Hi, I have a bit of a problem! My husband and I will be traveling through China - we land at PVG at 5:00pm, and have a flight out of SHA at 7:20 pm... Our carrier just barely changed our itinerary. What is the quickest way to get from airport to airport at that time of the day? We're a little worried that we won't be able to make it in time. Luckily, we won't have any checked luggage to worry about, we'll just have our carry-ons. I have heard about the metro, a shuttle, or a taxi. I would assume that taxi would probably be fastest, but is the traffic in Shanghai really bad at 5pm? Any advice would be appreciated.

Dinner time rush hour, and honestly I don't think much chance to make the connecting flight if with checked luggage.

PVG and SHA are connected through a sort of ring road avoiding central Shanghai so a taxi might be the best option if not awful line 2 on the metro.

But please avoid same day connections between PVG and SHA or vice versa, it's mostly stressing and awful and doesn't make any sense.

We won't have checked luggage, so that shouldn't be a problem. A taxi would be our best bet then, if the traffic isn't too awful? What would be the best way to get a taxi?

Prebook, there is a Chinese taxi app that other FT users know more about due to myself shunning smartphones. Otherwise, you'll be facing a potentially long taxi line at PVG.

Even booking a limousine service is the better option to missing your onward flight. Again, others are more knowledgeable than myself as I normally use public transport or "normal" taxis in Shanghai.

@OP: I have a higher risk tolerance than almost anyone else on FT, but give you a 40% chance of pulling this off.

In an ideal world, you'd be in the taxi queue by 530p, on your way to SHA by 545p, and pass through security (do online check-in, but allow 5 minutes to print your boarding pass at SHA) at 645p in order to position yourself at the gate by 7p.

Line 2 is not an option for you at all (i.e. simply impossible).

I also advise against didi because finding your driver in the parking garage will surely require more time than waiting in the taxi queue.

Limousine service might save you a few minutes, but most of them face the same problem as didi; their cars need to meet you in the parking garage. The better (and, much more expensive) services will greet you at arrivals, and bring you to your car, but you'll still be walking to the parking garage.

If you really, really want to attempt this, I recommend that you plan on getting a taxi in the queue, do olci, and hope things go smoothly. Also, reserve a room at the Boyue Hotel (surprisingly nice) so you have a place to stay in the (likely) event that you fail to pull off your intended plan.

All that having been said, I honestly advise you to change your plan; I'm getting goose bumps by simply thinking about the logistics. I'm actually not worried about road traffic (at all), but there are many moving parts at stake here, and if you encounter a single snag, you will miss your SHA departure.

Those high end "greeters" claim they can provide electric cart service.
They could pick you up in the cart at the arrival area and drive thru the underground tunnel to
the center point...you go up the elevator and have a car waiting at the
twin hotels..and get out of there quick. It would require total less than 10 or so steps...That's VIP.

This is the entrance to the elevator


This is where the car would be waiting.

As I mentioned in post #5, I would not attempt the OP's plan myself.

But, if I did, the difference between 1000 for the high end service and 300 for a taxi would be sufficient to pay for a room at the Boyue.

@OP: Please don't feel bad about your booking mistake. You are not alone (e.g. I eat tickets 5x/year). But, I strongly recommend that you cancel/change in advance. The stress of the 40% gamble simply isn't worth it, and staying in Shanghai is definitely preferable to staying at the Boyue.

In the event you decide to proceed with your plan: 1. advise the airline in advance; 2. make sure you have the ability to call them prior to your ex-SHA flight. For #2, in the event that you don't have a PRC cell phone, your taxi driver will surely let you use his.

In short, assume that you will NOT pull off this connection, and plan accordingly.

I would definitely change my flights.

On the plus side, what are the chances a 7:20 flight actually leaves at the stated departure time?

As you might have guessed, this thought crossed my mind. Under MU's current system, as soon as delays are set in stone, the revised departure time becomes the official departure time, and the check-in deadline is adjusted accordingly. This a big improvement over their old policy (in which original cutoff times applied).

That having been said, the OP shouldn't bank on a departure delay. Summer is over, and the delay situation has markedly improved in general. (Arriving on time is extremely rare, but when the airplane and the crew are both physically present, there's a pretty good chance that they will close the doors on time.)

I'm not as optomistic as Moondog. I think there is a 90% chance you will miss your flights. Please change them.

The two airports are 55km apart from each other...... 2 hr 20 minutes transit is just enough for PVG-PVG transit, not doable for two of the busy airports.

Like everyone else here, I think the OP would be crazy to attempt this, but I still maintain it is theoretically possible IF everything goes perfectly and she uses OLCI. Still there is no point in bothering to try. It would be much better to change the onward tickets now when the next day's flights are still reasonably priced. Furthermore, in most cases, when tickets aren't cancelled or changed before the two hour mark, the refund terms change for the worse in a major way. In short, @OP: just chalk this one up as a loss, and shift gears to Plan B.

Providing the second flight is on time, there is no chance OP would make it, Shanghai has a population bigger than Australia and OP wants to cross the city at peak hour, although it's highway all the way, the speed would not be high at all. Can't wait to see the after report.

Even without a delay, odds of pulling this off are certainly greater than 0%.

Allow me to run the mental exercise in reverse this time around:

1. 2:20
2. 15 minute boarding deadline 2:05
3. 20 minute walk from curb through security and to SHA gate 1:45
4. 60 minute taxi ride from PVG to curb at SHA 0:45
5. 10 minute wait for taxi at PVG 0:35
6. 30 minutes to get from gate to taxi queue at PVG 0:05

While it is unlikely for all of these events to go smoothly at the same time, my estimates for the individual events are completely reasonable (some of you might be inclined to question me on point #4, but 60 minutes is almost always a pretty safe bet for the journey in question).