I'll see when we get there , how tired we are etc. I know Shanghai is an ancient city so there must be something of that left somewhere ? Or maybe not....
Phil

Shanghai does have rather interesting history and some charming neighborhoods, but you won't have time to see any of that during your 5 hour layovers. Rather, you're looking a train ride to an area that was developed less than 20 years ago in an uninspiring manner. I'd still do it if I was in your shoes because again, it beats sitting around the airport, and you might be able to eat some passable food or get a food massage.

Yes, they have some half decent options in the shopping mall.

Shanghai Disneyland
 

By the end of next year, there should be a highspeed rail line from PVG to Shanghai Disneyland. Should be less than a 10 minute ride. Good way to kill
some time...go to the happiest place on earth.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/regiona...t_17942374.htm

You mean happiest place in China?:D

I think the people are happier than in CA, where the state blew all the taxpayer's HSR funding on legal fees and ended up with nothing.:D

If you haven't ridden the Maglev, as silly as it sounds riding it is pretty cool.

Maglev
then subway to Pudong or even better taxi to Lujiazui to check out the skyscrapers
walk to the river and go under the river to the Bund using the Bund Sightseeing Tunnel (if you like Communist kitsch!!!)
then walk down Nanjing Rd East walk to People's Square
then take the subway back to Pudong

The bolded part probably isn't in the cards during a 5 hour layover unless you walk really fast, but if the OP lucks out on timing... maybe.

BTW, PVG, the Maglev Station at Longyang Road, and Lujiazui are all in Pudong so I'm not sure what you meant by taking a taxi "to Pudong".

Also, considering Shanghai realities, I think getting from Lujiazui or more eastern parts of Pudong to People's Square while on a tight schedule is a good recipe for a heart attack or nervous breakdown. Anything but pleasant or relaxing.

Too risky for 5 hours in my opinion.

Just do Maglev - Taxi to Lujiazui - sight seeing and strictly stay on this side on the river - taxi to longyang - maglev to PVG.

You can either do Lujiazui or Nanjing rd (People's square). Not worth the risk really.

As much as I loathe Line 2, I couldn't, in good conscience, advise a first time visitor to take a taxi from the Maglev station on Longyang Road (in case he does, the fare shouldn't be more than Y30; use the meter).

On the way back to the airport, if he manages to snag a taxi in Lujiazui (can be difficult), I recommend taking it directly to the airport (he'll already have gotten his Maglev fix, and once is enough).

Connecting from Cathay in Shanghai
 

I recently saw a ticket from HKG to SFO connecting at PVG. The HKG -> PVG segment is on Cathay. Has anyone had experience connecting from another airline at PVG? Will 2.5 hours be adequate?

And I'm assuming there's interline agreement to check my bag through?

Any information you have will be helpful :)

Thanks!

I've never had any trouble with CX interlining bags to UA ex-HKG. They are so very competent.

Can't speak to the PVG connection.

Agree - CX is solid and that's their home base and I've never had an issue interlining - I do it all the time. Note that PVG is notorious for delays - so I would recommend that you take as early a flight as possible to ensure you make it to PVG...

That is quite an interesting routing. If you have no reason to stop in Shanghai, have you looked into taking the direct flight, connecting in NRT via ANA, or even taking HKG-GUM-HNL-SFO?

Cathay flies into Terminal 2 at PVG which is the same terminal UA uses. You'll probably have to clear China customs in Shanghai and then re-check in upstairs. I'm not sure if the bags will need to be claimed as well and re-checked but that is a possibility. 2 hours is sufficient for this process with time to spare provided your HKG-PVG flight is ontime. If you're looking for a deal which I assume is why you are taking the routing through PVG, it's also often cheaper to go through Taipei and much easier to connect there than at PVG. I'd also recommend that you take Cathay the whole way rather than United. United stinks and Cathay is one of the best airlines in the world.

Thanks for all the info! My primary concerns are also the delays and time needed to re-check bags. I will try to find out if re-checking is required and report back.

And yes, I found a deal that made it significantly cheaper to fly through PVG. Still awaiting the day United is upgrading its 747s :rolleyes:

IME, changing carriers at PVG has always required claiming bags and rechecking. If your flight to PVG is on time, 2 1/2 hours is enough. but I would try to get an earlier flight just to make certain because, as others have mentioned, PVG has lots of delays.

Try to leave enough time at PVG as it gets chaotic some times

I'm going to move this to the China forum. It's quite active and you should get some solid answers.

l'etoile
UA moderator

Very timely thread, I just booked ORD-UA-PVG connecting to PVG-KA-HKG since upgrades were available at booking on ORD-PVG and never flown on uppperdeck on a transoceanic flight.

Rolling delays of 1 to 2.5 hours are extremely common for flights HKG-PVG. I would not bank on a connection time under 4 hours in PVG.

CX is not always the easiest airline to deal with in terms of rolling forward your flight if you are delayed, especially if you have bags checked. And indeed there may be little or no room on earlier flights.

