Flight – Suvarnabhumi Bangkok to Luang Prabang International Airport

Southeast Asia Tour 2015

Bangkok Thailand | Luang Prabang Laos

07 Dec 2015 | Mon

Day 19 of 46

Flight | Suvarnabhumi Bangkok to Luang Prabang International Airport
Mekong Riverview Hotel Luang Prabang
Wine with US Ambassador to Laos | Mekong Riverview Viewpoint Café
Mekong Riverview Park
Bamboo Bridge Near Mekong Riverview Hotel

Flight | Suvarnabhumi Bangkok to Luang Prabang International Airport

Suvarnabhumi International Airport Bangkok

I wanted to add a post about Bangkok’s spectacular Suvarnabhumi Airport. Our flight to Luang Prabang is the first time that we have used this airport during the day, which allowed me to get some decent photos (and video).

Usually, the only time we use this airport is when we fly to and from Bangkok from the United States — both of which are typically late at night (around midnight). But this time around we have a daytime flight to Luang Prabang Laos on Thailand’s flagship air carrier – Thai Airways.

Thai Airways International Public Company Limited, trading as THAI (SET: THAI, Thai: บริษัท การบินไทย จำกัด (มหาชน)) is the flag carrier airline of Thailand. Formed in 1961, the airline has its corporate headquarters in Vibhavadi Rangsit Road, Chatuchak District, Bangkok, and primarily operates from Suvarnabhumi Airport. THAI is a founding member of the Star Alliance. The airline is the second-largest shareholder of the low-cost carrier Nok Air with a 15.94 per cent stake (2020), and it launched a regional carrier under the name Thai Smile in the middle of 2012 using the new Airbus A320 aircraft.

– Wikipedia Thai Airways International

Suvarnabhumi International Airport Control Tower

Suvarnabhumi Airport (Thai: ท่าอากาศยานสุวรรณภูมิ, RTGS: Tha-akatsayan Suwannaphum, pronounced tʰâː.ʔāː.kàːt̚.sā.jāːn.sùʔ.wān.nā.pʰūːm; from Sanskrit सुवर्णभूमि (Suvarṇabhūmi), literally ‘golden land’) (IATA: BKK, ICAO: VTBS), also known unofficially as Bangkok Airport, is one of two international airports serving the Bangkok Metropolitan Region, the other one being Don Mueang International Airport (DMK), which remains open as a low-cost carriers hub. Suvarnabhumi Airport covers an area of 3,240 ha (32.4 km2; 8,000 acres), making it one of the biggest international airports in Southeast Asia and a regional hub for aviation. The airport is also a major Cargo Air Freight Hub (20th busiest in 2019), which has a designated Airport Free Zone, as well as road links to the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) on Motorway 7.

It was constructed primarily by ITO JV. The airport had the world’s tallest free-standing control tower (132.2 metres or 434 feet) from 2006 to 2014, and the world’s fourth largest single-building airport terminal (563,000 square metres or 6,060,000 square feet).

Suvarnabhumi is the 17th busiest airport in the world, eleventh busiest airport in Asia, and the busiest in the country, having handled 60 million passengers in 2017, and is also a major air cargo hub, with a total of 95 airlines. On social networks, Suvarnabhumi was the world’s most popular site for taking Instagram photographs in 2012.

The airport inherited the airport code, BKK, from Don Mueang after the previous airport ceased international commercial flights. Motorway 7 connects the airport, Bangkok, and the heavily industrial eastern seaboard of Thailand, where most export manufacturing takes place.

– Wikipedia Suvarnabhumi Airport

YouTube Video – View of Suvarnabhumi Airport from a Moving Walkway

Luang Prabang International Airport

Today (Dec. 7th) we had a midday flight to the northern Lao province of Luang Prabang. Our first time flying with Thailand’s premier airline, Thai Airways – went very well and without any delays.

The only difficulty we had was going through the Lao “Visa on Arrival” process. What usually only takes a few minutes to do in other countries, took about an hour here.

We must have caught them on a bad day because we had been told that this normally only takes 10-15 minutes. After getting our visas, we got our bags and found our driver (provided by the hotel) to be transported to the Mekong Riverview Hotel.