BEIJING CAPITAL AIRPORT review : 11 May 2008 : by C Wong

Customer Rating : 5/5

Went through T3, and was quite impressed. Very large and clean - likely because it is new. Comparable to other world class airports, specifically a copy-like version of HKG airport, but a tad bit darker. Custom agents were friendly and actually smiled! You could even leave feedback regarding the custom agent by pressing on a box at the desk. Truly an upgrade.

Beijing Capital Airport review by Yi Ren

15 April 2008   Customer Rating :

Recently went through new T3 at PEK. Very impressive, huge building, smooth connection for international and domestic service. Immigration staff are friendly. Luggage arrived so quick, I was really impressed. Airport staff are helpful. New lounge for oneworld flights is great! Great range of food, internet and everything. All in all, Beijing airport is very good. definitely would like to go through PEK again.

Beijing Capital Airport review by G Bray

1 April 2008   Customer Rating :

Flew out of Beijing Capitol Airport's new Terminal 3 domestically on my way to Zhuhai on the third day after Air China moved across from T2. Very impressive building & very easy to clear through all check in & security checks in no time. After Check-In, there was a large variety of shops & bigger array of food outlets that were very reasonably priced for an airport. Allowed a greater chance to make my farewells to my friends in comfort, before I had to leave them at the security check. Reclining seats at the gate lounges were very nice & had fun enjoying the immense size of the building. Watching the train run internally from one end off to the distant International end of the terminal was also fun to watch in this gargantuan place.

Beijing Capital Airport review by C Migas

3 March 2008   Customer Rating :

Just flew out of PEK recently and found the experience smooth and stress-free. Immigration was easy and they have eliminated the step of having to go through quarantine line. No departure taxes to be paid. Now that terminal 3 is open things will only get better. Maybe the Chinese are getting their act together because of the Olympics. Airports these days are never pleasant. This one is no different.

Beijing Capital Airport review by Gary Herbison

25 February 2008   Customer Rating :

Beijing Capital airport, is not always a nice experience. not because of unfriendly people but because at the moment it is chaos. Especially now that when one is in transit and has to go through immigration, customs and then back in and check in again whether you have a boarding pass or not. The second problem is that they have taken away the transit immigration counter and unless you know what you are doing you will be confused and end up in the wrong line. I did that in December 2007 and spent an enormous amount of time getting through immigration, having to change lines and going to the back. I did not find out the error until at the immigration desk. You must go to the diplomatic channel. The help will have to so much better for the olympics.

Beijing Capital Airport review by Chris Jackson

12 February 2008   Customer Rating :

Living in Beijing, I fly in and out of this airport many times a year. If you speak Chinese the whole game changes, but in general looking non-asian automatically paints you as something of a target for any and all trying to get you to give them money, be it bag porters, fake taxis who overcharge (or even metered ones who will drive in a loop around the far side of the city to increase their fare because you have no clue about the roads and where to go, you're a foreigner in China who doesn't speak chinese), as well as people who try to claim they are airport officials trying to get you to give them departure tax (a few years ago you actually had to pay the departure tax at the airport, and you would receive a little slip of paper, but these have been done away with and is now included in all airfares). Also, these days there are the girls trying to sell SIM cards literally around every corner of the airport. Things to stay away from are the black cabs, the ridiculous prices at the airport gift shops and restaurants, the bag porters (except for one I met, and he told me I could pay him however much I thought he deserved, and he took a lot of bags all the way to the counter check-in, unlike others who drop your stuff at the declaration check - it helps to speak chinese) and people claiming you need to pay them for some ridiculous thing. You don't need a bag porter especially when in the arrivals and departure areas they have free bag carts to use. Also, it would be nice to have more places to eat in the terminal and more variety of shopping. Beware of fake items being sold at the duty free (such as marlboro with chinese on them). However, despite all of this I've had all sorts of employees help me with all sorts of issues. One time, I arrived at the airport check-in counter ANA at 7:55 for a flight at 8:35 to NRT. They expedited my tickets, took my bags, had me go through the diplomatic customs and security, and a staff member escorted me to the plane, all to make sure I got on in time. Very helpful, especially since I'm not a diplomat! I'm almost tempted to show up late more often! Another time on a flight from PEK to SIN, I arrived late from Qingdao into PEK due to bad weather in Qingdao, and thus missed my connection to SIN. SIA booked me on the next flight, and the airport paid for a hotel room for me, plus transportation to and from the hotel. When I arrived, I needed to access the internet, and so on a Y-class ticket to SIN the people let me into the Business class lounge so I could access internet on my computer and even offered me coffee (all on Y ticket and w/o SA gold or other elite card which I have since then acquired). Overall, the Beijing airport has been very accommodating over and over again for my travel needs. However, there is baggage that goes along with the airport that sometimes overshadows that it is in reality a decent airport.

