You should be fine; I usually try to arrive there at t-70.

Thank you.

In China your challenge at airports is going to be check-in, esp bags. Security and customs are usually really fast (one of the few places in China consistently long lines). If you have elite status it helps (alliance) and if you are really in a rush look for the manager or late arrival line.

For international flights with checked bags, I'd arrive at least 90 min ahead of time. Keep in mind in China the check-in times are really strict, and in China there are often deadlock traffic jams that appear for practically no reasons.

I have only missed 2 flights in my life, both were in China.

To Airport
0545 Board Line 4 subway at Zhongtan Road
0710 Arrive at Pudong Airport
0810 Finished check-in, security, and customs
0845 Board Plane

From Airport
1705 Touchdown at Pudong airport
1735 Cleared customs/immigration
1800 Board Line 2 Train
1925 Arrive at Zhongtan Road station

Touchdown = 415p
Leave plane = 430p
Clear border control = 433p (got really lucky there because the line was intense, but they opened a new line almost the very second I started to take my place in the big line)
Retrieve bags = 443p (longer than normal wait, but my good luck continued; my bags were first and fifth off the belt)
Board #2 bus = 447p (it departed immediately after I got there…. i.e. it was in motion before I was able to take my seat)
Arrive Jing’an Station = 525p
Arrive at destination (north part of Jing’an, close to mnredfox’s pad) = 534p

Two more thoughts:

I made my last post in haste and didn't get a chance to draw attention to the amazing performance of the #2 bus. It costs y22 now, and my taxi on the final leg was y12, which means I only spent y34 on a journey that routinely costs mnredfox between y100 and y180. The buses now depart from the street that runs between the two terminals (dead center); they are well marked (1-3 on one side and 4-6 on the other).

Second, I need to go back there again tonight to pick-up my gf (I was really hoping she would volunteer to take a taxi herself, but I guess that wasn't in the cards), so I decided to book the same guy (Expo taxi) that picked me up from Jing An Station today. I'm going to pay him y250 for the round trip, but he warned me that he will tack on an extra y50 in the event my gf is utterly clueless. y250 isn't an amazing price, but I figure it's fair for both me and the driver.

Chances are, I will end up having to drop her off there again tomorrow, so I might get to know Mr. Huang pretty well. Without further ado, his phone number is 13918017836.

I sense someone rubbing in the bus vs maglev/cab route. :p For the record, I travel 99% of the time for business, so take that route consistently as cost is not an issue to me.

I will admit the time is pretty impressive though. Welcome to Shanghai moondog (though this is your old stomping grounds...). :p

As luck would have it, I am on the exact same bus as yesterday. However, rather than walking right up to it and departing immediately, i had to wait nearly twenty mins. By the way, i also figured out that the buses start outside of terminal one before picking up passengers between the two terminals.

Anyway, here are numbers thus far. I headed for the bus from the arrivals lobby at 435p, reached the bus stop at 442p, and the bus departed at 457p.

ETA: the rest:

Arrive Jing’an Station = 544p
Arrive at same destination = 551p

Switching gears, the Expo Taxi guy I used last night (info in post #66) performed flawlessly. We made it from the airport to Sinan Mansion (Sinan Rd at Fuxing Rd) in 33 minutes, flat, and I didn't feel like our lives were in danger at all. If any of you guys fancy using him for (metered) pick ups, be advised that he prefers the departures level and "just in time" practices. While scheduling airport pickups at PVG is completely unnecessary, since some people ask about this from time to time, it might be useful to have a few driver numbers out there. Plus the same drivers can also bring people to the airport when it is raining.

moondog, your guy and my guy should have a race. Seatbelts option. :p

Unless my gf (or some other VIP) is in town, you will find me on the #2 bus, which will beat your driver any time.

which airport bus PVG to Le Royal Meridien Hotel?
 

We will arrive in Shanghai Oct. 15 at PVG on CA 1970 at 9:35 pm. I have a reservation at Le Royal Meridien on People's Square. I don't know what the name of the district/area is.

Do one of the airport buses stop close to this hotel? Which one? We will have luggage with us.

Or would it be better to take a cab at that time of night? I don't have a burning desire to try the maglev since it will be dark and I won't see much out the windows.

I suggest you plan on taking a taxi simply in order erase this issue from your numerous list of potential pitfalls. (There is a bus, but I can't recall how close the drop-off point is to the LRM.)

Susie, I suggest that late at night taking a cab. Buses will be harder to find etc and with luggage going cab will be a lot easier. District is Haungpu, but better to say hotel in Chinese to the cab. Maglev last train runs at 945, so you'll likely miss it.

Hotel name:
上海世茂皇家艾美酒店

Area
人民广场：上海市黄浦区
(People's Square, Shanghai Huangpu District)

Address
南京东路789号
(789 East Nanjing Rd)

a cab it is
 

I will take moondog and mnredfox advice and take a cab. I figured the buses would run later but you all know the schedules. I will print this up to give the taxi driver, or find a similar card to print from the hotel web site.

A bit different approach on SH ground transportation:

1511 CRH train number G7015 departs Suzhou main station

After arrival at Shanghai main, took the new underground walkway to the westside taxi pick-up area and headed to my hotel near Zhongshan North Rd after getting a cab immediately.

1550 Arrive in hotel room with check-in done (and I did not even have a passport/visa copy with me to speed things up)

While Honqgiao railway station is having unbearable taxi queues (better at the airport terminal side, wink wink), good old Shanghai station is upgrading itself to a veritable transport hub.

Once the new underground subway entrances (lines 1,3 and 4) are finished, it could be quite enjoyable for us frequent Yangtze delta - Shanghai travellers.