Cautious with airport codes!
 

I should have known better after booking hundreds of airline tickets myself – but I missed, and got a bad journey. Problem (my problem): knowing most of the relevant airport codes (IATA) and thought to know everything about this trip.

So when booking a trip to Shanghai I just tapped in the easy one: CPH-PVG (Pudong) on SAS website. As my return trip was on a day with no direct flight, the only choice was via PEK with MU (China Eastern) for the first leg.

Wondered why Skyteam MU came up at all (and still does). So no *G privileges at PVG at all. Long check in queue. And worse: No through check for neither me nor my luggage. And at arrival at PEK another bad surprise: arrival at the old airport (which is branded as Terminal 1.) :mad::mad::mad: Well, 3 hours in connecting time, so no problem except for all the hassle with luggage pickup, terminal transfer and security.

Back home I found the fault: me tapping PVG. As CA apparently has ceased operations PVG-PEK, SK chose MU for me.

Instead I should have written Shanghai or SHA (which by the way confusingly both are the city code and the code for Hongqiao airport.) This gives a much better connection: CA out of Hongqiao one and a half our later and (probably) through check.

But still: way this MU option? So that SAS don’t loses fools like me, who insist on flying from PVG and otherwise would have got zero possibilities?

But also a bit of blame to SK booking engine: When choosing SHA, there is no mention whatsoever of which airport to depart from. And my actual ticket didn’t state arrival terminal at PEK.

So be warned, if you have same habits as me.

In fact made similar mistake last year, when flying to Milan. Tapped MXP instead of MIL. And didn’t get the option of LIN, which might have been better.

I don't really get the problem, the booking engine specifically states MU. MU usually drops you off at terminal 2, you might have been unlucky.

This is no different than SK not recommending SJC when coming from the bay area or recommending DCA or LGB (when US was still StarAlliance). Just stuff you need to know and book accordingly.

Also even less of a problem from September as you can route via HKG-ARN and avoid PEK altogether.

SK from CPH to HKG has the same problem too! I looked and SK offers connection CPH-PVG-HKG. PVG-HKG with KA. I would have thought the natural connection would be CPH-PEK-HKG where PEK-HKG with CA.

I suspect this is because for whatever reason SK with cooperating with KA - My sis told me that SK was using the same office as KA.

I still see this once in a while when I was looking for flights to HKG.

Ok, it was a long post, but the point/problem shouldn’t be that difficult, I thought:

I got a bad connection in all respects, because I made a mistake, which I was warning about: typing an airport code instead of a city code.

Yes, I knew I was going on MU. I didn't complain about not knowing

The HKG will not be helpful, especially when going to CPH – it will mean to stopovers. Besides HKG is in the wrong direction, and both PVG and HKG will have no service Thursdays. And the CA-flight SHA-PEK is a good connection. I just didn’t find it.