Shanghai Hongqiao Airport

Used Shanghai Hongqiao on a weekday. Was advised to travel via Air China (Y class) and glad I did it. Check in counters for Air China is for Air China only whereas other airlines such as China Eastern Shandong Hainan etc are sharing a check in counters. Therefore their Qs are much longer. Gave priority to us when clearing immigrations due to travelling in family with infants. Airport was busy as there is a departure flight every 5 mins. Not much shops/eating outlets. Trolleys are provided free. Drinking water (both hot and cold) were provided. Overall a simple airport.

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.

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.

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'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!

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.