Overnight at PGV
 

Hi! My wife and I are planning to arrive at PVG at 21:40 on Dec 31 (JL 879), and to leave at 09:45 for KUL at 09:45 on MH 387. We are traveling on US passports. Would we need a visa to stay overnight at the Airport Hotel Shanghai?

Depends on your passport, but most nationalities can have TWOV for 24hrs without issue, and if you are coming from elsewhere than Malaysia, probably 72hrs.

tb

As US citizens, you should be able to get 72-hour TWOV without issue on that itinerary. Just be prepared to show your onward ticket to KUL.

I feel comfortable saying "all" nationalities that are cleared for any sort of international travel (i.e. I haven't seen an exclusion list in 10 years).

I wasn't sure, happy to take your word on it, but there are some countries that seem to require visas almost everywhere, even for transit, but at any rate, the OP had said they were US citizens, which I hadn't spotted.

tb

As long as you hold tickets to the final destination and have booked seats, "all" nationalities can transit visa free within 24 hours.

There´s no exclusion.

The FF lounges close but the terminals are open. still, I would not do it.

PakThomas and wife are planning to go to an airport hotel.

Looks like this thread has been sleeping for a while. I have searched high and low for a clear answer to this. I have read a bunch of horror stories on PVG connections. I have a China Visa so doing the in and out of customs is not an issue but I would prefer to avoid it. Sounds like things have improved here. Just curious if anyone has gone through the process recently.

I am on China Eastern (MU) flights JFK>PVG>BKK. 2h 25min connection time in PVG.

• Is the MU transfer desk open around 7:15PM?
  
• If not, is an airside connection possible? Since it's all MU I should have the BKK boarding pass.
  
• Will luggage transfer to the BKK flight? Any need to pick up and recheck?

Any other advice would be appreciated.

I am looking forward to trying the MU 777-300 in J. Hopefully it's not a let down.

Thanks in advance for your help.

We travelled through PVG in Jan and Feb. We had through tickets and access to lounge but we missed the signs to Transit and ended up going through . Once we'd realised we then tried to find ANZ check-in as we couldnt go straight back through . It was closed so I then tried to find if there was a ANZ office/desk . We asked information girls but no-one spoke English ! I find this amazing at a large International Airport. In the end we went to Virgin desk , which we'd come in on and they were really helpfull. Thye said that we would have to wait a little while and sure enough the desk opened and we got through. If you have Airmiles with an airline we carefull to check your tickets as although I booked through Virgin I am also a member of ANZ miles. When they printed our tickets they changed mine from Virgin to ANZ and I didnt realise till we got to New Zealand . What a pallaver to get the airmiles back onto Virgin , it took weeks and a lot of emails .
Its not a terrible airport but I would avoid if I could .We did it that way to avoid going through the US but next time I will go that way round.
Phil

Based on your profile location and the fact that you bank miles to NZ, I'm guessing that your travel pattern is UK to NZ. If so, you have a number of options that are better than both PVG and LAX:
e.g.
-DXB (and other places in the Middle East)
-BKK
-HKG (not optimal during the summer because you still have to overfly China, but still much better than PEK/PVG)
-SIN
-DPS
-TYO

Hi Moondog,

There are various routes to OZ and NZ , all are interesting in their own way .
When we go next I will start with the Virgin / Virgin partner routes as I have so many airmiles now I would either use them or at least add to them.
We always use PE so personally I would probably do the US route with a couple of days in San Francisco , or.....maybe Singapore with Singapore airlines new PE seating . Got a few other holidays lined up before we go back there yet ;-)
Phil

Is anything required to get the visa waiver on arrival? Or just show my boarding pass/receipt for onward flight the following day when passing through immigration?

Do not use "visa waiver". Its transit without a visa.

They are always asking for the eticket out of China and often for a hotel reservation (or similar when you stay private)

Looking for some information on Intl-Intl transfer at PVG.

Arrive TG in J at 6:30 AM
Depart LX in J at 9:50 AM (3 hour, 25 minute connection time)

Have the 2 basic questions:

1) will I be required to clear immigration / customs on arrival at PVG and then go through it again for departure?

2) Will I need to do anything with my checked luggage? (I usually travel carry-on only, but for this trip I must have checked luggage).

From my searching, there seems to be inconsistent information about the viability of a possible Intl transfer procedure that by-passes immigration and just calls for a security screen. Possibly related to time-of-day or airline combinations?

I am aware of PVG reputation for delays. This is an award ticket and I continue to search for a better itinerary, but for now this is the best I can find.

Thanks for any experience or advice.

I can't answer on the transfer issue, but in respect of the incoming TG flight you should be fine. The main international delays into PVG are those from HKG.

Also, early in the day delays tend to be minimal or non-existent... they generally build as the day progresses. There are exceptions... fog/weather/pollution can be an issue although somewhat less frequent. But in that case, the other in-bound and out-bounds would likely be delayed as well.

I would certainly keep checking and see if you can skip China outright - fly either direct from BKK or even shoot for HKG.

Bkk-sha typically joins the HK-sha flight path (and is subject to the same delays).