THURSDAY, March 28, 2024
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Food prices at Don Mueang Airport ‘way too expensive’

Food prices at Don Mueang Airport ‘way too expensive’

Ombudsman checks out menus after many complaints, calls for price cuts.

A PLATE of khao mun gai (Thai-style chicken rice) for Bt159!
“It is overpriced, but what can we do? If our kids are hungry while waiting for check-in, we just have to buy [something] for them,’’ a female traveller said, reflecting on a problem that many people encounter at Don Mueang International Airport.
Exorbitant prices for food and drink at airports are a common thing that the public is forced to endure, despite the existence of state agencies responsible for price controls such as the Consumer Protection Board and the Internal Trade Department.
Faced with a flood of such complaints, Ombudsman General Withawat Rachatanant went out to the airport recently to inspect food prices.
As state ombudsman, he said he had the authority to address the problem of rising food prices at airports as it affects the well-being of the public.
Withawat found food prices at airports to be 85 to 200 per cent higher than similar dishes sold in department stores, with common dishes such as curry rice and chicken rice costing as much as Bt200.
“It is ridiculously expensive,” he said. “For a family of two, you must spend at least Bt500 for a meal.”
He said that following the inspection, he sought cooperation from the Airport Authority of Thailand to order food stalls to reduce their prices, especially during the Songkran break – as a gift for revellers. The Songkran festival begins on April 10.
Restaurant operators, however, offered another side to the story on why they have to set prices so high at airports.
They claim it is unreasonable to compare food prices at airports and department stores because the operating hours of malls are from 10am to 10pm, whereas airports operate 24 hours a day and vendors have to shoulder higher rental costs. 
 
‘Staff work long hours and need to speak other languages’ 
“Higher rent is not the only major factor, as there are also higher prices for imported ingredients and qualified personnel. Our staff must speak at least three languages: Thai, English and Chinese,” a restaurant operator said.
“They have to work shifts and pay for a taxi for odd-hour shifts in order to get home. Our country does not have a mass-transit system that runs at night.”
Don Mueang International Airport director Pet Chancharoen backs the restaurant operators regarding their high operating costs.
“Staff must undergo the airport’s safety training and know several languages,” he said. He ruled out reducing the price of every menu item by Bt50. “We provide reasonably priced boxed foods for the public, who can also opt for alternative choices of food at our food court located on the seventh floor of the parking building,” he said.
But members of the public argue that something should be done to alleviate the plight of travellers.
“If we have to catch a flight at 8am, we have to check in a couple of hours earlier, so we hope we can get food at the airport at reasonable prices,” one passenger said.
The price of food at restaurants on the third floor in Don Mueang’s domestic terminal – from the walkway to the boarding gates – ranges from a bowl of noodles with seafood for up to Bt200, while chicken rice or rice with duck is Bt159.
Boxed meals sold by convenience stores at the airport are priced at Bt45 to Bt50, which is Bt10 to Bt15 higher than at similar stores outside the airport.
 
Fast food prices also higher 
Prices of fast food, meanwhile, are also marked up significantly. A cheese pork burger, for example, is priced at Bt259, although it usually sells for Bt199, while a fried-chicken set is Bt779 – a whopping Bt180 more than the usual maximum price of Bt599 outside the airport.
For drinks, a bottle of mineral water is sold for Bt35 at the airport, although vendors dropped the price of bottled water to Bt10 after the ombudsman said he would inspect prices.
It remains to be seen what sort of results his inspection will yield. In the short-term, prices for some items have come down and airport officials are working to get cheap food courts set up.
Airport of Thailand president Nitinai Sirismatthakarn said the AOT could not order all restaurants at six airports to reduce prices in their menus because most had old contracts which did not stipulate price controls, but they were due to expire in the next one to two years. Some food outlets, however, are under a new contract that states that prices can not exceed 20 per cent of prices sold in department stores.
He said that after getting complaints, he had asked for cooperation from stalls at Don Mueang, Suvarnabhumi and Phuket airports – to drop prices. The stalls were told to provide one reasonable price menu.
He also instructed the AOT to find a long-term solution by establishing a food court with affordable prices. He said both Dong Mueang and Suvarnabhumi Airports had started to do this.
And since March 21, both airports were also selling water at Bt10 per bottle.
But he conceded that restaurant operators face higher expenses for staff because they operate 24 hours and have to hire personnel who can speak English and work shifts.
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