Move budget airlines to Don Meuang?

Delays & long lines at Suvarnabhumi. Designed for 45 million passengers a year but faces 51 million this year. Expansion 5 years away.

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AVIATION

AoT mulls no-move guarantee

21/03/2012
Boonsong Kositchotethana, Deputy Editor Business

Airports of Thailand Plc (AoT) is devising a package of incentives to woo airlines, especially reluctant budget carriers, to Bangkok's Don Mueang airport to shift traffic away from overloaded Suvarnabhumi airport.

At the top of the list of proposed incentives due to be sent to the AoT board for approval on March 29 is a guarantee that airlines agreeing to shift to Don Mueang will not be asked to move their base of operations again for a given period.

The offer is seen as an incentive because airport policy has changed repeatedly along with governments in recent years.

The proposed guarantee serves to address the most critical issue raised by two budget carriers - Thai AirAsia (TAA) and Orient Thai Airlines, which have so far been cool to AoT's suggestion to shift back to Don Mueang.

Senior executives of the two airlines have said they are uncertain about state policy regarding Don Mueang's role.They have been forced to shift their bases back and forth between Don Mueang and Suvarnabhumi three times in the past.

So far, only one scheduled budget airline, Nok Air, has returned to Don Mueang from its temporary base at Suvarnabhumi .

It returned on March 6 after Bangkok's old airport was reopened following a four-month closure due to the flooding late last year.

Kanphat Mangkhlasiri, Don Mueang's director, told the Bangkok Post yesterday that a binding agreement against further base changes for a certain period should attract more airlines.

The length of the agreement, possibly more than 10 years, may be negotiable, he pointed out.

The package of incentives may also include preferential landing and parking fees for airlines, although these have not specifically been demanded by the reluctant carriers, said Mr Kanphat.

Airlines operating regional international flights largely on a point-to-point basis may also be on AoT's Don Mueang invitation list, but that depends on Transport Ministry approval.

AoT is under pressure from Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to move all budget carriers to Don Mueang to ease congestion at Suvarnabhumi .

Mr Kanphat said AoT's immediate objective is full use of Terminal 1 (T1), one of the three passenger terminals open for service at Don Mueang.

"We'd like to see T1 handling 14.5 million passengers," he added. 

AoT is particularly keen to see TAA, Thailand's largest low-cost carrier, make the move.

Its passenger volume - 7 million last year - shifting to Don Mueang would help solve Suvarnabhumi's crowding problem.

Moving passengers from Suvarnabhumi to Don Mueang is a quick and easy way to reduce the heavy congestion at Suvarnabhumi

Otherwise, the nation's gateway will face passenger throughput of 51 million this year, up from 47.2 million last year.

Suvarnabhumi was designed to handle only 45 million passengers a year.

The congestion has resulted in flight delays and long immigration queues.

Expansion of the airport is still at least five years away.

(Source: Bangkok Post, AVIATION, AoT mulls no-move guarantee, 21/03/2012, Boonsong Kositchotethana, Deputy Editor Business, link) 

 Aviation Vocabulary

aviation - science of flying aircraft ศิลปและศาสตร์ในการบิน การบิน (See Wikipedia)

Airports of Thailand Plc (AoT) - a large Thai public company, which handles several national airports. Its headquarters are in Don Mueang District, Bangkok (See Wikipedia)
AoT board - the board of directors of AoT (make high level policy and strategy and determine who will get the lucrative airport concessions)

mull - think over a plan before acting
guarantee - a promise that something will be done or will happen คำรับรอง, การประกัน (See glossary)

AoT mulls no-move guarantee

devise - create
incentive - reward to make people do something; to encourage people to act in certain ways สิ่งกระตุ้น  รางวัล ผลตอบแทน
package of incentives - a set of incentives (used to achieve goals)
devising a package of incentives
woo - 1. to try to persuade people to support you; 2.  try to make a woman love you, so you can marry her โน้มน้าวใจ จูงใจ
reluctant - do not want to do something (so are slow, hesitate, or do without enthusiasm) ไม่เต็มใจ  ลังเลใจ
carriers - ariline companies
budget carriers - cheap airlines (sell low price tickets)
reluctant budget carriers - the cheaper local airlines which do not want to move
shift - to transfer; to move from one place to another เคลื่อนย้าย
traffic - the number traveling to a place during a period of time (people, aircraft, ships, trains, cars, trucks, etc.) ความหนาแน่นของจำนวนคน หรือยานพาหนะในช่วงเวลาใดช่วงเวลาหนึ่ง
shift traffic - move traffic from one place to another
shift traffic away from overloaded Suvarnabhumi airport.

