Phuket. Nice little airport, small and no frills, exit airplane, go into small terminal, pick up luggage, and out the front door. PT taxi to Pattaya 600 baht

[iluvasians/latins]

So much potential at this airport.

[skink]

I've only flown out of UTP. The drive from Pattaya seemed to have a lot of traffic signals so I guess if you catch every red light it could add some time to the trip. I didn't think to look at the exact time it took to make the drive, but it was definitely less than an hour. The best part was (as others have mentioned) that the time it took to walk from the entrance to my gate, including checking in and clearing security, took less than 5 minutes. 

 

If the wiki is accurate these are the current routes served by UTP:

 

AirAsia - Kuala Lumpur (begins 15 July 2015)

Bangkok Airways - Koh Samui, Phuket

Kan Air - Bangkok-Don Mueang, Chiang Mai, Hat Yai,Hua Hin,Khon Kaen,Ubon Ratchathani, Udon Thani

China Airlines - Charter: Kaohsiung, Taipei–Taoyuan

China Eastern Airlines - Charter: Shanghai–Pudong

China Southern Airlines - Charter: Guangzhou

Dragonair - Charter: Hong Kong

Japan Airlines - Charter: Osaka–Kansai, Tokyo–Narita

Korean Air - Charter: Busan, Seoul–Incheon

UTair Aviation - Charter: Novosibirsk, Omsk, Rostov-on-Don

 

(sorry, cut and paste didn't work that well)

[Sick Water Buffalo]

Advertising the UTP-Kuala Lumpur flights on Beach Road.

 

 

[Nws]

I'm flying in on Friday from KL anyone know of ATM & SIM card vendors at UTAP ?

[Harvey707]

Aren't the flights from China and Russia chartered flights?

 

Frankly, I don't know WTF the difference is....but thought I'd ask anyway!  55555

 

About 6" in Seat Pitch that's the difference....!!