Review of Bangkok Airways flight from Bangkok to Phnom Penh in Economy

PG933 / 11APR
BKK - PNH, Airbus A320-232, HS-PPH, seat 2F
BKK departure gate C6
Actual vs. scheduled departure : 1340 / 1340
Actual vs. scheduled arrival : 1450 / 1455
Flight time : 1 hour

Welcome to the next segment of my escapade. I last left you entering the transit security checkpoint at the C-gates. I am wondering if I could have gone to any of the transit security checkpoints ? It was a little bit of a trek from the E to the C-gates !

Once through around the C-gates, I trekked it back to the D/E gates zone to find the Oman Air lounge to freshen up. It did not help the terminal was so humid.

Saw this guy en-route, among others !

Oman air lounge, bkk

I thought that since I was arriving in J on Oman Air they would let me in based on that. I had my Priority Pass card ready just in case. I don't know if it was because of a language barrier or that I did not have access on arrival, but the lounge agent took my Priority Pass card. No matter, she was as nice as could be.

I could have visited any Priority Pass lounge, but thought I would report on the Oman Air lounge.

To give you a reference of time, arrival bloc from Muscat was at 1127 and I was in the lounge by 1205 for a 1340 connecting flight.

I immediately requested a shower and the same agent that welcomed me brought me to the shower room. Thankfully one was available (I'm not sure if there was only 1 or 2, the Oman Air lounge is not very big).

Indeed I called it only a shower room because that's all it is. From what I read, this is how it is at Oman Airport (MCT), no en-suite toilets.

It did the job and was acceptably clean. Interesting to see the branded towels and the airport code MCT. It did not fall in my bag ;)

I tried to keep the water as cold as possible to freshen up.

This little "briefing" bookmark was given to me at the entrance as well, not a bad idea. I hope passengers return them.

I must have arrived before the regular Oman Air passengers for the return flight WY812, leaving at 2:35pm because the lounge started to get busy only as I left for my 1:40pm departure.

My visit had to be "efficient" based on my connecting flight departure time. I was not really hungry but the hot food did look appetizing. From left to right, you have : chicken tikka brochette, punjabi samosa, chicken biryani and stir fried chinese noodles. I was not hungry but I fueled up on a double espresso and a couple of bottles of water and had a seat for a little bit.

After about a 35 minute visit, I left the lounge around 1240 to trek it back to the C-gates. So much for being refreshed haha.

PG933 - BKK - PNH

Some familiar views, for most of us, through the terminal.

Always check the monitors, departing now from gate C6. Not 1h20 minutes ago it was C-1A.

Heading down to the boarding pen.

It's 1:15pm but there is no plane !

But boarding is announced 5 minutes later and I could only assume we would be boarding by bus, yahoooo !

What a view going outside, down the stairs. I boarded the 2nd bus.

Our plane would be at the hardstand gates past Concourse A.

I'm pretty sure something like this does not exist in any US airport for airline / airport staff !

Stepping off the bus.

"United for wildlife" aircraft, cool !!

I was the 2nd to last passenger on board, around 1:36pm, 4 minutes before departure !

Always look behind you too !

Reaching row 2.

The cabin is clean.

We really did manage to push back more or less on time (maybe 2-3 minutes after 1:40pm).

A China Eastern A320 NEO as we head towards runway 19L, from the hardstands past concourse A.

We are airborne at 1:53pm.

A new mid-field terminal well under way with some nice taxi lanes.

For the safety card geeks.

The curtain is kept closed as much as possible.

Not sure why there is still a video monitor on the bulkhead. The aircraft used to fly with TAM until December of 2013.

Time for lunch !

I gathered it was a chicken curry.

Seeing as I had not eaten anything since the hot meal on the MCT-BKK flight, this was a welcome snack to hold me over until dinner, Asia time.

Other drinks were proposed followed by tea or coffee.

I will withhold from commentary about what one would get on the same duration of flight in the United States.

There were 4 crew members on this A320 for 162 seats.

From the rear of the plane.

It was far from a full flight, I had the whole row to myself.

The Mekong River.

Short final to runway 23.

The airport is about 20 minutes from the center of Phnom Penh, without traffic !

Touchdown.

Arrived at the gate.

There was no wait at immigration.

I highly recommend doing the visa online, if one is required for your entry. It cost $36USD and I received the visa via e-mail within 15 minutes. Be sure to print 4 copies.

After exiting "customs", you are literally outside. (You can see the rectangular sign with yellow-greenish text, that is where you come out.)

I took a SIM card from the company SMART. There are a few stands in this area pictured. I paid $6USD for 21GB of data (no calls), more than enough for my 4 day stay. As a point of reference, I pay $50 a month for 10GB of data (with calls and texts) in the US.

I would spend 4 days just in Phnom Penh, relaxing and discovering the city.

See you in a little bit for the return legs !