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I'm considering booking the below itinerary on China Eastern/Shanghai Airlines on a single ticket. The itinerary involves a transfer from Shanghai Hongqiao (SHA) to Shanghai Pudong (PVG) Airport.

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Does anybody have any experience with how feasible this transfer is? From what I can gather, while there is a direct rail link between the two airports, it only operates until 22:00 so wouldn't be suitable for my purposes. Is the best option a taxi in this case? Or does China Eastern provide any other transportation?

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  • It looks like metro services end at about the same time so they’re not an option (and would probably take way too long anyway), so indeed taxi seems like the only option, with the caveats raised below. Commented 15 hours ago

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It's feasible, but it also sounds like a royal pain and I would strongly advise you to find another flight that goes directly to PVG instead.

When there's no traffic (and around 11 PM at night fits the bill), the drive from SHA to PVG takes under an hour. China Eastern operates a free Airport Link Line between the two, but this only operates between 5:00 and 22:00. This means you'll need to take a taxi for 200-250 RMB (bring cash or set up Alipay before arrival), or try your luck with buses, which are cheaper at around 50 RMB/person but more of a hassle to navigate.

The main reason I don't recommend this, though, is that you'll need to go through Chinese immigration to enter the country, collect your bags, go through Customs, transit to the other airport, check-in and drop off your bags, go through security and go through exit immigration. These steps can be quite time-consuming (waits of 1+ hr to go through immigration or check in at PVG are not unheard of), so it's going to be a stressful hassle, and China Eastern officially recommends a minimum of 3.5 hours for attempting this. You have 4 hours, so there's not a lot of margin for error.

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This is VERY risky, but the amount of risk depends a lot on your details.

The steps you need to take are

  1. Deplane
  2. Go through Chinese immigration (with proper documentation to enter China)
  3. Collect your checked baggage
  4. Clear customs
  5. Find transportation to PVG and also figure out a way to pay for it
  6. Drive to PVG
  7. Go the China eastern check in counter (PVG is large). China Eastern's check in deadline for international flights in PVG is 50 minutes before departure
  8. Check in (if needed) and drop your bags
  9. Go through security
  10. Go through China exit immigration
  11. Go to your gate
  12. Board at least 20 minutes before departure.

Every single step along the way can trip you up. Delayed flight, lost bag, trouble at immigration, can't find a taxi, take a wrong turn at the airport etc.

One of the less obvious risks: For a late night arrival, there may be only one immigration line open for foreigners and if just one person in front of you turns out to be a "problem case" it can take forever to get it sorted out. I've certainly had immigration wait times in Shenzhen that were north of an hour (despite my paperwork being perfectly fine).

So if you are a Chinese citizen with no checked luggage and a pre-booked a limo transfer from SHA to PVG, you have a 90%+ chance of making it.

If you are a foreigner with lots of bags, a few kids in tow, don't speak Chinese , plan to get cash at the airport to pay for a taxi when you find it, then your chances are less than 10%.

China Eastern info: https://www.ceair.com/global/en_static/Announcement/TravelTips/CheckinCountersandBoardingGateClosingTime/#S

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