Beijing Capital Airport review by Rainer Burger

8 January 2008   Customer Rating :

Actual information is, that on February 28th 2008 the first five airlines are moving to the new terminal 3 (if I remember right I read somewhere that this will be the biggest terminal building in the world) and that on March 28th the rest of the Star Alliance members are to follow into terminal 3. That should take care of the problem that the terminal 2 is simply overcrowded as the previous comment describes quite good.

Beijing Capital Airport review by S Wilson

7 November 2007   Customer Rating :

At departures (international) absolute chaos, hoards of people with their luggage desperately trying to get departure forms to fill out before pushing into the "nothing to declare" queue. I chose the "declare" queue which was quieter and it worked, got sped through. Checkin for Austrian in business class was a breeze, but not on Air China for my partner, who spent 40 minutes in a single queue while other queues sped by, because a staff member was being trained - and because some local people would push into the front shouting in Chinese demanding attention, and got it! Security also was a dog's breakfast with enormous queues, no priority queue for business class passengers, and the terminal was packed. The generic lounge for business/first passengers had no bathroom facilities, and was jampacked. In short the main problem is the terminal is grossly overcrowded. Saw the duty free ripoff stores and did make a purchase, although had to correct the price charged which was different from the ticket (in small print), paid in cash despite being asked to pay with credit - I'd already read about the scams!! By contrast, boarding was a very relaxing affair. This airport needs more terminals, more staff and to eliminate ridiculous customs checks on people leaving - surely this could be partially automated after check in, and there needs to be airline built lounges by the three main alliances at least!

Beijing Capital Airport review by J Wygant

6 November 2007   Customer Rating :

In Oct. 2007 we were to fly out of Beijing on China Eastern. The fog was heavier than usual and our flight was delayed. China Eastern had only two ticket clerks at Beijing and nobody working a check-in counter, which was being done for them by China Air. We got wrong information from China Air (that our flight was canceled) and were told there was nothing they could do about our missed connection. We would have to book our own tickets and overnight hotel room. Very little English was spoken by any staff. Our boarding passes were confiscated, then later returned. We waited in several lines without achieving anything. The airport itself is grossly inadequate, small and with few of the usual passenger amenities. It was necessary to go back out of immigration to get a cup of coffee. It turned out the flight was only delayed, not canceled, and the China Eastern staff at the wonderful Shanghai Airport were extremely helpful. With all of the other new airports in China, Beijing's is a joke.

Beijing Capital Airport review by Alain Kupferman

21 August 2007   Customer Rating :

Transferring from an international destination to another one is a lengthy matter in Beijing Capital Airport. You have to queue at a special immigration desk (have entry card ready), get the card stamped, then you go to the check-in of the airline you want to fly on, you get your boarding pass, and go again through immigration with your stamped entry card. This procedure can take up over 3 hours, depending on the length of queues in the respective desks, so transferring though Beijing is definitely not a very good idea

Beijing Capital Airport review by T Lo

9 August 2007   Customer Rating :

This airport is actually very easy to get through. For international departures, the first sight you see is hordes of people gathered in the hall. It seems like they are all waiting around and no one knows what to do. I've flown out of Beijing Capital Airport many times. All you need to do is fill out the customs form (available in one of the large circular floor kiosks), then walk through a gate in order to enter the terminal proper. Just hand the form to the uniformed customs agent along with your passport and ticket and you can walk directly to the ticketing counter to get your boarding pass. Once you get past that, security is relatively easy. You still need to fill out another departure card and stand in another line, but it is fairly orderly. There is a large assortment of shops, from the fairly tacky Chinese products to Coach and Dunhill, etc, a Starbucks, and a few other restaurants. Watch the TV monitors for your flights status, etc. So, it's not as bad as everyone says as long as you know what to look out for. Encountering so many people waiting around can be daunting, but rest assured that most of them are just waiting around and are not all standing in line; once you know what to do you can go right in.

