Usability of Pudong Airport

I have been working on information about Pudong for some time and setup a Pudong Airport BBS (PVGBBS). I think this effort is vaulable because:

  • Lack of Pudong Airport information on Internet
  • Poor information guide from PVG
  • Poor usability of PVG

Lack of Pudong Airport information on Internet

Try to search on Google or other search engineers for “Shanghai Pu Dong Airport“, “Pu Dong Airport“, “Shanghai Airport“, “PVG“…, I guess you won’t be satisfied with the result it returned. It is not easy to find a map about Pudong airport and it is even hard to find transportation informations and hotels…. I just created some one page on Pu Dong airport on my personal web site one year before. I didn’t expect it to be the No. 1 entry page for my web site one year later. More than 30% of my visitors to my site by typing “Pu Dong Airport” in Google. The page also contribute to 5.45% of total document hits.

I received lot of very positive comment on the page via email or PVGBBS. This is the reason I want to continue to improve and make it the No. 1 site on Internet about PVG.

Poor information guide from PVG

The information query for Pudong airport is not satisfactionary. The airport is very large, new and beautiful, with great equipments. But the software – I mean the management and service are still far behind airport like SFO. They provides the information hotline, +86-21-38484500, but it is only the switchboard, instead of call center. The only person you can find is the operator.

I believe a web site need to be setup and help travellers to survive in Shanghai.

Poor usability of PVG

Generally speaking, I like Pudong Airport very much. Its modern design is very impressive. However, it is too large and people get tired to navigate from Entrance Hall to the boarding bridge and to ticketing island… The signs there are sometimes confusing. It seems more time and effort need to be spent on it.

Can anyone tell me the rank of customer satisfaction of PVG among all Asia or International airprort? I am really interested in that.

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19 thoughts on “Usability of Pudong Airport

  1. Hi Jian Shuo Wang,

    I’m doing a research on Pudong and as you know there isn’t much on the web..

    Do you have any additional information on Pudong that you could possibly mail me???

    I would greatly appreciate that!

    So long,

    Chris

  2. Good question and good observation. “There isn’t much inforamtion on the web about Pudong”. I’d like to help, but due to the large scope of the topic, I have to suggest http://shanghai.gov.cn, which is the government portal of Shanghai. They have English edition too. But don’t have too high expectation about this site, since it is too “official” and does not contains much info.

  3. PVG is a beautiful airport. It has the same problem as all international airports: downtown connections. Most international travellers arrive with two suitcases, carry-on luggage and an armful of duty free stuff. Any and all connecting mass transit has no place to put this much luggage. The new MagLev is designed to accomodate vast quantities of luggage, but the Shanghai underground trains are not designed to carry luggage When one considers the price of the MagLev and the inconvenience of transfer to the subway, it’s still cheaper and easier to take a taxi to a downtown hotel. When the subway line finally reaches PVG then it will be easy to put luggage on the train cars: It will be the first station on the route and travellers can fill up the space with suitcases. Good luck in exiting the car when you reach RenMin Square.

  4. PVG is a beautiful airport. It has the same problem as all international airports: downtown connections. Most international travellers arrive with two suitcases, carry-on luggage and an armful of duty free stuff. Any and all connecting mass transit has no place to put this much luggage. The new MagLev is designed to accomodate vast quantities of luggage, but the Shanghai underground trains are not designed to carry luggage When one considers the price of the MagLev and the inconvenience of transfer to the subway, it’s still cheaper and easier to take a taxi to a downtown hotel. When the subway line finally reaches PVG then it will be easy to put luggage on the train cars: It will be the first station on the route and travellers can fill up the space with suitcases. Good luck in exiting the car when you reach RenMin Square.

  5. Har the magnetic levitation train started commercial operation between the Pudong airport and the city? If so, how do I go about finding out timetables and costs etc?

  6. Dear Jain Shuo Wang,

    I’m coming to Shanghai in 2 weeks for the electronics convention on Oct 9-11. I beleive it will be at the Shanghai convention center. How far from the airport is this in Travel time & Distance. I will be taking the bus from the airport to the hotel I will be staying at. I see that it is 30 RMB. Should I exchange USD for RMB at the airport or wait til I get to the hotel.

    Thanks in advance

    Andy D

  7. Hello, I am traveling to Shanghai in mid-December and am very hopeful I can ride the Maglev train. I have found your web site the most up to date information on it. Do you have any new information? Is it running regularly for passengers yet, or not? Anything you could tell me would be great.

    Thanks, Bob Doan

  8. Hi Wang,

    Read yr site. Great stuff!

    I think Shanghai Airport owners/managers could take an example from Bangkok and make their own easy-to-use website. Perhaps you could offer to make one for them. Yes! Its a big job. I found one site for Shanghai airport on Google but its a bit lacking. Need more info I’ll direct you to it.

    I’ll be using Pu Dong in late December to depart for London and want to know if their day rooms or rather hotel rooms by the hour (I believe at Pu Dong its called “Hotel Shortly Stay” – wow what English!) are accessible from the departure main hall (the public area before you pass through immigration check)?

    Most day rooms are located in the transit area (passengers only area, after immigration check). If it is not possible to access the rooms as I am asking I will use the Jin Jiang Inn.

    Incidentally, my wife Marie and I are teaching English at Shangrao Teachers College in Shangrao, Jiangxi province. It a pretty poor part of China but the kids are wonderful.

    Are the Day Rooms at PVG stiil 60 RMB/hour?

    Thanks for your help.

    You’re doing a great job with your website.

    John Sampson

    Canadian from Montreal

  9. I am looking for a library contact and email address for Shangrao Teachers College or Shangrao College. I am from America and am not absolutely sure what it is called. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Pleae contact me by email. Thank you.

  10. i am from algeria i was leaving at shanghai or near bye yiwu exactly i left china because of my passport it get lost i exit with chines exit permit i back to my country i want to go back chian so what shall i do

  11. Well its now been nearly a year since i ask you a question about my arrival into shanghai and the information that was provided was fantastic .

    I have one small question .

    I am now about to leave China after a stint teaching English to Little kids. I am flying with China Eastern at 9.15 am.

    Is it possible to sleep at the Pu dong airport to save me going back into town after i will be arriving late into the other airpot in shanghai and dont really want to get up at 5.00-5.30 in the morning to get to the airport so i can get there in time to check in to my flight

    Cheers in advance and Living in China has been an awersome Experience

    Anthony Hopfe

  12. We will shortly be spending 10 daytime hours in Shanghai en route from Frankfurt to Melbourne. Does anyone know if a ‘day-room’ is available inside the airport as we don’t have visas for China and are bound to stay at the airport all day – after a long flight. Thank you for your help.

    Cheers,

    Teresa and Eric

  13. a tip for exchanging US money for RMB at the airport:

    exchange over $500 and you won’t be charged any fees! So make sure to atleast exchange $501!

  14. Dear Jain Shuo Wang,

    I am trying to find out about Pudong airport and your blog seems to be the one that comes up all the time :-)

    The actual airport website does not seem to have any pages which work.

    I am interested, like some of those who have asked before, is there a transit Hotel?

    Myself, my wife and her mother will be staying in Shanghai for a few days in January next year. Our flight leaves at about midnight. Because my mother in law is quite old (98) it would be nice for her to rest in the evening before departing. We could pay for one more full night at our Shanghai hotel, but I think we would have to leave by about 8pm to get to the airport and so my mother in law would not get very much sleep anyway, maybe none. I would much prefer if we went to the airport in the afternoon and she could sleep till 10pm or so if a transit hotel was available.

    Regards from Australia

    Stephen

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