SYDNEY AIRPORT review : 27 June 2008 : by Neil Ramsay
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Customer Rating : 3/5 |  |
Departure early morning was problem free. Short queues at check in, emigration and security. Arrived
back mid morning with only a few other flights and breezed thru immigration and baggage pickup then
came the long backup at quarantine. When long lines form why only open one xray machine? Why are
there lots of customs and AQIS officials standing around talking to one another or plainly doing
nothing? We pay a lot of tax in our tickets to use Sydney airport. Management should look at
utilising their resources more efficiently so these bottlenecks do not occur. And yes the lack of a
pick up zone which means enforced parking is a ripoff! At least the taxi rank is now working with a
minimum of delay.
SYDNEY AIRPORT review : 24 June 2008 : by I Chakrabarty
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Customer Rating : 3/5 |  |
Slow but steady improvement. Not up to scratch with Tullamarine. Significant improvements after
Olympics 2000. Still some way to go. Clean and efficient but selection of duty free shops and
eateries limited. Customs and AQIS staff can browbeat and be rude. Also parking is pricey. Travel
through the Domestic terminal is world class though. However Sydney Airport has a cosy feel unlike
some Airports in Asia and the US.
SYDNEY AIRPORT review : 11 May 2008 : by S Tam
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Customer Rating : 1/5 |  |
We use SYD airport rather regularly. We used to have someone to pick us up upon arrival. Since the
airport was privatised, many measures had been included to increase income for the Macquarie Bank.
There is no longer "pick up" at the airport. Everyone car must go through the parking and that is a
$7 per first 30 minutes charge. The price rockets after that. So we have to go to the carpark to be
"picked up" even when we are there before the car. It is a rip-off and it also causes delay and
inconvenience.
Sydney Airport review by H Albertse
28 April 2008 Customer Rating : 
During a visit to Australia and New Zealand, I had to overnight at a Sydney Airport hotel, in order
to catch an early morning flight the next day to Christchurch. In all the years that I have been
visiting OZ and NZ, Sydney Airport customs-and immigration staff could not have been friendlier and
I was in my hotel room in no time. I left Australia the next morning and arrived in Sydney a week
later, after touring through NZ. This time around, my arrival was the exact opposite. The customs
official was extremely rude and it was clear that she intended to make this arrival as unpleasant as
possible. All my personal belongings were thrown out of my suitcases, which were then send off for
scanning. In the meantime, my hairbrush of all things, apparently tested positive for marijuana!
Having never used illicit drugs before, I was incensed by their accusations. In the end I was
allowed to enter the country, as customs could not find any illicit drugs on my person or my
belongings. Some custom officials, at Sydney Airport, need to get their act together. Being polite
does not take that much of an effort. Being rude and unpleasant to visitors, is a disservice to
Australia's image. Treat visitors with some respect.
Sydney Airport review by Frank Pitmen
28 April 2008 Customer Rating : 
Arrived in SYD from PVG via MEL soon after 10am, Duty Free was nice , immigration queues were quite
long, especially if you don't hold an Australian passport, baggage reclaim was ok. The worst part
was customs - whole area is packed, like sardines, passengers with their baggage waiting for
30mins+.
Sydney Airport review by D Tulloh
23 April 2008 Customer Rating : 
rrived from SGN on April 21 2008 at 8.00am - and by the looks of it every other Asia flight.
Longest queues for passport control I've seen. Took 35 minutes. Then another 30 minutes for luggage
to arrive on carousel, then a gigantic queue for Customs. Luckily had a green stamp on incoming card
and was directed through a makeshift exit - no checking of bags. Overall a very poor experience. Our
Customs and Immigration need more staff so that all counters are manned. You get really tired of
seeing empty workstations and up to 5 staff standing around - it has happened before. The
Airport/Airline needs more baggage handlers. Why oh Why can't all airports be as quick as Singapore.
For the money Sydney airports charge for parking, food and services it should be excellent but it is
far from it.
