Shanghai to Beijing
Jun 12, 2006 | 9:54 am
#46
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Shanghai
Posts: 46,319
another mini trip report (but, never left the ground)
My company recently decided to furnish me with a digital camera (should have happened long ago given the amount of DD I perform, but I digress) so I began my travels today with FT in mind and took snapshots of remotely interesting things along the way. Anyway, here's how things panned out. (I will post the pics later.)
I booked the 7:45p FM (Shanghai Airlines) departure from PVG to PEK because I was supposed to meet my colleague's son in Beijing who was arriving on NW from NRT. The other choice was the 8p HU flight from SHA. While that would have been more convenient, I went with the PVG option because I've had (very) bad luck with HU in time-critical situations.
I left my house at 5:45p and took a taxi to the Shimen #1 Rd. subway station so I could ride the Maglev from Longyang Rd. (I did this for the benefit of the FT community because I've now taken the Maglev enough times to conclude that the bus is absolutely a better option.)
But, everything worked like clockwork (as usual) and I arrived at the check-in counter by 7p. The FM check-in area was relatively empty so I got a boarding pass in no time.
Then, I cleared security and descended into bus gate land. By the way, I've recently noticed that PVG is once again starting to take on a lot of domestic flights (there was a period about 2 years back where the reverse was the case). I always thought this was odd, given the limited gate space. Now, I think I know the answer to this paradox (keep reading).
In the past, I've been a strong proponent of PVG (v. SHA) on these boards because the latter is too chaotic for my tastes and getting a taxi is an ordeal (plus, with the #2 bus, PVG is actually a cheaper commute). But, today's experience may well force me to alter my view.
Boarding started at 7:10p. I skipped the first bus because I wanted to charge my laptop. But, I boarded the second bus at 7:20p because the gate area was clearing out and I didn't want to be the one pax that stood in the way of an early departure.
Well, that fear proved to be unfounded because we waited on the bus for 10 minutes before moving an inch.
The bus ride was clearly the longest of its kind that I've ever experienced; 17 minutes. Yes, I now understand that PVG has A LOT of land and -- therefore -- the capacity to run busses to hundreds of airplane-sized plots; as long as they keep building runways, this could be a viable low-cost expansion strategy.
Next, I settled into 5a on a sparkling new 738 and had a predeparture Sprite, which was actually cold. The plane was quite nice.
Then, we received word from the pilot that, due to bad weather in Beijing, we had been put into a ground hold. At that point, I called my colleague that I was supposed to meet and he told me the weather was fine, save a few isolated t-storms.
20 minutes later, the busses returned and we went back to the terminal. During the bus ride, I called ctrip and learned that all domestic flights into PEK were going to be cancelled from that point on. So, I went back to FM and rebooked myself on a flight out of SHA tomorrow morning.
I then took the #2 bus back to Jing-an Temple and arrived at 930p. At that point, I learned from my colleague that all the access roads to Beijing Airport had been baricaded. He got through around an hour later and successfully retrieved his son, but as of 11p, was still stuck at the toll booth because the access road had been closed. He handed the phone to his driver, who explained to me that a bus accident was to blame for all of the problems in Beijing this evening, but I don't buy it. My three top theories are: 1) terrorist threat; 2) in-bound VIPs; or 3) a combination of 1 and 2.
What should go without saying is that things like this happen in China from time to time so I'm not bummed, in spite of the wasted four hours. That said, I think most would agree that 4 canceled flights in 10 days isn't a good thing.
I booked the 7:45p FM (Shanghai Airlines) departure from PVG to PEK because I was supposed to meet my colleague's son in Beijing who was arriving on NW from NRT. The other choice was the 8p HU flight from SHA. While that would have been more convenient, I went with the PVG option because I've had (very) bad luck with HU in time-critical situations.
I left my house at 5:45p and took a taxi to the Shimen #1 Rd. subway station so I could ride the Maglev from Longyang Rd. (I did this for the benefit of the FT community because I've now taken the Maglev enough times to conclude that the bus is absolutely a better option.)
But, everything worked like clockwork (as usual) and I arrived at the check-in counter by 7p. The FM check-in area was relatively empty so I got a boarding pass in no time.
Then, I cleared security and descended into bus gate land. By the way, I've recently noticed that PVG is once again starting to take on a lot of domestic flights (there was a period about 2 years back where the reverse was the case). I always thought this was odd, given the limited gate space. Now, I think I know the answer to this paradox (keep reading).
In the past, I've been a strong proponent of PVG (v. SHA) on these boards because the latter is too chaotic for my tastes and getting a taxi is an ordeal (plus, with the #2 bus, PVG is actually a cheaper commute). But, today's experience may well force me to alter my view.
Boarding started at 7:10p. I skipped the first bus because I wanted to charge my laptop. But, I boarded the second bus at 7:20p because the gate area was clearing out and I didn't want to be the one pax that stood in the way of an early departure.
Well, that fear proved to be unfounded because we waited on the bus for 10 minutes before moving an inch.
The bus ride was clearly the longest of its kind that I've ever experienced; 17 minutes. Yes, I now understand that PVG has A LOT of land and -- therefore -- the capacity to run busses to hundreds of airplane-sized plots; as long as they keep building runways, this could be a viable low-cost expansion strategy.
Next, I settled into 5a on a sparkling new 738 and had a predeparture Sprite, which was actually cold. The plane was quite nice.
Then, we received word from the pilot that, due to bad weather in Beijing, we had been put into a ground hold. At that point, I called my colleague that I was supposed to meet and he told me the weather was fine, save a few isolated t-storms.
20 minutes later, the busses returned and we went back to the terminal. During the bus ride, I called ctrip and learned that all domestic flights into PEK were going to be cancelled from that point on. So, I went back to FM and rebooked myself on a flight out of SHA tomorrow morning.
I then took the #2 bus back to Jing-an Temple and arrived at 930p. At that point, I learned from my colleague that all the access roads to Beijing Airport had been baricaded. He got through around an hour later and successfully retrieved his son, but as of 11p, was still stuck at the toll booth because the access road had been closed. He handed the phone to his driver, who explained to me that a bus accident was to blame for all of the problems in Beijing this evening, but I don't buy it. My three top theories are: 1) terrorist threat; 2) in-bound VIPs; or 3) a combination of 1 and 2.
What should go without saying is that things like this happen in China from time to time so I'm not bummed, in spite of the wasted four hours. That said, I think most would agree that 4 canceled flights in 10 days isn't a good thing.