Beijing Capital Airport review by Billy Webb

3 July 2007   Customer Rating :

Beware of the Beijing Airport Duty Free Scam! The duty free stores at Beijing Airport list their prices in US dollars, but convert them to Chinese Yuan for credit card purchases. Alas, the conversion is not at the official rate that can be found all over Beijing (including at the airport), but at an inflated rate that is about 0.4 Chinese Yuan/US dollar above the official rate. For example, on June 26, 2007, for example, the store rate was 7.91 vs the official rate of 7.54 Yuan per US dollar. This is probably not illegal; but it is certainly greedy. The problem, of course, is made worse when one's credit card company converts the currency back to US dollars, adding their own commission, etc. I urge you to boycott the stores (and tell them why you're doing so) until they reform their practices.

Beijing Capital Airport review by Nick Fortuna

30 June 2007   Customer Rating :

Used both Domestic and International portions of this airport on a number of occasions. Lines for arriving int'l pax can be long, Line up nearest to the chinese immigration line - once locals have cleared immigration, passport control will process foreign arrivals. Baggage claim was usually quite fast. Check-in can be chaotic for international departures since you have to fill out a myriad of customs, immigration and health forms prior to checking in. On the domestic side, there is not much seating once past the security check. Liquids are permitted, but staff will sniff whatever liquid you're bringing. This mean you have to open your can of coke. Too bad if you were going to drink it later. Information regarding delayed flights is woeful. When bad weather forced the cancellation of some and delays for many other flights, staff in the domestic section could not provide information. Not sure if it was language-related or airline related. In all, there are better, larger and more modern airports in China such as Guangzhou, SHenzhen, etc.

Beijing Capital Airport review by S Maretzo

25 June 2007   Customer Rating :

Had a connecting International flight in Beijing, and only 1h30 to find my way. A total nightmare, filled a ton of forms, had to go through immigration and in again! Nobody seemed to know where to go for international connection. I reached the next check-in counter when it was closing. Next time, I will fly through Seoul, no stupid hassles like in Beijing.

Beijing Capital Airport review by L Halle

31 May 2007   Customer Rating :

We were surprised to find the airport welcoming, cheerful, and modern. All the customs and immigrations procedures were smooth, and though we were approached by the famous taxi con-artists, it was not difficult to ignore them. Communicating our destination was a bit challenging - knowing a few phrases of Mandarin really helps (like being able to recite numbers up to 1000). All the airport personnel are friendly and greet you with a smile. They speak English quite well. Interesting tidbit: at the passport check, each clerk as his/her own ratings module where you can press a button to indicate the level of service you were given. A word of advice regarding the taxi: there is a 10 Yuan highway toll which is added to your fare. (10 Yuan= approx. $1.35) Don't be alarmed if a taxi driver asks you for this in addition to the fare on the meter. The concierge at the hotel confirmed this to be legitimate. We had no run-ins with taxi drivers who did not use the meter. Of the seven cab-rides we took, only one driver spoke English, so please have your hotel tell the driver where you need to go, and they will most likely give you a written address on a business card with a map of the hotel for your return. We would not advice you to rent a car as the aggressive traffic is overwhelmingly hectic and unpredictable. Three lanes can usually turn into four or five, if there is a shoulder, and the drivers are accustomed to weaving in and out of the tiniest spaces, cutting people off left and right. Upon our departure we found that the taxis have to drop you off across the through-lanes in front of the departure hall. We were also lucky to avoid encounters with "bag- handlers." Security-checks and customs checks were equally smooth on this side of things, and everyone greeted us with genuine smiles. We also were never approached by any con-artists claiming to be officials needing us to pay a "departure tax." Perhaps the airport has improved the monitoring of these scams in anticipation of the Olympic Games. The duty-free shops are very nice and you can pick up a lot of last-minute gifts here. However, if you have a connecting flight in the US, you cannot purchase anything liquid (i.e. alcohol) since you will need to pass through another security check with your carry-ons. But you can find many other suitable gifts, such as nice tea-sets and teas, jade jewelry and decorative trinkets, calligraphy sets, etc. All-in-all, the Beijing airport is excellent, especially as compared to some of the American airports where service is lacking and information is not clearly provided. We had an easier time understanding the English announcements in Beijing than in the Philadelphia Airport, which is where we live.

