Beijing Capital Airport

T2 - the 'old terminal' as our guide described it - if that's old I'll settle for it. Clean and efficient lots of shops for those who want such things enough quiet corners for those who don't.

I can't believe that no one has mentioned how cold it is. My wife and I had a 9 hour layover on March 21. The temperature in Beijing was about 32 degrees F and the airport did not seem much warmer. Another annoying thing is that they make you go through customs even though you are in transit and only connecting to another flight. The signage for the transit customs seemed a little lacking - customs officials were terse. Other than the coldness and redundant customs the airport is not too bad. The best and cheapest place to get food is the Chinese Fast Food place (the name escapes me). I think that if you want western food you are going to pay more for it than the Chinese food. They have lounge chairs that are good for catching some ZZZs. Just follow the signs. I've never seen these in other airports. Good Idea. They also have hot water spickets in certain locations. If you really want to eat on the cheap they sell those Ramen type noodles in heat able containers - just add the hot water. I am giving an overall Poor rating because of the cold temperature.

I arrived in Beijing for a connecting flight to Delhi India. I was amazed in the new Terminal 3! Very clean modern and great staff. It was a big walk from gate to gate but they did have people movers and some small cars operating.

Immigration process was smooth both for landing and departure officers friendly and efficient - some officers also prioritised passengers with small kids go through special lane. Luggage arrived ahead of me. Airport express train was great no queue for taxi either. Air China business lounge was good - the suggestion for PEK is shopping staff are not that helpful and very limited choice.

T3 is just massive. Inside the passenger terminal there is no Starbucks Dunkin Donuts or other western franchise. Instead a Chinese coffee shop where they sell a tiny cup of Americano for 5 dollars. Duty free shopping was a nightmare too - poorest service I've ever had. Airport immigration? Slowest ever! I simply have no idea why this airport received 4 stars.

The design and structure of the airport is very similar to that of Hong Kong's Chep Lap Ko airport. The staff are quite cold and indifferent whenever they are asked a question. After immigration more international stores (Starbucks MacDonalds etc) should be opened.

T3 is massive possibly the largest terminal I have been in. Given its size the distances are large and time consuming. The terminal itself is very clean airy and well designed. Some English signage missing or confusing. Immigration both ways was fast and efficient. Luggage wait negligible. Wireless internet didn't seem to work. The retail and food options need improvement. More taxi bays required - we had to wait almost 30mins in subzero temperature to arrive at the head of the taxi queue.

T3 is huge beautiful clean and new although a shocking lack of amenities airside compared to HKIA for example. Getting through Immigration & Customs was smooth & officials are friendly & pleasant. I used T1 for a domestic flight to Xi'an. While it is older & smaller it is still very clean & the staff are friendly enough. Many domestic flights board from a bus that takes you from the terminal to the plane on the tarmac so that feels like a bit of a throwback to an earlier era.

For my flight from Hiroshima via Dalian there were two pick-up areas for the baggage one for Hiroshima and one for Dalian but there were no signs in English for the Hiroshima baggage so I had to go back into the immigration / customs area and start again. There was no problem with this so I suspect that it often happens. Given the huge size of this airport I cannot understand why planes are still parked away from the terminal and buses used to convey passengers with the inevitable free-for-all. For the return trip I was accompanied by a Chinese guide so the check-in procedure was very smooth. It took about five minutes so there was no sense in having to arrive three hours before departure. I flew Business Class so the ratings are higher.

This airport is huge and airy with a wealth of shops in the area near the gates. Despite the presence of people movers some distances are unnecessarily long. The hairpin turn before immigration services is a case in point and Transfer passengers desk needs to be more clearly signposted. Perhaps most problematic about this airport is the lack of wireless internet service. It is advertised in a number of places but never available. The information desk staff seem unable to provide assistance with this matter. One good thing about this airport is the presence of showers for use for a nominal price.