The Daxing (Beijing - PKX) airport thread
 

Hi, all.

Daxing airport is scheduled to open on 10/1, and I'd be willing to bet my bottom dollar that this date is set in stone because National Day is a big deal for China, and the historical records prove that infrastructure projects that are planned for 10/1 ALWAYS happen on time.

The reason I'm starting this thread is to have an open conversation about Daxing. Many key details remain a mystery as of now, but a lot of us are going to be flying there after 10/1.

Following are intriguing points for me:
1. When AA and CZ make the move, their partnership will reach new heights; how do you guys see this panning out?
2. Ground transportation options; I'm a bit in the dark about this, but of course the planners have made getting to/from the airport a top priority
3. In addition to AA and CZ, MU and FM are also moving to Daxing on 10/1
4. CX, KA, and CA are staying put at PEK; this is interesting to me because it suggests they care more about each other than OneWorld synergies
5. Will PEK convert T1/T2 into a cargo/maintenance facility like SZX did?
6. Only 3.5 million passengers are projected for 2020 (v. 80 million at PEK), but the goal is 80 million for each by 2025
7. What do you think the impact will be on Beijing's business/tourism landscape?
-historically, the southwest part of the city has been almost completely ignored, but will having a state of the art airport there change things?

2. There will be a airport express in 2020 and a High Speed train station plus 3 highways.

I have read that an HSR train will connect the new airport with Beijing West station. The trip will take 11 minutes.

I would add:

8. What will the airport code be? DAX is taken (Dazhou in Sichuan) but DXG is not. I like that one. No doubt one of those only-on-FT questions will pop up:

I'm planning a trip to PEK. Which airport should I use? PEK or DXG? :)

As an airplane geek, naturally I want to check out the new airport, but I certainly don't fancy staying down there until businesses make the move. On a semi related note, as recently as 2010, everywhere south of Chang'an Jie was frowned upon (partly due to fengshui reasons, and partly due to the fact that everything nice was on or near NE 3rd Ring), but Shuangjing really took off, and is now considered very desirable. I could easily envision the same thing happening in the southwest...though not overnight.

According to wikipedia, there isn't an IATA code yet, but the ICAO code ZBAD is pretty cool!

My joke was the way many FTers use airport codes as shorthand for their cities.

I'm going to spend a week in CDG.
Really? You're going to Paris and not going to leave the airport? :rolleyes:

Any recommendations for a good ORD-style deep-dish pizza?
Yes, but it's a place in the Loop, not at O'Hare. :rolleyes:

Back to your point, though, if it really will be 11 minutes to Beijing West, you can stay anywhere.

Yes. I did see it will be ZBAD, ICAO-style. That is cool.

This is also a pet peeve of mine; in fact, there are several old threads on the topic. PVG really gets my goat because it isn't especially close to Shanghai proper. On the other hand, I used to live in Portland, Oregon where "Pdx" is widely used to refer to the city itself, and I learned to accept this.

This airport is massive (you can see it when flying into PEK sometimes from the south). I wouldn't be interested in taking a flight to or from there until they open up the rail link to the city. I remember in the early days of the new Shenzhen terminal there was some sort of shuttle bus to the subway which took 15 minutes and for which they had the nerve to charge 2 RMB to ride. It was a real pain then, but as with most big infrastructure projects in China they ironed it out quick with the express subway line opening a half year later. I'll wait for them to iron it out, despite being a Skyteam fan.

10/1 (an important date here) is my strong prediction.

Didn't there used to be a saying (in Chinese), something to the effect of in Beijing, the east is rich people, the west is government people, the south is poor people, and the north is...actual beijingers.

In light of the fact that I am not Chinese, please take the following comments with a grain of salt:
1. The northwest has the best fengshui because the winds are the least polluted, and there are many lakes
-this is why the major universities are located there
2. The northeast is nicest because foreign investment was first permitted there 40 years ago
3. The southeast is now booming, thanks to Line 10, and the fact that many people found themselves priced out of the northeast
4. While the middle of the city has many tourist sites, very few people actually live there
5. The southwest is still regarded as "bad", but perhaps the new airport will change this over time

While it might be somewhat inappropriate to introduce Shanghai into this thread, I am doing so because the deal is essentially the same:
1. Jing'an is nicer than the Bund because FDI was allowed to flow in 40 years ago
2. Lujiuaziu is cool for visual value, but isn't especially nice

The CAAC Wechat account published a story today that the airport's IATA code will be PKX.

I see the Wikipedia entry also now lists PKX as the IATA code. It didn't until recently. If true, this surprises me that China would want a code so clearly based on the old Romanization of the city's name. PEK is well established and was clearly in place long ago for Capital Airport. Why PKX for a new code being chosen from scratch? I like DXG or something more Pinyin-y. :)

I see the IATA website itself now lists PKX as the code, so it must be official.

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...5542892a5f.jpg