Sydney Airport review by Kurniawan Santoso
15 April 2008 Customer Rating : 
Reasonable time in the immigration lane, lot of information available for first time visitor like
me. Taxi queuing is fast, whilst I noted that most Australian Taxi Drivers drive their car sooo
fast! Lovely city, good airport!
Sydney Airport review by R Hill
1 April 2008 Customer Rating : 
I'm a regular user of Sydney Airport and generally find it a pleasant gateway to my home town.
However, as I often use the long-term carpark I'm always amazed at the inconsistency of the carpark
shuttle service. My last trip it took 40 minutes from collecting my bag to being dropped off at my
car. Yes, it's a big city and yes it's a busy airport but the promise of a shuttle every 15 minutes
(with a travel time rarely longer than 6 minutes) is VERY often broken. Thankfully I was one of the
lucky one's that fit on the bus at T2. I truly felt for those left behind and particularly those
looking bewildered as the jammed shuttle sped past the stop at T3. How hard can it be?
Sydney Airport review by Kamal Hasnan
27 March 2008 Customer Rating : 
Arrived at Sydney Airport on 12th February from KL, transferring to Adelaide. The white color scheme
of the airport is relaxing but personally, it is too small for the traffic it's handling.
Transferring from T1 to T2 was difficult and the short bus ride was too expensive IMO although the
friendly bus driver was worth the dollars. Range of restaurants/eateries is excellent. I am
disappointed that there are no ANZ ATM machines though.More seats around the airport would be
welcomed and I was really annoyed when I was instructed to move from my seat without giving me any
explanation by an airport staff when they took the seat somewhere else. Toilets at T2 are too
small. The construction activities around T1 was not a welcoming sight.
Sydney Airport review by K Chen
15 March 2008 Customer Rating : 
When I was on my departure to Guangzhou, I saw the lines were huge and it took around 45 minutes to
get through check-in, then Customs and Immigration took another 15 minutes, which wasn't too bad.
However, when I got to security, the staff were rude to others. I finally passed security, and the
shops were great, with prices lower than downtown, then when I get to Gate 25, I see that it had
been around 30 metres long, quite long that it took 45 minutes to get everyone in. This was during
peak season, so then the airport can get crowded at times. The good things on arrival, is the SYD
shop, which has prices cheaper than downtown. Sydney on arrivals has been good, with lines organised
and not overcrowded. To avoid long queues, you should go to the airport 3 hours prior to departure
and you'll have a better time going through check-in, immigration and security.
Sydney Airport review by O Thach
12 February 2008 Customer Rating : 
TPE-SYD. We arrived at Sydney airport at around 11am and somehow (luckily), there were no crowds to
battle upon our arrival. The terminal was very open. Possibly too open and empty that it almost felt
lonely. Customs was nice and quick though the service could have been better with smiles and more
cheerful attitudes. New TV monitors labelling each baggage carousel to it's corresponding flight
made collection quick and painless. Unfortunately, the horrific part of the arrival had arrived.
Queuing for Quarantine was absolute chaos as there was no organisation with the lines and entrance
points. The officers at the front were shouting out orders in a frightening manner. This is
basically the only area of the airport that needs improvement. Overall, not a bad airport. But world
class it certainly isn't.
Sydney Airport review by Peter Harrison
12 November 2007 Customer Rating : 
Arriving at Sydney on a domestic flight from Perth I found that the queue for taxis was immense. If
like me you are arriving in a strange city for the first time and not too sure about using public
transport my strong recommendation would be to pre book transfers and have someone meet you in
arrivals. On leaving Sydney to fly on to Honolulu my Jet Star flight was delayed over 4 hours. The
company dealt with the delay in an exemplary manner keeping all passengers informed and arranging for
meal vouchers. Unfortunately the choice of eating options was very limited and I think the quiche and
fries I had was possibly the worst thing I have ever tasted! A few free internet access terminals are
available. But these tend to be hogged - I think one man was conducting his global business from one
PC! I think it would be fairer if each user was limited to say 20 minutes maximum - so that others
like me who just want to quickly check their emails have the chance to do so.