Beijing Capital Airport review by Herbert Schmidt

29 January 2007   Customer Rating : n/a

The facilities of Beijing (just two runways, two small terminals) are by far not enough for the increasing number for flights. But the new large Terminal 3 has to open before the olympics 2008. Now you must be patient at check-in, passport control, from terminal to take-off. Even for domestic flights they have a passport-control. Check through of luggage to your final domestic destination is not possible. The passport control for outbound passengers is better organized: one queue for several counters, instead of one for each counter for inbound. Tip: At immigration take the most left queue for foreigners because in case the counters for foreigners are very crowded the officials allow also foreigners to use the queue for Chinese. Then you can change quickly. They never checked my luggage at international arrivals. ignore taxi touts. take official taxi in front of the terminals. it is not easy to tell the taxi drivers where you want to go. The trunks of many taxis are too small, either because of gas tanks or taxi driver carries lots of own stuff. Pay attention that taxi driver switches on the meter. In case of problems with the taxi driver show him that you write down his driver id which is shown inside beside the driver seat. This helps. Because they will be punished hard in case a foreigner complains. At Terminal 2 for departure taxis must stop about 100m away from terminal. Not easy in case you have lots of luggage. Pay attention to guys who wants to carry for money your luggage to terminal. Most of them are not allowed to enter the checkin area. What I hate most: for arriving international passengers you must fill out 3 papers: immigration card, health card, customs declaration! When Chinese enter EU they do not have to fill out any paper.

Beijing Capital Airport review by Abdul Hameed
21 January 2007

First impression was good. Clean airport and well maintained. Immigration and baggage was quick, took less than half an hour. Staff had helping attitude. It was quite warm inside airport while it was minus 5 celsius outside. I had to pay 40 RMB commission on 200 US dollar currency exchange at travelex at airport, while I was not charged at all, in my hotel. Language was a problem though - some of the airport staff could speak little bit of English. When departing from Beijing Airport laptop/internet facility was available. Prices of the drinks/snacks were quite high. Seating arrangement was quite sufficient for the waiting passengers. Toilets were well maintained. Flight information was displayed both in English and Chinese language.

Beijing Capital Airport review by Nigel Barnsley
19 January 2007

A great airport! Through immigration, baggage reclaim and customs in 25 minutes, everybody very friendly and polite; and they now have bilingual staff working on the taxi rank to explain your destination to the driver if you don't speak Mandarin. But do make sure you go to the official rank outside the terminal and ignore the touts milling around inside. Equally slick on the way back, and you no longer have to queue up to pay the departure tax: it's included in the price of your ticket.

Beijing Capital Airport review by Mohammad Zia Ebrahimi
20 December 2006

Very clean. Immigration took half an hour baggage was ready on the belt after immigration. Changing money and buying ticket is very easy and fast only you have to speak to Chinese people word by word and very slowly - and must be able to understand the Chinese accent. Chinese people usually are willing to provide good service, but language is a problem for them. It should be noted that you have to check with Taxi drivers if their meter works properly, if not it is better to call police.

Beijing Capital Airport review by Robbie Francisco
12 October 2006

Arriving and departing from this airport is easy and efficient. Despite the heavy passenger traffic, the flow of everything seemed to be in order. It's only in hailing for a cab when you arrive that can be a bit of a challenge. Always look for the cue and show the airport security your address so he can tell the driver where exactly you need to go if you cannot speak a word of Chinese.

Beijing Capital Airport review by Jeff Pug
10 October 2006

Upon international arrival at PEK, greeted with dark concourses on the way to immigration & luggage. Felt like somebody forgot that we were coming and didn't turn the lights on (we arrived mid-afternoon). Baggage claim & immigration was very efficient & quick. Departures are OK. Policy of not opening check-in until 3 hours before flight means that you have to hold on to your luggage if you are transferring (as was the case with me). Going to the restaurants in the mezzanine level with luggage was hard to navigate given all the other luggage stored along the walls. Also open smoking policy is quite noticeable to those who are accustomed to smoke-free airports. In departure lounge, air conditioning not working so area got very stuffy. Plane was delayed but departure monitors did not reflect this status. Air China airport club was rudimentary at best, but self-serve set up was nice as you could get what you wanted.

