Originally Posted by karin0040

and ask them. You think a travel agent would know but I have been led to believe that there are no more departure taxes and it IS included as part of your ticket. I got $600 return Jetstar tickets and asked someone who has already flown with Jetstar whether they paid it on departure and they told me no it was included in ticket price...

I have also heard that if you ask at the airport where to pay someone will lead you to a spot and gladly take your money!!!

Maybe you need to say what airline you are flying with and someone who has used them might be able to tell you whether it was included in ticket.

I think it is another scam to get a little bit more money off you before you leave if you are willing to part with it.

Originally Posted by michelle

Hi Fishtaco,

Last year when we were flying Phuket direct to Sydney we asked staff where to pay the departure tax and we were directed to a window to pay but were then told by a passenger we didn't have to pay it anymore. We then checked with other staff and this was confirmed. I don't know if someone would have taken our money if it was offered as they do seem to be a bit vague at the airport. We were travelling as a couple and our combined weight in our bags was not over the limit but because the weight was not even e.g. 15kg in one bag and 25kg in the other, I had to distribute the weight evenly or take some on as hand luggage !! Crazy. We had never encountered this before when flying as a couple, they always combined the weight and divided by 2 to see if we were over. So who knows if they charged you twice !! I have looked on the internet to see about tax and from what I could see Samui still charges a domestic departure tax to pay for the airport improvements and others have suggested that you always pay a domestic tax but it is lower than Samui but still 750TB seems a bit high. I'll be interested to know what you find out on this. Pity jax has already left as she could have probably shed some light on what has to be paid.

Regards
Michelle

Originally Posted by shanek

I flew from Krabi to Bangkok on Air Asia last year and our taxes were included in the ticket price. SAmui may be different as it is owned by Bangkok Airways but my guess would be that it would also be inclusive now. It makes sense as it would be easier for them to administer.

Originally Posted by Scotters

The airport taxes changed in early 2007 and are now included in the price of the ticket no mater where you buy the ticket. All airports except those operated by Bangkok Air charge 100 baht for domestic flights and 700 baht for international. Bangkok Air airports at Sukhothai*and Trat charge 200 for domestic and at Koh Samui it is 300 domestic and 500 international.
At Samui there used to be (started in 2004) a service provided by Bangkok air & participating international airlines (except Qantas ) whereby you had the option of not only checking your bags through to your next international destination but clearing customs here rather than in Bangkok. This also saved you from paying the domestic tax of 300 and only having to pay the international one. There was a sign next to the check in desk listing the participating airlines. When your plane landed in Bangkok you were taken to a separate bus and ferried to the international terminal for check in to your next destination. The only requirement is that you had to stay in the transit area as you have already cleared & been stamped out of Thailand. I am not sure that this is still in effect and what the procedures are at the new airport.