Shanghai Airport review by Quan Shen

20 December 2007   Customer Rating :

Well, departing area outside the airport is terrible (Terminal A), many cars, taxis parking on the passing lane. But inside quite nice hall, very clear signed. Very efficient passport control and security check with nice people. Limited shopping area, but enough for the second airport in Shanghai, international standard overall.

Shanghai Airport review by Colin Lusty

13 August 2007   Customer Rating :

The taxi situation at Hongqaio is still the same, I queued for 35 minutes for a 10 minute taxi ride. I have been coming to China for 4 years and still fell for the " dodgy" taxi driver who because I am "foreign" wanted to charge a huge fare. I had none of it so he put me in a regular taxi to take me to my hotel. If my chinese was better I would ride the bus which would be cheaper. Hongqaio airport apart from this is good, lots of places to have a coffee and sandwich ( at western prices of course!). Main problem is with only one runway lots of hassles taking off on time. Apart from this it is good, easy to get to, staff are helpful and whilst security is strict they are not unpleasant, you smile at them and they will smile at you.

Shanghai Airport review by Steve Corry

10 October 2006   Customer Rating : n/a

The short distance taxi queue was done away with about the middle of 2006. The taxi queue is still a disaster, during 2006 I experienced 30min and the fastest and over an hour at the longest. Not fun for non- smokers as you currently get tobacco smoke in your face, and the queue is totally mismanaged by the official at the front slowing things down further. I now simply walk for a block out of the airport and jump into a taxi outside - requires 5 mins only. The airport seems way over capacity, with buses out to an apron stand and delayed flights very common. The usual poor quality and over priced food and beverage, and nothing to do while waiting for flights. The only positive I can think of is that getting there and check in is usually quick.

Shanghai Airport review by Mark Eadie

1 May 2005

Shanghai's Hongqiao remains the easiest airport to use in China - bar none. Yes it is old and a bit frayed at the edges, but it works well and everything is long tried and tested. The taxi situation is a pain, as it is at every airport in China. But actually the queue (even off the morning CA 747 from Beijing never takes more than 10 minutes if you check your watch). The short-distance taxi rank is to the right and you rarely queue more than a minute. If only Beijing would introduce this system!

Shanghai Airport review by Arthur Romeijn

26 March 2005

The airport is old and tatty. Do away with the taxi-hassle and take an airport bus into the centre. On this one-hour bus trip, I didn not see the Thyssen-Krupp (German) build superfast-magnet-train come by once.

Shanghai Airport review by Harry Tsui

23 March 2005

I used the Shanghai Hongqiao airport many times, even before the Pudong Airport. After they put Hongqiao beyond the reach of planes flying from the US, HKG and Shenzhen, I lost my choice. The best thing about Hongqiao is its closeness to the city center. In general, Shanghai people are more cultural and nice. However, the worst thing about Hongqiao is its taxi lines, one for local taxi and the other for city center bound. The airport attendant will record the taxi license number and designation for record. One word of advise. If you want to avoid waiting, go to the far right, away from the airport, and flag down any approaching taxi. That will save you a lot of time. Taxi drivers in Shanghai have the best manner, even better than Hong Kong and Macau. If you have a choice, always choose the light blue colored one because of its reputation. Also, if you need to connect between the Hongqiao and Pudong airports, the cheapest and fastest way is to take the Airporter. The travel time is about one hour. Oh, there are also regular airport buses that go to the city center, a side street next to the in-town expressway. It only takes around 20 minutes. You can then catch a taxi from there. In terms of convenience and comfort, Hongqiao is much better than the terrible Pudong airport. Nowadays, I tried to avoid flying to Shanghai as the connecting point from the US or Japan because of the inconvenience of the Pudong airpot.

Shanghai Airport review by Jonathan Perratt

6 March 2005

A tatty, old airport. Seriously in need to updating. Now just used to domestic flights. However, I love it! It's in the middle of town so quick to get to. Never crowded. Never more than 10 people ahead at security - and First class passengers can jump even those! As a frequent traveller, I value the software (particularly having a stress-free, predictable and short time from leaving my hotel or office to getting on the plane) over the hardware (architecture, shops, ammenities etc).

Shanghai Airport review by William White

12 September 2004

I have to disagree with everyone about Shanghai Hongqiao. Half an hour by taxi at any time of day from central Shanghai, so that's at least half an hour earlier that you get to bed than if you flew into Pudong. Uncrowded - have almost never had to queue there. OK it's dated, but who cares? I'm always straight through the place in under 30 mins. Pudong you can spend 30 mins walking around in trying to find something.

Shanghai Airport review by  Li Ping

24 May 2004

Old facility. Not quite representative of the current Shanghai in my mind. I think Pudong should be better (haven't used it yet). Inadequate signs, confusing layout, chaotic arrival scenes, congested immigration lines and poor shopping/dining choices complete the picture.

Shanghai Airport review by  Maggie Ni

18 March 2004

The greatest problem at Shanghai Hongqiao airport is to get a taxi! Last time I´ve waited one and a half hour, but then, when it was my turn, I had to discover that I was in the wrong waiting line. There is one line for long distance drives and another for short distances, but it is badly signposted. So I  have to recommend to everybody, ask anybody, before you get into a line! Otherwise you have to wait twice as long.




 

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