Beijing Promises Airport Nirvana
Article in today's People's Daily says Beijing's Capital International Airport will, from today on, "spend no more than 3 minutes [on each passenger] going through customs and less than 10 minutes waiting for a security check:"
Those are just two of the promises made jointly by airport companies, airlines and government departments at a meeting in Beijing yesterday. Dong Zhiyi, general manager of the airport, told a press conference he wanted to provide passengers with a level of service as good as any in Europe, as part of its preparations for next year's Olympics.
The airport has introduced the following measures to reduce waiting times and to improve overall service:
-- Sending delayed luggage on to passengers in Beijing free of charge within 24 hours.
-- Setting time limits on procedures to ensure passengers never have to wait too long, he said.
-- Passengers on international flights will spend no more than 45 seconds in frontier inspection, and a maximum of 3 minutes at quarantine and customs, unless "an individual merits closer inspection."
-- Airlines will provide free food to passengers whose flights are delayed for more than 2 hours "due to airlines' reasons", and free accommodation if flights are delayed for 4 hours "due to airlines' reasons."
-- Products on sale at the airport will be priced the same as in Beijing's downtown area, he said. For example, roast duck that used to sell at the airport for 98 yuan ($13) will now sell at 72 yuan, "the same as downtown."
I will be flying in and out of Beijing in a few weeks and I will report back. I will believe it when I see it.
Comments
I'll also believe it when I see it. Whatever they do, it'll still be better than LAX.
Posted by: Travis Hodgkins | August 30, 2007 10:18 AM
Hah! Yeah, me too. I live in Beijing, so go through the airport every so often. It's pretty much an amateur show...
I am not sure where they're getting the 98 RMB for the roast duck.. the food and drink (especially local beer)is ridiculously expensive - but they have you by the balls I suppose...
Starbucks is a good tenant though, they have one in the international terminal (as well as at the international arrivals hall) and usually get a latte and don't notice a difference (or big difference) in pricing - hey, Starbucks is already expensive in China.
When will they start getting foreign magazines for sale? That's what I want to know!!
Posted by: Chris D | August 30, 2007 6:33 PM
Most of it will be pretty easy to satisfy, I would think, as it seems pretty much the standard already. I've always gone through customs and security relatively quickly, the only thing that I'd be concerned about is the free meals/hotels and the pricing. I can imagine that "due to airlines' reasons" is going to be a huge loophole and you'll rarely see them shell out for the free hotel at least. Pricing at the airport is insane, I remember even a few years ago BJYD doing reports about how insane airport pricing was, if they do drop prices that would be great.
I disagree with Chris, you want amateur hour? Go through any American airport, TSA is a joke and is completely incompetent and airport employees in general seem devoid of a sense of human decency. In Beijing, they are typically pretty professional, efficient, and sometimes even smile.
Posted by: b. cheng | August 30, 2007 6:58 PM
I have to admit that I'm generally running late for just about any flight in China, and the airline employees in Beijing and Shanghai have always done their best to get me on my flight, which includes personally walking me through security and/or customs and running side-by-side with me to the terminal. That has never happened in the States, and I'm usually late for my flights in the States, too, but that's never really a concern because flights are always running behind schedule in the USA anyway. So, I think that this proclamation by the Beijing Airport is pretty typical China. That is, tell the world you're going to implement something new that is really something you've been doing all along.
Posted by: Travis Hodgkins | August 31, 2007 11:59 AM
Seeing it is believing it. Actually, I have the same concern not only for Chinese airports but from airports worldwide especially Heathrow.
Posted by: Romain Guerel (French moving back to Shanghai) | August 31, 2007 11:40 PM