Connecting / airport transit inside PVG Shanghai Pudong [Merged PVG connection thread
#31
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Shanghai
Posts: 43,400
#32
Join Date: Aug 2004
Posts: 515
#33
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: AU
Programs: former Olympic Airways Gold (yeah - still proud of that!)
Posts: 14,419
Thanks! I guess I won't count on being able to transit airside ... I will have a multi-entry China visa so I'll just exit and check-in with SQ.
I won't have long to wait -- should I interpret this to mean that disembarking/immigration/customs/SQ-checkin/security/immigration will take a long time? I thought a 4 hr window would be sufficient on a Thurs night.
I won't have long to wait -- should I interpret this to mean that disembarking/immigration/customs/SQ-checkin/security/immigration will take a long time? I thought a 4 hr window would be sufficient on a Thurs night.
Arriving, diembarking, immigration and baggage claim should take an hour tops. That is allowing for long immigration queues (which you may or may not get... the longest i have waited was about 30 minutes and that was for a very long queue). Generally however I have done all of the above much much quicker - like 20-30 mins.
So by the time you have done all the above then the check-in for SQ will be open not long after.
Going back the other way is generally very quick - but even with long exit queues for immigration I have only waited about 20 mins.
PVG is a very good airport in terms of speed for arrival and departures.
#34
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: in the vicinity of SFO
Programs: AA 2MM (LT-PLT, PPro for this year)
Posts: 19,782
Connecting in Shanghai: how long minimum and is visa required?
Can one make an air-side connection in PVG without going through customs/immigration? If not, what kind of visa is required?
Also, how long would a safe minimum connection be? I'm looking at (ORD-PVG-HKG) and seeing just over 2 hours going out and about 3 hours going back...
Also, how long would a safe minimum connection be? I'm looking at (ORD-PVG-HKG) and seeing just over 2 hours going out and about 3 hours going back...
#35
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Shanghai
Posts: 43,400
Can one make an air-side connection in PVG without going through customs/immigration? If not, what kind of visa is required?
Also, how long would a safe minimum connection be? I'm looking at (ORD-PVG-HKG) and seeing just over 2 hours going out and about 3 hours going back...
Also, how long would a safe minimum connection be? I'm looking at (ORD-PVG-HKG) and seeing just over 2 hours going out and about 3 hours going back...
#36
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: in the vicinity of SFO
Programs: AA 2MM (LT-PLT, PPro for this year)
Posts: 19,782
Assuming you have a US passport, you'll be able to stop over for up to 48 hours in each direction without a visa. I think 2 hours is safe, especially on the west bound... for the other direction, you should check on the on time stats for your HK-SH flight; some of them are pretty poor. If you're determined to avoid the (infinitely more convenient) nonstop on this route, you might as well do a true stopover or two, and maybe catch Beijing instead in one direction (24 hour max there without visa).
I'm looking to take advantage of the AA double EQM ex-PIT/STL/RDU which only qualifies on AA metal, so the direct flight out of SFO (much preferable otherwise) is out of the question. I'm not sure if it excludes stopovers - if it does not exclude them and it doesn't increase the fare by too much, doing a stopover in one or both sounds like a very good idea.
Thanks again!
#37
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Shanghai
Posts: 43,400
In SH, you can check out Expo (sounds pretty awful to me, but as long as you're there...), and BJ is just plain cool.
Since AA's PEK schedules are dreadful at the moment (maybe not an issue if you're flying a few months out), you'd probably want to save BJ for your return (i.e. arrive in afternoon and leave really early the next day).
#38
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: in the vicinity of SFO
Programs: AA 2MM (LT-PLT, PPro for this year)
Posts: 19,782
In SH, you can check out Expo (sounds pretty awful to me, but as long as you're there...), and BJ is just plain cool.
Since AA's PEK schedules are dreadful at the moment (maybe not an issue if you're flying a few months out), you'd probably want to save BJ for your return (i.e. arrive in afternoon and leave really early the next day).
Thanks again for the advice!