Sydney Airport review by Teresa Tyler
1 November 2007 Customer Rating : 
Used both International and Domestic terminals. Both are clean and modern in feel. The screening on
entry can be onerous but it was done with humour and politeness. Direction signing was generally good
in both terminals with one glaring exception. On departure from the domestic terminal there is no
indication where to go to pick up the airport hotels' courtesy buses, and the pick up point is not at
all easy to reach. Are they sending a message that they don't want passengers to use courtesy coaches?
Sydney Airport review by Edmund Carew
1 November 2007 Customer Rating : 
The best way to transfer between international and domestic terminals (if one does not have a freebie
transfer) is to take AirportLink's rail service from 'down below.' However, passengers beware: a
special airport transfer fare of I think $5 is offered on the train, but only if you have airline
tickets showing that you are transferring, at least in theory. I was charged $13.20 for a transfer
despite arguing with the female booking clerk at International railway station: I have now been
promised a refund. Do not get overcharged! I agree with comments about customs and quarantine being
able to raise a smile at 0600: the delays exiting International airport tend to be most severe when
there is a particular disease being targeted.
Sydney Airport review by D Fay
23 October 2007 Customer Rating : 
I have passed through 4 times in the past 3 weeks on different flights. The experience for domestic
flights was fine : T3 was efficient though I wouldn't like to get stranded on a delayed lights as it's
pretty small. T1 outbound was disappointing - airside feels like a large and over-priced shop through
which passengers have to pick their way to their gate. The catering options were limited and canteen-
like - very poor for a city where food is taken seriously. CityRail service into Sydney is vastly
overpriced - over $13 to travel on a graffiti-strewn commuter train. Even worse is having to pay $5
for a bumpy and chaotically crowded bus to get from T1 to T3.
Sydney Airport review by Kerry Epstein
18 October 2007 Customer Rating : 
The transfer facilities at this airport rank as the most expensive in the world, $A20 for us (family
of 4) to simply go from the terminal on one side of the runway to the one on the other side is a crime
then add $4 for one trolley. The real problem is all these costs do not pay for an "amazing" airport
facility, just an overcrowded, poorly signposted mess. Three stars would be a compliment how does this
rate any better?
Sydney Airport review by John Cobcroft
23 August 2007 Customer Rating : 
Sydney is a tale of two levels of service and amenities. Departures was good, efficient and almost
friendly. Shopping was good and prices what you would expect at any airport, which is why we only look
and not buy. Arrivals was dirty with filthy toilets and too few staff working although there were
plenty of spare staff just hanging around without not much to do apparently.
Sydney Airport review by Peter Hutchinson
7 August 2007 Customer Rating : 
Hate having to use SYD (both Int'l & Domestic) but since TG rescheduled their BNE-BKK flights I don't
have much option. Travelled on TG995 which touched down (not parked at the gate) at 1235hrs on 1st Aug
and by 1320hrs I was at Gate 11 in the domestic terminal. Yes I used QF's transfer bus and yes I did
have to collect baggage. However even with this "rapid" transit I would not rate SYD greater than 3
star.
Sydney Airport review by Neil Prideaux
29 July 2007 Customer Rating : 
Picked up my wife who was arriving, but told her to go upstairs to the
departure terminal. It took us less than 2 minutes to pull up, load her
luggage and drive off. I have done this at least a dozen times in the
past. However the Sydney Airports Corporation / Macquarie Bank are
becoming too greedy and have found another easy revenue stream. Fine
people for doing this. And the officer saw her standing there for at
least 15 minutes, and he could have at least warned her the rules had
changed; but he pounced on us taking down the car details just as we
were about to drive off.
Sydney Airport review by Ian Guy
27 July 2007 Customer Rating : 
Sydney Kingsford Smith leaves a lot to be desired, especially the
International Terminal. Arrivals is less of a biggie; we arrived
recently as a group of 22 and actually went through immigration and
customs with minimal problems; there were lots of FREE luggage trolleys.
