Hamilton guy

Flew today from PEk to HKG on KA907 in Business class arrived at the gate in HKG at 1:18. Off the plane fairly promptly, the gate is very near to immigration and the line up was only about 2 turns of the snake. Through immigration to baggage claim, as I approach the carousel I see my bags coming towards me (have torus to grab a cart and get them before they go past). Out through immigration, nothing to declare, Walk over to the Airport Express station and there is a train waiting, just time to hop aboard before the door closes at 1:44. I am completely through the airport and on my way to the city in less than half an hour with two checked bags. Awesome ^

Hope susiesans transit went as smoothly

QRC3288

That's great! Not to gloat too much about HKG, but that's not too uncommon....it's just a great airport. I don't think I'm uncommon to say that with HK ID and a good gate it's pretty normal to do 15-18 minutes from the plane parking to waiting for Airport Express, including bags. W/o bags, and you can honestly do it in 5-7 minutes if you're in F. Built however long ago, it just is an amazing airport in terms of efficiency. T5 at Heathrow is also good, Zurich, Munich, Beijing T3 are also very convenient (not to mention SIN's amazing new T3), but in terms of just plain and simple efficient, consistent and convenient I don't think HKG can be topped.

CXDM

hong kong is really good that way.....transit/transfers or just general arrivals is very smooth, quick and easy. Immigration line does get a little full sometimes, for visitors but HK staff are generally very good at making it move and opening up extra counters when necessary (even making use of the hk residents line....

cxfan1960

It is quite usual that even for flights arriving almost next to immigration, when I get through immigration with my HKID, my bag is there already. (And I am talking about using HKID, not passport.) The luggage delivery system is really good.

Hamilton guy

That was without the frequent visitor pass. I have qualified, but the card didn't arrive before I left on this trip. I am looking forward to having that to speed things up even more.

The one thing that keeps coming to mind as I travel to Hong Kong and Beijing is how awful the arrival experience is at YYZ. From the monster size immigration/customs card that doesn't fit into your passport or shirt pocket, through the mivkey mouse concern over whether you have brought in two bottle of booze rather than one, through the cross exxamination at immigration, its bummer experience.

brunos

For someone used to CDG or transiting thru LHR, HKG is plain marvelous. Te airport is so efficient. Baggage is delivered so fast and with priority tagged suitcases arriving indeed first (on CX, BA, SQ, TG). Only bad luggage experience at HKG is on AF flights; luggage tagged priority arrive randomly and often last, but that must be the usual chaos of loading luggage at CDG.

christep

For a visitor that's pretty good. When I used to travel a ridiculous amount, my measure of a "good" arrival was to be at home in the mid-levels within an hour of exiting the plane (albeit with no checked bags).

mtacchi

My target (which I usually achieve) is 45 minutes from exiting the aircraft to Robinson Rd in the mid levels. Even with bags, (priority), they usually arrive on the belt before I get there with my HKID.

Best airport in the world for that.

Makes YYZ/YVR in Canada look like a joke.

Didar56

Deleted

b-kpf

yyz is absolutely a joke. having lived at hkg for a big part of my life so far, i've always expected fast baggage claim/immigration. waiting 20-30 min at other airports is fine for me. but when you're waiting 30 mins immigration, 90 mins for baggage, and having to fight through a million people so you can get ONE trolley to put your 3 pieces of luggage on (2 check in, one carry on suitcase), it's seriously

Kit Angel

I miss the convenience of Kai Tak. I used to live in midlevels, at the Po Shan Road end of Conduit Road, and in Pokfulam.
Inbound, for example using a taxi direct at 5pm off the London flights, I could generally be home in 35 minutes from doors opening, no bags of course. With bags it would take 15 minutes more, usually. To Pokfulam added about 10 minutes or so.
Outbound was the best of all. Even before internet check-in one could leave home at 10 pm for an 11 o'clock departure or 11 for the midnight planes and stroll through check-in - with an eyebrow raised from the staff - immigration and onto the end of the queue at the gate.
Today inbound takes about 75 minutes to Pokfulam, from doors open at a gate number above 26 or so to my front door. Long bloody walk or damn train and two escalators to immigration if not paying for a buggy; long walk from immigration through baggage and across the terminal to the AEL [stupidly doubling back and forth through the arrival hall entranceway - why is that?], 12 mins wait and 26 mins travel on the train followed by 15 mins in the cab. A cab all the way takes about 50 minutes, almost the same as AEL and cab.
Outbound is OK save for the long distances in the terminal. Can drive and park in 45 mins or take a cab and the AEL from Central in about the same time.

SNA_Flyer

This is one of many reasons why HKG is my favorite airport. SIN is a close second in terms of efficiency. The only difference being that flying into SIN, I'm in the taxi and at my hotel quicker than HKG, due to the reduced travel time from the airport.

QRC3288

Are you being sarcastic?! Haha you don't have to hate that bad do you? You realize you're ragging on probably the best airport in the world! "Long bloody walk" is often 1-2 minutes, sometimes (gasp) 4-5. Yes there's a train, but HKIA does have like 600 aircraft movements a day so it can't exactly ALWAYS plop you down next to immigration. And I would not exactly classify the 100 meters or so from immigration to customs to the Airport Express as a long walk, pretty convenient if you ask me. And a minor point of contention, the longest you'll wait is 12 minutes, and it's 24 minutes to Central, not 26.

Hamilton guy

One other annoyance about YYZ, no small carts airside and $2.00 for a cart landside. Yes I know I can get $1.00 back by returning the cart to the rack, but I just want to get into the limo get home.

holtju2

Personally I prefer SIN. It is far easier and faster to get out of the airport to the city than in HKG.