Like Tree5Likes
  • 1 Post By virago
  • 1 Post By Natfixit
  • 2 Post By justjoe86
  • 1 Post By virago

Train beats plane in China?

Closed Thread
  1. #1

    Join Date
    Jun 2011
    Posts
    5,110

    Train beats plane in China?

    ...or so claims this SCMP article, which states airport/airline delays in China is the worst in the world:

    http://www.scmp.com/news/china/artic...t-comes-delays

    Excerpts:

    Mainland airports and airlines are the worst for on-time departures and arrivals, according to a report that tracks air travel around the world.

    More worrying is that their performance actually dropped in the past six months.

    Beijing and Shanghai airports rank at the bottom of 35 major international airports surveyed in terms of flight delays and cancellations, according to the latest report by FlightStats, a popular US-based data provider on air travel.

    PEK was also the worst in January, with on-time departures at 29 per cent. Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport - the second worst on the list - had its on-time rate drop to 24 per cent from 38.9 per cent six months ago. Its ranking remained unchanged.

    Hong Kong International Airport also reported a noticeable increase in flight delays and cancellations. Its ranking had dropped from 22 in January to 29 in June.

    Serious delays were not limited to Beijing and Shanghai. None of China's provincial airports surveyed by FlightStats - including Guangzhou, Kunming , Nanjing , Chengdu, Changsha and Urumqi - could manage to get half of their flights on time.

    Large national carriers such as Air China and China Southern also reported massive delays. Mainland experts attribute the problem to excessive military control of the airspace and poor urban planning.

    "Nearly 80 per cent of China's airspace has been reserved for military use. In other countries, such as the US, the situation is exactly the opposite," a senior executive of Hainan Airlines said.

    Zou Jianjun , of the Civil Aviation Management Institute of China, said the military was not the only reason for the delays.

    Serious delays often trigger violent protests. In recent months, there have been frequent reports of angry passengers smashing airline counters and attacking ground staff in an outbursts of anger.

    Many have given up air travel altogether and opted for other transport, particularly high-speed rail.


    So do you find train travel (high speed train in this case) more attractive than air travel in China? Do you agree air traffic delays are so bad in China it's better off to use the train instead?

    Last edited by Watercooler; 12-07-2013 at 11:37 AM.

  2. #2

    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Posts
    7,441

    Anything that is 6 hours by train it is far better and much cheaper.

    By plane I was delayed about 50% of the time. Worst was 5 hours delay but generally it's about 40 minutes to one hour.

    Watercooler likes this.

  3. #3

    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Location
    South of Sweden
    Posts
    4,028

    Flying to save time to get from point A to B in China kind of defeats the purpose. Only flown a couple of times in China and both we delayed by at least one to two hours. It was two hours delay in shanghai. My husband has travel often by air to and from and around The mainland, and every time, but once have been delayed. Re taking the train, I can't say I've tried the high speed yet, but all of the other trains I've taken have been on time. Plus, it's a good way to see the countryside.

    Watercooler likes this.

  4. #4

    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Posts
    7,471

    Rather than 'train beats plane' the headline should perhaps be 'plane service so unbelievably awful that you might as well take the train or perhaps try jogging'

    Watercooler and usehername like this.

  5. #5

    Join Date
    Jun 2011
    Posts
    5,110
    Quote Originally Posted by virago:
    Anything that is 6 hours by train it is far better and much cheaper.

    By plane I was delayed about 50% of the time. Worst was 5 hours delay but generally it's about 40 minutes to one hour.
    I tend to agree.

    Got stuck at HKIA for 4 hours once on a flight to Beijing and I was told I was lucky to get "only" a 4 hour delay.

    But suppose you have the option of first/business class airline seat to a destination in China vs high speed premium class seat, would that sway your decision towards the airline? I know many don't fly business class to China (unless their company/employer is paying) but hypothetically, in that situation, would you still choose train over airline (with the possible delays)?
    Last edited by Watercooler; 12-07-2013 at 01:02 PM.

  6. #6

    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Posts
    7,441
    Quote Originally Posted by garycyk:
    the beijing airport is totally copy from hk...
    Oh, of course it is......

    Sent from somewhere....
    jayinhongkong likes this.