Beijing Capital Airport review by Ana Wisdell
13 September 2006

Arrived on BA in new international terminal, busy mid afternoon. Through passage, immigration and customs quick and easy. Bags arrived quickly and on large carrousel - easy to retrieve luggage having arrived with a full plane. Terminal very crowded and busy, but able to find contact with a few minutes as meeting point as explained easy to find.

Beijing Capital Airport review by Jack Sheldon
11 July 2006

Flew in and out of Beijing a few days ago. On arrival (I grant it was late evening), straight through immigration, bags already on the belt and I was out with my local staff no more than 20 minutes after touchdown. Departure was almost as efficient. As a word of warning, if you have to change any local currency, do it at the Bank of China counter before you go through the luggage screening and check in. There are no change facilities airside.

Beijing Capital Airport review by Steve Conroy
1 July 2006

There is no "departure tax" payable for international departures, as it is factored into your ticket price. Be very wary of any person who tries to get you to pay one!!! I will guarantee you that they are scammers!!! Also, the new international terminal is an excellent facility, for both arrivals and departures. Clean, tidy, spacious. Baggage collection was amazingly fast, and customs officials were polite and courteous (Syd and LAX take note!!!) There are not as many shops air-side, but there are enough for those in need. One tip for first time travellers departing PEK International: the airline check-in desks are "air side" - you have to clear immigration BEFORE you can check your bags in and get your seat allocation. There is no problem with that - just be aware of it, as it is a tad unusual compared to many western airports!

Beijing Capital Airport review by Shannon Roy
7 April 2006

Some of these comments are misleading - there is no 'airport tax', either international or domestic, at Beijing. These taxes are now part of the ticket prices, as they are at most airports around the world. Also, one of the two new terminals is now completed, and this offers a much more pleasant pre-boarding experience than the older terminal.

Beijing Capital Airport review by Steven Curfs
7 April 2006

I have to disagree with R Chen on PEK. The airport access is fine, especially the last 2,5 km. When you reach the first motorway around the city, that's where all the trouble starts. We took a cab to the airport and had no difficulties reaching the airport, once we were out of the city center. Check-in fine as well, the usual Chinese rituals but nothing to complain about really. Security check swift and restaurants/bars, even toilets fine. Smoking remains a problem in China, but for the rest I was quite satisfied with PEK airport. Note that I took a domestic flight to SHA.

Beijing Capital Airport review by R Chen
2 April 2006

Getting to the airport is reasonable until the last 2.5 km. This section might take you more than half an hour to clear. Checking in is chaotic and don't believe anyone telling you anything, ask a few more people and then decide whom you want to believe. Be prepared to queue a few times through customs, security and make sure you fill out the forms in English even if you know Chinese. Besides the poor selection of goods, high prices for food be prepared to suffer secondary smoke inhalation due to lack of ventilation of the smoking room which made the whole waiting area filled with smoke. Charge your battery before you go to the airport there are no power points you can easily find. And don't confront any of the airport personnel, they have a very "thin face" and will go to the extreme to get back at you if you ever point out to them that they have made a mistake.

Beijing Capital Airport review by Sean Keyes
18 March 2006

Flew Turkmenistan Airlines business class ASB-PEK-ASB. No delays arriving but taxiing from the runway to the apron (and vice versa) takes a very, very long time. So does clearing immigration. The checkpoints aren't understaffed or anything and officials are efficient enough but there just seem to be a lot of people flying to Beijing these days. I can't imagine what it will be like during the 2008 Olympics. Departing was no problem, although the airport departure tax is a little steep at RMB80. The airport's business class lounge is fantastic--it's just absolutely brilliant and makes it well worth it to fly business class at least on your departure leg from Beijing. They not only offer free drinks and snacks like other business class lounges but also a wide variety of mouth-watering light meals such as soups, spring rolls and lo mein. For me, this was by far the highlight of the airport.

Beijing Capital Airport review by Lars Larsson
19 February 2006

Beijing airport is quite comfortable. However it is the worst airport in the world both for arrivals and departures in particular for foreigners. Hours in the line to get to your gate and hours through customs on arrival. I know many people that look for alternative destinations in China in order to avoid this. My view - if this does not change drastically within short - the face of Beijing will be hurt severely - for all the wrong reasons.





 

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