Airport Tips

What are the best airport tips?

Here are some tips that will be useful to budget and business travellers. Some of these tips are more DIY/backpackers, some others more business-oriented. Since I have been on both sides, I thought I’d straddle the fence… I’ll keep adding as they come to mind (old age, you see…). In between I’ll try to reorganize this answer by country/airport.

Home: HKG

Internet.

Wherever there is a Cathay Pacific lounge, the WiFi password is cathay1234. Find the lounge, sit nearby and enjoy.

Bonus Track. Generally speaking, passwords for the wifi network of airline lounges are usually posted in plain sight on the reception counter. If the airline you’re flying with has a lounge, go there, present your boarding pass, and while the attendant is busy trying to find you, grab the password. It may be a small piece of paper, or a sign board. Accept gracefully that you are not allowed in, leave and start browsing.

And because in Korea they always refuse to do things like the rest of the world, even when they receive directives from HQ, of course the network name and password are different at ICN.

EDIT Cathay Incheon finally fell in line. Network name and password are the same now.

Immigration.

If you are a South Korean or Singaporean citizen (and, since recently, German & Australian), Hong Kong has a reciprocal eChannel agreement. Other visitors who might qualify can also access HK’s eChannel. See e-Channel Services for Visitors.

Power [not to the people, stoopid. The 220V kind].
If you’re not from the UK, HK, Singapore, chances are that you have the wrong kind of plug:

Caveat emptor. But besides this little problem, this is one of the points where HKIA shines. According to Hong Kong International Airport, there are 1,300-odd charging points around the airport. And that’s just the approved ones. Usually around seats in front of the boarding gates. Like this one:

There are plenty more for the cleaning teams on the huge pillars that hold the structures together. Plus the advertising poles have free juice too:

All you need is an adapter. If you travel a lot, an adapter is anyway required. Mine is an SKROSS – World Adapter EVO USB.

Second Home: BKK/DMK (Bangkok)

In Suvarnabhumi airport (BKK), King Power has a lounge. Invitations can be obtained from their hotel, Pullman King Power, if you stay there (plus it is a nice hotel).

Also, staying at KP Pullman, at least on the executive floor, gets you a 500 THB voucher per night spent there. These can be redeemed at the downtown Duty-Free shop next door. I save these and use them in batches of 4,000-6,000 THB.

Note that this voucher was valid until November 31, mwahaha. The new ones are blue.

If you are a Gold member or equivalent of your airline of choice, when flying to Bangkok, ask a flight attendant for a Fast Track card, even if you are flying economy. She might say Oh I don’t mind but immigration will reject you because you are not flying business. No ma’am, the access to this restricted immigration channel is for first, business class travellers, diplos, APEC card holders, and so-called elite status frequent flyers.

Bonus track. When giving the immigration grouch your passport and immigration form, do not give this card, or even show it. Many times they won’t ask for it. Keep it for when leaving Bangkok. Very useful, as departure security is a mess.

EDIT: This has been discontinued. They now actually check your boarding pass instead…

Some countries you might visit after Thailand require an ID photo, like Laos. And finding a photo booth in Suvarnabhumi is a nightmare on its own. Here are the two best solutions.

1. Airside, there are photo booths before immigration. They are atttached to the exchange bureaus. That’s because Thailand immigration requires ID photos for their visa on arrival procedure (countries like China, India, etc). If you are planning to go to Laos, or apply for a Myanmar/Cambodia/Vietnam visa downtown, take two minutes to get some photos taken.
2. Arrival lobby. There’s, as far as I know, no photo booth anywhere. But. If you need photos urgently, go to the (tourist) police station, I think near gate 4, they charge 200 baht, the gun-carrying bandits, for four crappy ID photos. Keep in mind that Laos will charge you 1 USD extra if you don’t have a photo. That’s 36 baht. If you’re on a budget, just pay the extra buck at the Lao immigration point.

A photo booth attached to an exchange bureau.

If you are flying to Koh Samui on a budget, do not fly Bangkok Airways. They have a quasi monopoly on this route (they own the airport), and thus charge whatever they want, which is plenty. Fly AirAsia to Surat Thani, with a ferry transfer to Samui. Conversely, if you are in a hurry, do not fly AirAsia to Surat, it takes half a day, as opposed to 45mn with BA.

In Suvarnabhumi, there are plenty of lie-flat seats on level 3 (one level down from the main shopping area), but you’ll have to roam about to find them (it’s a frigging huge airport) and snag one that’s empty.

Luggage lockers

I never had the need, except maybe once, for a 24-hour trip to Udon, but considering the mess the arrival hall is, I suspect there aren’t any. What I did instead was leave the excess luggage at my Bangkok hotel, and I picked that up when I came back. I had a few hours transit time.

What I could have done though is leave my excess luggage at Phaya Thai station. Near the AirportRail station, at the interconnection with the BTS, there’s a bunch of lockers.

Wifi: There’s a bunch of networks, but some require registration/identification. Here’s what you can do.

If you’re near the Thai Airways lounge, here’s the password.

If you find yourself near a King Power shop (including downtown), they usually have a strong network. Here’s the password.

If you’re near the Cathay lounge, you know what to do.

Well I found some comfy chairs for you, and with an Internet corner as a bonus. They’re on concourse G, Just before gate G1, a little further down from the Cathay Pacific Lounge. Here’s what they look like:

Pretty good spot too.