Airports of Thailand Plc (AoT) is devising a package of incentives to woo airlines, especially reluctant budget carriers, to Bangkok's Don Mueang airport to shift traffic away from overloaded Suvarnabhumi airport.

proposed - suggested (but not yet chosen or decided upon)
proposed incentives
list of proposed incentives
top of the list of proposed incentives
approval - official permission การอนุมัต
base - a place from where an activity can be planned ฐานที่มั่น
base of operations - a place where operations can be planned from

At the top of the list of proposed incentives due to be sent to the AoT board for approval on March 29 is a guarantee that airlines agreeing to shift to Don Mueang will not be asked to move their base of operations again for a given period.

policy - a plan of action to guide decisions and achieve outcomes (See Wikipedia) นโยบาย
airport policy

The offer is seen as an incentive because airport policy has changed repeatedly along with governments in recent years.

issue - a problem that needs to be considered ประเด็น
critical issue - an important issue
address - to try to deal with a problem or question จัดการกับปัญหา
critical - extremely important because a future situation will be affected by it สำคัญยิ่ง
address an issue - deal with an issue (solve the problem) 
address the most critical issue
so far - up to this point in time
cool to Aot's suggestion - not interested in, not excited by

The proposed guarantee serves to address the most critical issue raised by two budget carriers - Thai AirAsia (TAA) and Orient Thai Airlines, which have so far been cool to AoT's suggestion to shift back to Don Mueang.

executives - a high level manager in a company (making plans and ensuring they executed successfully) ผู้บริหาร
senior executives - the highest level managers in a company
uncertain - don't know what will happen, not 100% sure ไม่มั่นใจ
state - government รัฐ
state policy - government policy
role - the purpose, function or influence of someone or something in a particular situation บทบาท
Don Meuang's role

Senior executives of the two airlines have said they are uncertain about state policy regarding Don Mueang's role.They have been forced to shift their bases back and forth between Don Mueang and Suvarnabhumi three times in the past.

scheduled - planned to happen at a particular time or day ตามตารางเวลา
scheduled budget airline - an airline that has regular flights that has cheap tickets

temporary - for a limited time; not permanent ชั่วคราว
temporary base  
temporary base at Suvarnabhumi .
attract - to cause someone to be interested in something ดึงดูดความสนใจ
negotiable - they can talk about it and make a deal
pointed out - to show something important

So far, only one scheduled budget airline, Nok Air, has returned to Don Mueang from its temporary base at Suvarnabhumi . It returned on March 6 after Bangkok's old airport was reopened following a four-month closure due to the flooding late last year. Kanphat Mangkhlasiri, Don Mueang's director, told the Bangkok Post yesterday that a binding agreement against further base changes for a certain period should attract more airlines. The length of the agreement, possibly more than 10 years, may be negotiable, he pointed out.

fees - money that you pay to be allowed to do something ค่าธรรมเนียม
preferential landing and parking fees
specifically - in an exact and detailed way
international - ระหว่างประเทศ between countries
reluctant - does not really want to do

The package of incentives may also include preferential landing and parking fees for airlines, although these have not specifically been demanded by the reluctant carriers, said Mr Kanphat.

regional international flights
point-to-point basis

Airlines operating regional international flights largely on a point-to-point basis may also be on AoT's Don Mueang invitation list, but that depends on Transport Ministry approval.

pressure - when people are being pushed or forced to so something
under pressure
ease - to make or become less severe, difficult, unpleasant, painful, etc ทำให้ง่าย บรรเทา
congestion - when a place is crowded, many people in a small space แน่นขนัดไปด้วยรถหรือคน
ease congestion - reduce crowding
heavy congestion - a lot of crowding

AoT is under pressure from Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to move all budget carriers to Don Mueang to ease congestion at Suvarnabhumi .

objective - goal; aim; purpose; what you plan to achieve เป้าหมาย
immediate objective - the goal right now, the current goal

Mr Kanphat said AoT's immediate objective is full use of Terminal 1 (T1), one of the three passenger terminals open for service at Don Mueang.

"We'd like to see T1 handling 14.5 million passengers," he added. 

keen - very interested, eager or wanting (to do) something very much สนใจ, ใจจดใจจ่อ สนใจอย่างยิ่ง
particularly keen - very keen

AoT is particularly keen to see TAA, Thailand's largest low-cost carrier, make the move.

volume - the quantity or amount of something
passenger volume - the number of passengers passing through a place (such as an airport)
passenger throughput - Same as "passenger volume"
designed to handle only 45 million passengers
flight delays - flights that are late; do not bring people to the place they are going on time; when people have to wait for their flight
immigration - 1. people coming into a country to travel, live, and work there, 2. the controls that governments place on flows of people into the country การย้ายถิ่นฐาน
queue - line
immigration lines - where people wait to have their passport checked before entering the country
long immigration queues

Its passenger volume - 7 million last year - shifting to Don Mueang would help solve Suvarnabhumi's crowding problem. Moving passengers from Suvarnabhumi to Don Mueang is a quick and easy way to reduce the heavy congestion at Suvarnabhumi. Otherwise, the nation's gateway will face passenger throughput of 51 million this year, up from 47.2 million last year. Suvarnabhumi was designed to handle only 45 million passengers a year. The congestion has resulted in flight delays and long immigration queues. Expansion of the airport is still at least five years away.