U-Tapoa International Airport flights to Australia

[Jarrod2518]

 

Like every Thai it appears that the airport has at least three names:-

1. U-Tapoa International Airport

2. Rayong – Pattaya International Airport, or as on Air Asia Website just

3. Pattaya International Airport.

 

The Government is undecided as to its future name but I doubt if many people interested in visiting Thailand will be familiar with Rayong whereas Pattaya is a well known destination. I think AirAsia has the right approach.

The Home site for the airport is http://utapao.com

 

Be advised the airport is a basic budget model. However, the lack of creature comforts is more than compensated by the ease of use and speed of getting through the checking in, migration and security procedures. It is not a modern shopping mall with an airport added on.

 

If you are flying from Pattaya to Oz then the outward flight is very convenient and worth looking at. I tried it out on a few weeks ago on my most recent flight to Sydney. The taxi ride was around 50 minutes and cost 700THB. I was through the entrance security and into the main checking in area in a few minutes. I was very early so had to wait for AirAsia desk to open. No real café but a few Thai eateries and the Thai Navy’s Wives Souvenir shop. The ideal place for the treasured gift for the loved ones back in Oz. Regrettably their aircraft carrier was not displayed for sale.

 

On completion of checking in the procedures through security and Migration took a few minutes. Very smooth and quick. I was sitting by Gate 1 waiting for boarding in less than 10 minutes from starting checking in.

 

At present the flight options to KL are Mon, Wed, Fri, Sun. For Oz the most convenient outward bound option is AK841 which departs 1555hrs – arrives 1900 in KL. The connection to Sydney is KL222 which departs 2340hrs – arrives Syd 1045hrs. In KL you have to make onward flight arrangements as at present no inline booking. If no checked baggage go to International Transfer desk and they issue your Boarding Pass. For checked baggage I assume that you have to pick it up and recheck it in. But as I have not done it I am not certain as to the timing. Has any BM have experience with checked in baggage?

 

The total cost on my taxi and flight to Kuala Lumpur was 1,900THB. I usually pay 1,300 just for the taxi to DM. There is around a 4hr stopover for the connecting Sydney. It is the same connecting flight as from DM. My costs, no checked baggage but with seat selection and breakfast, from KL to Syd was around $185. In total the travel costs to Sydney from Pattaya was $240.

 

Return leg – unfortunately flying from east coast Oz the return options from KL to Pattaya are not good. Long stopover times for connecting flights. In time this may change.

[siamjj]

nice report.some of me mates maybe interested,will pass it along,cheers.

[jerry]

Didn't know they had flights to KL/Sydney from U-tapao , thanks for your report .

[LRanger]

I don't think it is terribly compelling. There are just way more options via DMK or SBV. Especially until the connections are less time stopover. Good to see more options though. LCCs have certainly opened up the skies economically.

[sadisfied]

AirAsia starting flights between Singapore and U-Tapao on 27 Nov.

 

FD 203. 17:35 UTP - 20:40 SIN

FD 204. 21:15 SIN - 22:20 UTP

 

Not the best times for me but it's nice to have yet another option. Especially now that I'm seeing return flights from S$63.

 

[thinkingallowed]

I don't think it is terribly compelling. There are just way more options via DMK or SBV. Especially until the connections are less time stopover. Good to see more options though. LCCs have certainly opened up the skies economically.

SBV? No one is going to be using Sabah, Papua New Guinea.

 

You might have meant SVB which is in Sambava, Madagascar.

 

Probably BKK though?

 

Airport codes, someone has gone to the trouble of handing them out already so you don't have to think up new ones.

 

Right that's me off to thrash myself for making such a pedantic post. I hate myself for it but just can't help it.

[themehta]

The new director of U-Tapao airport says that the facility, in process of being dramatically expanded, will be run as a public service entity rather than a facility based on cash surpluses. Rear Admiral Worapol Tongpricha said U-Tapao in Rayong province would operate largely with balanced ledgers, taking in just enough revenue to pay off bills. He added that making a profit had never crossed his mind as that would place higher costs on consumers, namely the general public.

U-Tapao airport’s expansion underway

The airport, built by the United States during the Vietnam War but now operated by the Royal Thai Navy, is currently undergoing massive refurbishment to cope with the arrival of almost one million passengers next year compared with 200,000 in 2015. This number is anticipated to become three million a year by 2018. A new passenger terminal and upgraded facilities are expected to be in place by next June. Although U-Tapao handles mostly charter flights, it has recently gained scheduled carriers Thai Air Asia and Kan Airways in addition to long-standing flights by Bangkok Airways.

But critics say that there are various impediments which cast doubt on a wholly rosy future. The refurbishment plans are still unclear for ground handling services, airline catering and airport transfer services. Nor does the current development plan include a cargo terminal. Explaining these reservations, Louis Moser, chairman of the Airline Operators Committee (AOC), said the navy’s insistence that its personnel continue running the airport has raised questions about their ability to deal with the challenges resulting from the expected surge in commercial traffic. The AOC represents 86 international airlines and 26 aviation service providers operating at Suvarnabhumi.

U-Tapao’s existing domestic arrival area

Moser added that the navy’s “one airport, two missions” designation for U-Tapao, serving both commercial and military purposes, could be problematical. He was concerned that the ongoing military functions of the airport would take precedence and create difficulties for business airlines. “U-Tapao will probably only be able to attract narrow-body jets and turboprops operated by low-cost carriers and small-scale international route operators,” stated Moser. The AOC has been lobbying the navy to allow professionals, such as the staff of the Airports of Thailand PLC who run Thailand’s six major airports, to organize and operate U-Tapao as well.

The navy has also been urged to make the development and operation plans of the airport more visible to the industry and to the public with a view to welcoming greater private sector participation and joint investment. In response, the Royal Thai Navy has stated that U-Tapao’s commercial operations will have different staff from those used for military functions, currently 195 naval personnel rising to 260 once the new terminal is up and running. Rear Admiral Worapol said that deficiencies such as lack of a cargo terminal would be addressed by the construction of two warehouses, each measuring 40x50x17 metres, which would use navy funding. He added that joint ventures might be used for in-flight catering services, a full-flight pilot training school and the airport’s information technology system.

Another question arises from road surface links to the airport. Although Route 331 was widened to four lanes, most tourists still use Sukhumvit Road, consuming more time. The Pattaya Business and Tourism Association is cooperating with the Tourism Authority of Thailand to coordinate with the Department of Highways to increase the efficiency of the system between U-Tapao and Pattaya. It is expected that the development of the airport will bring many more tourists to Pattaya, resulting in a tripling of annual numbers to around 30 million by the end of the decade.

But it is not clear whether a high-speed rail route between Rayong and Bangkok, being negotiated as a joint Thai and Japanese venture, will include a stop at Pattaya. Even if it does, the current Pattaya railway station near Siam Country Club Road is nowhere near the city centre attractions, the principal hotels or the beaches. A previous plan to link the railway station to downtown areas by means of an overhead electric railway appears to have bitten the dust.