Originally Posted by
tth6133
I have a somewhat different take on this for several reasons:
1) I'd rather have a connection in Asia than in the US on the way back from Asia to avoid having to collect and recheck my bags in order to clear customs.
2) For international-to-international transfers, TPE has free airside skytrain between terminals that the other airports in Asia and the US generally don't have (some airports have shuttle buses but they tend to take much longer).
3) Lounges at TPE aren't great, but they aren't, generally speaking, any worse than those at the other listed Asian or US airports.
For visiting (rather than transiting) Taipei, I generally choose to fly into/out of TSA instead.
I don't quite get the negativity on TPE for its facilities, either.
Yes, if arriving from China or another country on the quarantine list you have to get your hand carry screened before immigration. But transit passengers are not subject to this and only go through transit security which is reliably fast and efficient. I don't think that can be said for any of the other airports in question. I've spent 45 minutes going through transit security at ICN, a long wait at TPE is like 6 minutes.
As mentioned, if coming from the US you even bypass security. Japanese immigration pre-clearance is coming to TPE though not sure if this will apply to transit passengers, but definitely a plus to avoid immigration in Japan.
Granted the exterior architecture of T1 is an abomination and T2 is uninspiring but this does not impact transit passengers. The interior has been updated multiple times and only lacks the open, soaring space you see at newer airports. The lounges are neither special nor terrible. HKG 's lounges are better, ICN's are similar to worse, and NRT or HND depends on your preference. So middle of the pack.
None of these airports come close to SIN for things to do on a long layover.
I have not yet seen the inside of the new T3 yet but people who have say it is unique and nice. The good thing is that all gates are connected airside so you can walk anywhere or take the train. At ICN once you get to the remote terminal you're stuck, you cannot return to the main terminal. I don't spend a lot of time exploring airports but my staff say there is more to do (because they are IG fanatics and take tons of pictures) in TPE than HKG, NRT or HND. They do like the Korean parades at ICN but TPE has a lot of themed gates. Not my thing, but it does make an impression.
For me, speedy transit security is where TPE stands out. The rest is middle of the road, not the best, but definitely not the worst.