Source: Bangkok Post

Derided for many faults when it opened, Suvarnabhumi Airport appears to have won over international travellers, who now rate the Bangkok gateway as among the world’s 10 best airports.

Suvarnabhumi took 10th place in the 2010 World Airport Awards rankings, a global survey of 9.8 million passengers by the London-based independent aviation research institute Skytrax.

The airport climbed in the Skytrax ranking from 16th position in 2009 and 37th in 2008 after Airports of Thailand Plc (AoT) worked to overcome flaws in service and product quality to earn passengers’ satisfaction and trust.

Nirandra Theeranartsin, general manager of Suvarnabhumi Airport, said yesterday that the airport’s latest ranking should motivate AoT staff to continue to improve.

“It has been our firm objective to achieve the stature as one of the world’s best,” he told the Bangkok Post. “We will continue to strive to climb the Skytrax ratings to a top-five position in the next two years.”

Suvarnabhumi has also risen in the worldwide rankings of the Geneva-based Airport Council International (ACI). The airport took 24th spot in the 2009 ACI survey, up from 28th place in 2008 and 41st in 2007.

But Suvarnabhumi continues to trail its two direct rivals in Southeast Asia – Singapore Changi and Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) – which also moved up in the 2010 Skytrax ranking.

Changi topped the poll after taking third spot in 2009. KLIA has moved up to the fifth place from seventh in 2009.

Rising higher up the rankings will now be tough for Suvarnabhumi, as other leading airports have been working hard to maintain or improve their position, say industry observers.

For instance, Abu Dhabi International Airport has jumped 47 places to take the No. 26 spot in 2010 World Airport Awards list.

The 2010 Skytrax airport survey covered more than 190 airports and evaluated traveller experiences across 39 different service and product factors.

Source: Bangkok Post

This site has been quiet over the past month or so as tens of thousands of demonstrators set up camp in Bangkok demanding fresh elections. Yesterday talks between both sides went ahead but Prime Minister Abhisit ended them when pressed about a timeframe for parliamentary dissolution. He left the country today for a short visit to Brunei, but was scheduled to return to resume the talks. The outcome is not likely to be settled for years and, outside the political arena, not much has changed in Thailand. [ ED KCI]

The government and the red shirt leaders’ decision to sit down for talks to settle the continuing political conflict is most welcome.

Although the positions of the two parties remained far apart at the end of their three-hour meeting yesterday, it began a long-overdue process to resolve the differences between the groups.

Needless to say, the two-week stand-off between the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) and the government has caused much anxiety for all Thais. The massive street gatherings and the deployment of security forces in the capital have disrupted the lives of Bangkokians. They have also caused immeasurable damage to the economy.

A series of dramatic stunts staged by the red shirts in which protesters were sent to military barracks and other public and private places have increased the danger of violence. A series of bomb attacks on government buildings, state-run TV stations and commercial banks are strong indicators that the “peaceful” protest might not remain that way for long. Those behind these subversive plots – regardless of their motivations – must be condemned. With or without the red shirts’ knowledge, these senseless and barbaric acts must stop if all stakeholders in the present dispute are sincere in wanting to lead the country out of its sorry state.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva should be commended for being open-minded in embracing the peace talks with the UDD leaders. His decision to welcome them at the negotiating table has helped significantly ease the political tensions that have gripped Bangkok for the past fortnight.

With the prime minister and the red shirt leaders agreeing to resume talks later today, it is hoped both sides will come up with more accommodating propositions to make the peace talks fruitful.

The red shirt leaders in particular must demonstrate more sincerity and flexibility. Their offer to give the government two more weeks to dissolve the lower house is still far from acceptable as it fails to explain how this will lead to reconciliation.

Mr Abhisit has already made clear that he does not object to a snap election but prefers to see some fundamental rules in place to ensure a lasting reconciliation in the country. These may involve constitutional amendments and guarantees that all parties will accept election results. He suggested at the talks that concerned parties work out a clear road map to provide a basis for a new election before the lower house is dissolved. This proposal is reasonable and should be supported by the red shirts if they are sincere about their calls for true democracy in Thailand.