Shanghai-Beijing Air Express
Just about every time I go to China I go to both Shanghai and Beijing and I hate the commute between those two cities because each leg usually takes a couple hours longer than it should. I will be doing this trip next month and I am dreading it a bit less than usual because "express air service" between these two cities launched this week.
According to the China Daily, this express service will "make getting between Shanghai and Beijing a little bit easier," though discounts are being eliminated.
"Passengers flying between the two cities will enjoy quicker check-in times, and security checks." They will also be able to use one ticket for any of the five airlines participating: Air China, China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines, Hainan Airlines and Shanghai Airlines. The five participating airlines will provide quicker check-ins, security checks, boarding and luggage collection through designated passages. Flights will run from 7:30 a.m. until around 10:00 p.m. and will be as frequent as every half hour, starting around October of this year. These express flights will be between Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport and Beijing Capital Airport will eventually depart every 30 minutes. The plan is for travel from downtown to downtown to take less than three hours.
Buying e-tickets for these flights will be encouraged and the two airports "will gradually increase the number of automatic ticket vending machines." The two airports have set aside exclusive counters for the service.
Comments
Thank you for the nice post.
Posted by: Emily | August 12, 2007 11:07 PM
sounds great and all, but until I see results, I'm not ready to give praise. It's rare that I've been on a flight that has actually taken off on time, especially the BJ-SH flights. If this works, it will be great, especially when the Beijing subway finally extends to the airport.
As for the automatic ticket vending machines, I've tried them in a few different airports, and they don't seem to read foreign passports very well (if at all), which means us foreigners still need to stand in line.
Posted by: b. cheng | August 12, 2007 11:53 PM
Your articles on China air travel from a few months ago left left a vivid, tragic picture - glad to see things are going to change for the better.
Posted by: Josh Weinstein | August 13, 2007 1:20 AM
It's awesome. I arrived at Beijing Airport at 17:40 with a e-ticket for the 20:00 flight. Went to the counter and asked if I could still catch the 18:00 flight. "No problem", the friendly lady replied. There I was, on my way to Shanghai, downtown to downtown in less than three hours!!
Posted by: Roel | August 13, 2007 2:37 AM
Emily --
You are very welcome.
Posted by: China Law Blog | August 13, 2007 10:11 AM
Josh Weinstein --
I think "tragic" is far too strong a word to describe air travel in China, but I am glad to hear I can describe anything vividly.
Posted by: China Law Blog | August 13, 2007 10:12 AM
B.Cheng (Modern Lei Feng) --
I agree with you that we should take a wait and see ("trust but verify") attitude on this. That is interesting about the machines; I did not know that as I have never tried to use one.
Posted by: China Law Blog | August 13, 2007 10:25 AM
Roel --
Cool!
Posted by: China Law Blog | August 13, 2007 10:26 AM
the domestic planes (all except air china, which is slightly better) stink pretty bad though, especially in the economy class. the business class, costing only RMB400 more, has like 4 seats per flight and is always full.
Posted by: n0r | August 13, 2007 10:51 PM
Why not take an overnight train? I just launched a site for the foreign independent traveller in china, www.adventurechinatrip.com/train/, where you can check the latest china train schedule.
Cheers
Posted by: lee | August 13, 2007 11:46 PM
The Beijing - Shanghai Express does work a little better than the normal cattle call at Chinese airports, but...
My flight to Beijing sat on the runway at arrival for 15 minutes waiting for a place to park and then we had to take the bus to the terminal. I arrived at the curb 30 minutes after I landed (and I didn't have luggage to wait for). So much for time saved.
Addressing one part of the transportation problem and ignoring the rest is of little value. I suspect the emphasis on the PEK-SHA flights will mean every other flight in China will be sacrificed!
Posted by: James Rice | August 16, 2007 7:24 PM
I have been following the development of Beijing-Hongqiao Air Express fairly closely, and for those who think this so-called Air Express project is a good thing, may I recommend you to have a look at the following articles and discussions first: http://www.airliners.net/discussions/general_aviation/read.main/3551256/, http://en.feeyo.com/posts/0/topic-2-116.html, http://en.feeyo.com/posts/0/topic-2-61.html
Posted by: Joseph X. | August 31, 2007 2:00 PM
thanks for this article.
Posted by: Linda | November 7, 2007 3:30 AM
Maybe I have been lucky - or maybe i just like hanging about in airports and dont notice delays. I guess the new terminal in Beijing will help a lot once it is fully open.
Kathy.
Posted by: Kathy Cheung | March 2, 2008 7:00 PM