#39
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: SEA
Programs: AA LT PLT; HH Diamond; AS 75K
Posts: 2,909
Can one make an air-side connection in PVG without going through customs/immigration? If not, what kind of visa is required?
Also, how long would a safe minimum connection be? I'm looking at (ORD-PVG-HKG) and seeing just over 2 hours going out and about 3 hours going back...
Also, how long would a safe minimum connection be? I'm looking at (ORD-PVG-HKG) and seeing just over 2 hours going out and about 3 hours going back...
Thanks
#40
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Shanghai
Posts: 43,400
Assuming it gets switched to a 5p departure, 2p flights out of HKG would make the cut.
Have you considered getting a PRC visa? You have lots of time, it's not extremely expensive ($150 plus agency fees), and you'll be able to start building a visa history. If you've never been to BJ before, you'll surely regret the fact that your stay is limited to 23:59... though 48 hours in SH is more than enough.
#41
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: in the vicinity of SFO
Programs: AA 2MM (LT-PLT, PPro for this year)
Posts: 19,782
Here's one set of days that gets this fare around the time I'm going -
946.70 USD AI (834.00 USD before taxes/fees) Fare code is QKX7HP6S - AA segments are mile-earning, KA/CX segments are non-mile-earning (some of the alternative PEK/PVG-HKG flights are actual CX metal but it won't matter)
Weekend days bump it up by about $40, I think. Not sure what the date range is - I'm basically looking from the 15th-30th of Nov.
PIT-PEK is even cheaper ($894 AI, same days); PIT-PVG slightly pricier ($1034 AI, same days). There are some longer domestic routings (DFW, MIA, etc) which could boost the PIT-ORD mileage by a bit.
Nov 16:
AMERICAN AIRLINES OPERATED BY AMERICAN EAGLE #4114
Dep: PIT Pittsburgh Nov 15, 2010 06:00 AM
Arr: ORD Chicago Nov 15, 2010 06:30 AM
ER4 Economy miles: 412
AMERICAN AIRLINES #289
Dep: ORD Chicago Nov 15, 2010 10:35 AM
Arr: PVG Shanghai Nov 16, 2010 03:05 PM
777 Economy miles: 7057 Lunch Dinner
Nov 17:
CATHAY PACIFIC OPERATED BY DRAGONAIR-HKG #6861
Dep: PVG Shanghai Nov 17, 2010 01:20 PM
Arr: HKG Hong Kong Nov 17, 2010 04:05 PM
321 Economy
Nov 21:
CATHAY PACIFIC OPERATED BY DRAGONAIR-HKG #6874
Dep: HKG Hong Kong Nov 21, 2010 03:00 PM
Arr: PEK Beijing Nov 21, 2010 06:15 PM
330 Economy
Nov 22:
AMERICAN AIRLINES #186
Dep: PEK Beijing Nov 22, 2010 04:55 PM
Arr: ORD Chicago Nov 22, 2010 03:45 PM
777 Economy miles: 6580
AMERICAN AIRLINES OPERATED BY AMERICAN EAGLE #3945
dep: ORD Chicago Nov 22, 2010 08:05 PM
arr: PIT Pittsburgh Nov 22, 2010 10:35 PM
ER4 Economy miles: 412
I have not checked with AA to find out if they'll let me board without a visa. It's a good question to ask this afternoon when I call AAdvantage customer service to double-check that the itinerary is valid for the PIT 3xRDM/2xEQM promo. (The CX/KA legs aside, of course)
update: Spoke to AAdvantage customer service. Don't take the exact itinerary above if you want to use the PITTD promotion; they said in very certain terms that using a different international gateway each way would invalidate the promotion. Out and back via PEK /or/ PVG as long as it is the same one both ways would be fine, however, as would sub-24-hour layovers (24hr+ stopovers are not, and AFAICT also bump the fare to about $1500)
946.70 USD AI (834.00 USD before taxes/fees) Fare code is QKX7HP6S - AA segments are mile-earning, KA/CX segments are non-mile-earning (some of the alternative PEK/PVG-HKG flights are actual CX metal but it won't matter)
Weekend days bump it up by about $40, I think. Not sure what the date range is - I'm basically looking from the 15th-30th of Nov.
