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SHANGHAI - The opening of the new terminal of Shanghai Hongqiao Airport on March 16 is expected to add an exciting dimension to Shanghai's cooperation and competition with Hong Kong as a major airline hub and gateway to China.

Hong Kong still enjoys a cost advantage as the gateway to the mainland because of cheaper fares for international flights, travel agents said. It is also more convenient to transit in Hong Kong because the facilities are all housed under one roof.

But the new Hongqiao terminal has thrown a new element into the competitive equation. Shanghai has scored points in convenience with the new facilities and retained its advantage of having more flights to domestic destinations.

The 15.3 billion-yuan terminal with a total floor area of over 360,000 square meters is four times the size of the existing building.

The entire facility also includes a 3,300 meter-long and 60 meter-wide runway that is sufficient for the landing and take-off of the biggest jets, including the super-jumbo Airbus A380.

The new Hongqiao hub, which will continue to serve only domestic flights, has the capacity to handle an annual flow of 30 million passengers, up from 19 million passengers.

Pudong International Airport will handle all overseas flights, plus a few domestic flights.

Crucial to the hub concept is the extension of metro line 2 linking the two airports directly with trains running at 4 to 5-minute intervals. Scheduled for completion before the opening of Expo on May 1, the railway extension will greatly shorten the travel time between the two airports from over one and half hour to no more than 80 minutes.

So far, 11 domestic carriers, including Shanghai-based China Eastern, Air China and China Southern have confirmed they will move their operations to the new terminal. The old terminal will be used primarily by the budget carriers and chartered flights to Japan and Korea.

China Daily

(HK Edition 03/11/2010 page3)