However, going out is a different story; is there any other
international terminal that actually charges for the use of a trolley -
we had 16 young soccer players plus about 6 adults - and they sting you
$4 for each trolley. One person had to park - $7 for 30 mins or $44 for
an hour. Add to that the ludicrous levy charged for using the rail
stations. To the CBD from the local stations it is $2 one way per adult
- so why is it $14 from the terminal. In this day and age when people
are being encouraged to use public transport this is pathetic.
Finally, the food area, very poor, worse than a shopping mall, and the
duty free, some what limited, and the claim it is cheaper than
elsewhere, it isn't!
Sydney Airport review by T Neuhaus
12 July 2007 Customer Rating : 
Arrived around 7am on flight from Hong Kong - immigration went very
quickly. The line for customs/ quarantine was snaking around the entire
terminal building several times! Thankfully, they finally managed to
open another few screening points and things began to progress more
quickly. Had to transfer to a domestic flight - enormous queues to re-
check you bags. A very large number of people missed their onward
flights that morning - luckily I had plenty of time, but it still took
me almost 3 hours (!) just from getting off my international flight to
arriving at T3. Domestic terminal was pleasant with nice cafes. Go visit
the "Qantas Heritage Collection" if you have half an hour spare.
Sydney Airport review by Steven Parish
11 July 2007 Customer Rating : 
My biggest beef is getting between the domestic and international
terminals. I can't believe that after years of complaints they still
can't provide an efficient service. Unless you travel with Qantas, which
has a good free transfer service, Do not take the buses. They run
infrequently outside peak times, are unreliable and charge $5. Take the
train, which runs every few minutes and provides a much better service,
but the stations are not properly signposted in the terminals.
Sydney Airport review by D Jowett
24 May 2007 Customer Rating : 
Have to defend Sydney Airport after a few negative comments as a Brit
who uses it regularly when flying to Australia. No doubt it is better if
you can arrive on an evening flight instead of the rat run early morning
International flights as I have found to my cost in the past. If like me
your regular airport is Heathrow then you are glad for anything better,
and don't get me started on US airports. I have always found Customs and
Immigration quick, pleasant but officious and baggage is normally
starting to arrive as you get to the carousels. Prices are normal for
airport food and drink and have never had to queue for more than 20-30
mins at check in. With regards to Cityrail I find it an excellent
service but agree with the state of the trains but for the price you pay
to Sydney city (approx $15 one way) compare it on the equivelent
Heathrow Express (approx $33) and for a 15 minute journey I know which I
would rather pay. All in all I normally fly Qantas and arrive Sydney at
1925 and stay in the Ultimo Road area of Sydney and can be in my Hotel
room by 2100 including a walk from the Central Station so cannot
complain
Sydney Airport review by Nick Fortuna
20 May 2007 Customer Rating : 
Having arrived during the 6am rush hour, I expected mayhem. However, I
was pleasantly surprised that there was no queue at passport control,
luggage made it out quickly, Customs and Quarantine managed a 6am smile
and were helpful and courteous. Could it be that local TV was filming a
documentary? In all, it took less than 30 minutes to clear all
procedures from moment of touchdown. Excellent Service. However, the
'seamless' domestic transfer was a bit cumbersome. The business class
queue for transfer check-in took way longer than economy class. Why? Bus
service to domestic terminal along the apron made for good aircraft
spotting, but surely, there must be a more efficient way to get pax
transferred?
Sydney Airport review by Paul Harvey
9 May 2007 Customer Rating : 
Arrived in the very early morning rush of European flights prepared for
long queues and a difficult time. Exactly the opposite, immigration were
on the ball and working hard to keep queues down and Customs were quick
and easy. The only downside would be some fellow passengers who had
difficulty with complex instructions like "have your passport opened".
