Shanghai Street View: Airport Entertainment 沪经动向：机场娱乐

As a frequent traveler in Greater China, I’ll openly admit that Hong Kong is my favorite airport in the region, boasting an interesting array of shops and restaurants and convenient layout that makes it easy to find things and get to flights. But on the mainland, Shanghai is easily my favorite flying destination, thanks to its well-run Hongqiao Airport focused on domestic flights, and the more international airport in Pudong. Both airports are easy to get to, offer fast check-in and security screening, and a wide array of amenities that are both convenient and useful.

Furthermore, neither is afraid to experiment with new concepts in the city’s quest to become the favorite hub for both domestic and international travelers. That kind of willingness to experiment and innovate has made recent headlines with the news that Pudong is launching an interesting new concept of live performances at the airport in an effort to entertain travelers with little else to do as they wait for their flights to leave.

Before I look more closely at this latest initiative, I’d like to take a step back and commend Shanghai for operating what I consider China’s 2 friendliest airports for both domestic and international travelers. During a recent trip to Guangdong from Hongqiao, I was somewhat disappointed to learn my flight had been delayed for 3 hours due to a big snowstorm in central China.

But rather than get frustrated over the delay, I quickly took out my laptop computer and used the time to catch up on writing emails using the airport’s free wi-fi service. After doing that, I used a voucher from the airline to go get a meal at Zhen Kungfu, a popular fast-food chain that operates an outlet at the airport.

While amenities like free wi-fi and outlets of popular restaurants sound simple and are frequently available in the west, they are rarely available at other Chinese airports. When I encounter similar delays at those airports, even in major cities like Beijing, my only choices are to read a book or newspaper if I have one, or go eat some bland food or look at boring items in one of the airport’s no-name, generic restaurants or shops. By comparison, I don’t usually mind minor delays at either Pudong or Hongqiao, which both have free wi-fi, good shops, and a wide array of popular restaurants including Starbucks, Burger King and McDonalds, in addition to popular local chains like Zhen Kungfu.

So now let’s return to Pudong Airport and its new plan to offer live performances. Under that plan launched last month just before the Chinese New Year holiday, the main hall at the airport’s T2 terminal will host several performances at set times each day. Performances will last for 2 hours each and cover a range of areas, including acrobats, dancing and magic shows. In an interesting twist, the airport will also organize special performances for travelers facing unusually long delays in an attempt to ease their suffering.

I personally haven’t taken a flight from Pudong since these new performances began, but am looking forward to watching one the next time I fly from the airport. Location will be a critical element to the program’s success, since most passengers will only want to enjoy such performances if they are are centrally located after the security checks near the gate areas.

I’ll need to see some of the actual performances before I can say more clearly whether the concept will succeed and perhaps be adopted by other airports both in China and elsewhere. But even if the concept ultimately fails, I still have to commend Shanghai for this kind of innovative approach in its quest to make its airports as traveler-friendly as possible. This is exactly the kind of approach the city needs to take as it seeks to reclaim its title as China’s and eventually Asia’s world city. If it continues to innovate and improve, perhaps it will someday even overtake Hong Kong to become my favorite Asian airport destination.