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The China Daily reports that an expansion to Shanghai's Pudong International Airport is expected to be completed by 2007 and cost $1.23 billion. The expansion includes a third runway and a new terminal, upping the airport's capacity from 20 million passengers per year to 60 million. Eleven million used the airport last year.
[T]he new terminal's three-storey design will channel passengers more efficiently. International departures will be handled on the top floor, international arrivals on the middle floor and domestic arrivals and departures will take up the bottom floor."The waiting hall for international departures in the new terminal will be twice the size of the current hall," Guo said. "New security checks will also be introduced, which will subject passengers on some arriving domestic flights to checks."
That's great and all, but can a brutha get some WiFi up in this mofo?!? How about some decent restaurants and shops -- places that people would actually want to go to. For one of the coolest cities in the world, Shanghai has a pretty lame international airport. We were in Detroit's recently -- Detroit! -- and it kicked ass. There were trees! With birds in them! Pudong airport bosses, you can't even get a Starbucks in there? Starbucks approached us about opening a shop in our living room last week. What about McDonald's? Not that we particularly like it, but anything is better than the current selection of crap.
While China Daily said "designs for phase two of the expansion were unveiled yesterday by the Shanghai Xian Dai Architectural Design Group," the paper's website did not provide us with said designs. So you get a photo of Tim Robbins from the movie Code 46 (filmed in the Pudong International Airport).
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Beijing airport has Starbucks and KFC on the lower level. If you make it through security still sipping a latte, you'll find many bewildered laowai wondering where you bought it and/or looking around for the Starbucks. There's also some decent sandwiches and other food avail near gate 43. Hongqiao has a McDonald's, outside, but I have never understood why Pudong has nothing. I once ate at a cafe at the international departure gates and my beer was warm and my sandwich cold and soggy. Awful, and 90 kuai.
Get some perspective: Pudong is not a hub airport. Comparing China's shortcomings against the States is redundant is very Amer... eh arrogant.
You said it. The whole "upping the airport’s capacity from 20 million passengers per year to 60 million. Eleven million used the airport last year" thing is astounding.
@home de pigues
Glad to see it's never too early in the day for some America bashing. So, non "hub" cities shouldn't care what travelers think about their airports? It's the first and last thing many visitors see of the city. Wouldn't take much to spruce it up.
Hey now. Don't be insinuatin or hatin on Detroit. I'm down with the 313. Thank you very much.
Near the Arrivals area, at least, there's free WiFi. I've used it both times I've been to Pudong Airport.
I've been to plenty of different airport's shops and they're all the same overpriced generic shit, I don't see Pudong's as being any better or worse.
Anyone who doesn't think the Pudong airport needs improvement hasn't spent much time there. At the very least, they could put in a couple of restaurants -- when I'm starving because I had to wake up at 6am to ride all the way out there for a flight that ends up being delayed four hours, I don't care if it's a hub airport or not, I want to eat something.
As someone else said, it's especially bad in the morning, since you have to get up so early to get there and clear the incredibly disorganized immigration "lines," and then once you've finished there's nothing to eat. Any sort of decent food would be appreciated. I think Pudong suffers even more because so many of the other big airports in Asia are so good--Hong Kong, Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Singapore, etc. Granted, those are all hubs, but it's not like Pudong isn't a heavily used airport.