Departure was just as easy. Because I was transferring from a BA flight
to a Qantas flight, I used their "seamless transfer system" between T1
and T3 - this worked well. A nice airport, well maintained and easy.
Sydney Airport review by P McDougall
27 April 2007 Customer Rating : 
I am sure the jobs in customs and quarantine can be tedious, but a
simple smile and being polite will result in a much more pleasant
experience. I think that multi lingual immigration officers need to be
employed. I have been to quite a few airports in Asia recently and all
have wireless free internet. Sydney airport appear to charge for
everything. They charge taxis for pulling up to pick the airport
customers up. The food and beverage are well overpriced. Paying for
trolleys is appalling! The way the bags come out on to the belt results
in damage. I had a fragile record box that had fragile stickers all over
it and they put it through the baggage system. They just don't care!
Cityrail need to look at putting on their millenium trains on the
airport line. To pay close to $15 to travel on tatty old trains isn't a
good look.
Sydney Airport review by Kevin Tunnicliffe
20 April 2007 Customer Rating : 
I like Sydney airport although it does need to rethink the arrivals hall
as this is shabby. The staff at immigration were a trifle surly but in
that respect no worse than many others in the world. The baggage came
through fast and efficiently, far better than Heathrow or Manchester for
example. We used the Emirates Business Class Lounge at the airport and
this is a model of how such lounges should operate. It was clean, with
comfotable seating, excellent food and drink options and pleasant staff
who were helpful and not too in your face.
Sydney Airport review by Alasdair Brooks
10 April 2007 Customer Rating : 
With direct international flights from Melbourne to the rest of the
world becoming increasingly rare (with Austrian and BA dropping flights
to Melbourne, no European airline now flies to Victoria), passengers
flying to and from Melbourne frequently have to transit through Sydney.
Sometimes they have to transit through Sydney even when travelling on an
airline that does fly to Melbourne (some Thai flights to Melbourne, and
all United Flights to and from the US). The following comments are
also valid if transferring from flights to and from any Australian city
via Sydney. In my experience, the experience of the transit through
Sydney depends on several factors. If transferring from a domestic
Qantas flight to an international flight in Sydney on the way out of the
country, the shuttle bus takes you between terminals quickly and
efficiently. If transferring from an international flight to another
international flight on the way out (for example, if transferring from
the United flight from Melbourne to LAX - which stops in Sydney - to the
United flight from SYD to SFO), then you never leave the international
terminal (though you do have to go through security again). In both of
these cases the system is simple and straightforward, though sometimes -
as I posted in March 2005 - passing through security when transferring
between international flights can be somewhat slow and frustrating due
to understaffing and the use of only one x-ray machine. It can be far
more frustrating to transfer in the other direction, when returning to
the country. If staying on the same flight, but forced to disembark,
you will probably find yourself going through that previously mentioned
single X-ray machine again. Passengers should be careful to check their
flight number if transferring to a Qantas flight on the way back in to
Australia. Flights above a certain number actually leave from the
international terminal, and customs and immigrations will only be
cleared at your final destination - many's the unsuspecting passenger
whose travel agent has forgotten to tell them this and has nearly (or
entirely) missed their flight by trying to go through customs in Sydney.
Far worse is the system used to get between the international and
domestic terminals if that change is necessary. The most convenient and
best sign-posted shuttle bus is only open to Qantas and other Oneworld
passengers; signposting for all other shuttle buses is unclear, and
staff not entirely helpful - last time I ended up on a free charter bus
taking a school group between terminals, though no one thought to ask me
to leave (you can also take the train between terminals, though I'd only
recommend that to people with little luggage). Domestic check-in staff
on my last transfer also seemed to think it strange that my bags hadn't
been checked through all the way to my destination, and that I wasn't
travelling on an e-ticket (I was transferring from Korean to Qantas) -
though they were friendly and helpful once they overcome their surprise.