PIT-PEK is even cheaper ($894 AI, same days); PIT-PVG slightly pricier ($1034 AI, same days). There are some longer domestic routings (DFW, MIA, etc) which could boost the PIT-ORD mileage by a bit.
Nov 16:
AMERICAN AIRLINES OPERATED BY AMERICAN EAGLE #4114
Dep: PIT Pittsburgh Nov 15, 2010 06:00 AM
Arr: ORD Chicago Nov 15, 2010 06:30 AM
ER4 Economy miles: 412
AMERICAN AIRLINES #289
Dep: ORD Chicago Nov 15, 2010 10:35 AM
Arr: PVG Shanghai Nov 16, 2010 03:05 PM
777 Economy miles: 7057 Lunch Dinner
Nov 17:
CATHAY PACIFIC OPERATED BY DRAGONAIR-HKG #6861
Dep: PVG Shanghai Nov 17, 2010 01:20 PM
Arr: HKG Hong Kong Nov 17, 2010 04:05 PM
321 Economy
Nov 21:
CATHAY PACIFIC OPERATED BY DRAGONAIR-HKG #6874
Dep: HKG Hong Kong Nov 21, 2010 03:00 PM
Arr: PEK Beijing Nov 21, 2010 06:15 PM
330 Economy
Nov 22:
AMERICAN AIRLINES #186
Dep: PEK Beijing Nov 22, 2010 04:55 PM
Arr: ORD Chicago Nov 22, 2010 03:45 PM
777 Economy miles: 6580
AMERICAN AIRLINES OPERATED BY AMERICAN EAGLE #3945
dep: ORD Chicago Nov 22, 2010 08:05 PM
arr: PIT Pittsburgh Nov 22, 2010 10:35 PM
ER4 Economy miles: 412
Also, have you checked with AA to find out if they'll let you board without a visa?
update: Spoke to AAdvantage customer service. Don't take the exact itinerary above if you want to use the PITTD promotion; they said in very certain terms that using a different international gateway each way would invalidate the promotion. Out and back via PEK /or/ PVG as long as it is the same one both ways would be fine, however, as would sub-24-hour layovers (24hr+ stopovers are not, and AFAICT also bump the fare to about $1500)
Last edited by nkedel; Jul 11, 2010 at 2:36 am
#42
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Shanghai
Posts: 43,400
non issue
#43
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: in the vicinity of SFO
Programs: AA 2MM (LT-PLT, PPro for this year)
Posts: 19,782
If you've never been to BJ before, you'll surely regret the fact that your stay is limited to 23:59... though 48 hours in SH is more than enough.
#44
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Shanghai
Posts: 43,400
Even then, the costs of going to the consulates (twice) outweighed the agency fees, but I placed a premium on the face-to-face time that often helped me fetch better visas.
Since I'm currently living in Portland (far from a consulate), using agencies is a no-brainer. Based on your posts, I assumed you were in Pittsburgh (equally inconvenient).
#45
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: in the vicinity of SFO
Programs: AA 2MM (LT-PLT, PPro for this year)
Posts: 19,782
You can do the visa thing yourself. Back when I was living in Mountain View, Newport Beach, and Baltimore, this was my preferred approach.
Even then, the costs of going to the consulates (twice) outweighed the agency fees, but I placed a premium on the face-to-face time that often helped me fetch better visas.
Since I'm currently living in Portland (far from a consulate), using agencies is a no-brainer. Based on your posts, I assumed you were in Pittsburgh (equally inconvenient).
Even then, the costs of going to the consulates (twice) outweighed the agency fees, but I placed a premium on the face-to-face time that often helped me fetch better visas.
Since I'm currently living in Portland (far from a consulate), using agencies is a no-brainer. Based on your posts, I assumed you were in Pittsburgh (equally inconvenient).
Is two hours likely to be enough to drop off and pick up my passport, or should I allow more time?