Unlike most other passengers commenting here, I've never had a problem
with immigration queues (I'm not an Australian citizen), which are
certainly processed more efficiently than their US counterparts. There
can be a scrum at customs, where signposting is unclear, and the
placement of one luggage carousel near the entrance to the red queue
occasionally causes problematic blockages of foot traffic. In sum, I've
seen better (in Asia), but I've also seen considerably worse (in the
USA), and the main problem is the need to improve signage and
instructions for those transferring to the domestic terminal on the way
back in to Australia. Those of us who are forced to use Sydney a lot
know what to expect, but I can see where it would be tremendously
confusing for someone transferring for the first time.
Sydney Airport review by Miles Gordon
7 March 2007 Customer Rating :

My partner and I are very frequent flyers, and SYD is our home port, and
while other airports have renovated and extended over the years, it
seems that SYD is left to deteriorate. For sure, the departures side of
the airport is all new-looking and shiny, with clearly defined queues
and lots of signage. But the arrivals hall at SYD is an international
embarrassment, and needs urgent renovation. Immigration formalities are
similar the world over, and SYD has no real problems there. However,
once one steps down from immigration into the baggage-claim area,
everything changes. For a start, the sprayed-concrete textured ceiling
is so dirty it's grey, and the areas around the aircon vents are black.
Not enticing. It just looks drab and ordinary, and in desperate need of
some TLC. The true horror is waiting to clear customs/quarantine. I
applaud AQUIS and customs, they do a very important job, and considering
the facilities they have they do it well. But I can't help thinking
that there has got to be a better way of organising things at SYD. No
real direction is given to pax, signs are only in English (!!), and
there are no clearly defined queues for people to wait in. This results
in the 'nothing to declare' queue crossing (and mixing with) the 'items
to declare' line, and it's a total mess. To make matters worse, the X-
ray examination of luggage by AQUIS seems to be almost routine now, but
the whole process has been set up without any thought for the inpact on
the flow of passengers through the arrivals hall. In short, it's a
disaster. In fact, it's such a disaster that for our last couple of Asia
trips, we have flown back into Brisbane to clear customs and
immigration, and connected with a domestic flight to Sydney.
Sydney Airport review by Armin Gotttwald
26 February 2007 Customer Rating : n/a
We arrived in Sydney on an MH flight from Kuala Lumpur on a Sunday
evening and immigration/quarantine/baggage collection/getting a taxi
were a breeze. Touchdown was at 7:52, and we arrived in our hotel room
in Darling Harbour at 8:45 (and that included check-in at the hotel!).
The airport itself seemed OK, without being anything special. I know
there are times when the airport is overcrowded or almost comes to a
standstill, but we were lucky to have chosen the day flight to arrive in
the evening. Coming all the way from Austria, I can recommend an evening
arrival in Australia to all travellers. You can have a good sleep and
wake up the next morning ready to explore Sydney, wihout suffering from
jetlag.
Sydney Airport review by Alfred Kobylanski
13 February 2007 Customer Rating : n/a
Arrived 9:05am from Buenos Aires. The arrivals process was
particularly disappointing it took approximately 50 minutes mins for
priority baggage to make it to the luggage carousel. The customs and
quarantine inspection required another 50 minutes. In all it took over
1 hour and 45 minutes to complete formalities due to the Airports in
ability to process passengers politely and efficiently. Please note
Sydney airport has charges for all activities that is disguised in the
price of airline tickets. The fee is clearly in access of any of the
services that are being provided. In addition, due to the inefficiencies
of the Airport further insult is added when car parking is included in
the experience as it is priced at an extortionist rate that
exponentially rises from a very low time increments. You end up paying
substantially more because of delays incurred at the airport.
Sydney Airport review by Les Brock
5 February 2007
Arrived by BA on Feb 2nd at 06:50. Small queue at Passport Control then
down to baggage reclaim. Bags arrived within 5 minutes. Collected bags
and was out through Customs and in the city by 07:45. Maybe I was lucky
but could not fault the airport systems at all.
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Customer Rating = from 1.0 (very poor) to 5.0 (excellent) |
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