If you need to repack / pack better something fragile while at DMK (Don Mueang “International Joke of an” Airport), the best and cheapest solution is the post office, near AirAsia’s check-in counters. You buy a box bigger than your stuff, and the employee will very kindly pack it in bubble-wrap for you. All this for a couple USD… I had a bottle of wine to check in, it was packed in a box, and the counter girl looked at it, shook her head, and told me to repack it better. Post office did the trick.

Wifi: I don’t remember using wifi in Don Mueang, except near the King Power shops, airside, in the international departure area. As mentioned below, I have a good SIM card, which provides plenty of data for little money. Unless I need speed for a big download, or Starcraft 2, my AIS SIM card is usually enough.

Piece of crap airport. I don’t understand how it could go to seed like that.

While at Koh Samui airport, if you are departing from a non-A/C lounge (there’s only one A/C lounge), go to the duty-free shop. Browse around, then walk further down. There’s the A/C lounge…

Nice boarding lounges, but when it’s really hot or raining…

Do like the gentleman there, walk over to the DF shop. The A/C lounge is right behind.

If you do fly Bangkok Airways (fly, fly fly with me….) make sure you get the AIS free SIM card voucher. It comes preloaded with a little credit. Redeem it at the AIS shop in Central Festival Chaweng (if in Samui) or at Suvarnabhumi airport. Then get a recharge for 300 THB (at AIS or 7/11) and dial *777*702#. You’ll get 1.5 GB data valid 10 days. Enjoy, kap.

Sidebar, Guvnor

On the subject of adult beverages, one of my favorite subjects, import taxes on foreign booze in Thailand reach 500+% now, and getting hammered is either expensive, or even more detrimental to health (local rotgut like Sang Som, Mekhong et altri are really bad for you. Do not touch that stuff!). If you’re going to USM to party (c’mon, don’t be shy, you don’t go to Samui to visit temples, although there are a few nice ones), load up on booze at the arrival duty-free shop, which is just behind the immigration counters, before luggage pickup. Grab first your luggage and go back to the DF shop. Take your time. Buy everything you’ll need. Put it back in your luggage. Customs are way too lazy to check luggage. Walk out. You’ll thank me later.

The arrival shop; if you’re shocked by the prices, wait until you see what duty-paid prices look like…

Former Home: SEL

At Incheon airport (ICN), if you arrive at/leave from the remote terminal, stupidly baptised “concourse”, when boarding the train, stay on the side of the train where you boarded: the doors at arrival open on that side too. And the trains are full, which means bottlenecks at the escalators. Then delays upstairs when you have three immigration counters for 300+ foreigners ahead of you.

That’s the kind of bottlenecks I’m talking about. Two planes’ worth of fuhreenahs clogging the pipes. That day it took me 45 minutes to get my passport stamped… HK Passport holders can register for the automated clearance in Incheon. And Koreans can register for eChannel in HKG, for course.

Again, if you are at the “concourse” (grrrr), there are very nice easy chairs where you can lie down, between the Cathay Pacific and Asiana business lounges.

If you need to recharge your mobile device, here’s where ICN shines. In the arrival hall, the huge pillars supporting the structure not only have electrical outlets, they even warn you it’s 220 volt, and if you need 110 volt, go ask the information counter. There’s one every 10 meters or so.

Nuff said?

Do not ever ever ever ever take taxis at ICN or GMP, unless you speak fluent Korean, and are aware of the many tricks these subhumans will use to cheat you out of your money. While taxis downtown are mostly honest, at least crooks of an acceptable level, their airport cousins are the worst scum of the Earth. If the last man on Earth was a Seoul airport taxi driver, he’d still try to scam other living creatures. They’re that bad.

There are many “limousine” buses that serve ICN, including the KAL Limousine lines, which mostly serve international hotels. GMP is now served well by the subway, and you should use that.

On the other hand, the train that serves ICN is a joke, and a very good example of government corruption. It was supposed to be a high-speed train (based on the Korean version of the TGV, the so-called KTX), and was used during Korea’s application to the World Cup[1]. Needless to say the train line was never intended to be a KTX, was finished years after the World Cup, and is a slow train with many stops in the middle of nowhere. Useless…

KTX vs AREX. Not quite the same…

[1] I was one of the many translators who translated Korea’s (successful) application to the World Cup from Korean to French and English, and I happen to have translated this very paragraph.

Alice in Wonderland: TYO

Unless you absolutely absolutely have to, do not fly into Narita (NRT). Haneda (HND) has now [again] flights to many international destinations[2]. It is a 20-minute train ride away from downtown (way faster and cheaper than Narita Express), with faster immigration and customs (enjoy while it lasts) and nice connections to domestic flights, if you are flying somewhere else.

nuff said?

[2] A quick look at フライト検索 | 羽田空港国際線旅客ターミナル Haneda flight information shows [with a quick helping of Javascript] that it has the following daily flights:

Bangkok: 2 [I Suppose BKK], Beijing: 4, Doha: 1, Dubai: 1, Frankfurt: 1, Guangzhou: 1, Hanoi: 1, Ho Chi Minh City: 1, Hong Kong: 2, Jakarta: 2, Kuala Lumpur [I suppose KUL]: 1, London (LHR): 1, Manila: 2, Munich: 2, Paris (CDG): 1, San Francisco: 2, Seoul (GMP): 7, Seoul (ICN): 1, Shanghai (PVG): 2, Shanghai (SHA): 3, Singapore: 6, Sydney: 1, Taipei (TPE): 1, Taipei (TSA): 3.

Note that for some cities with 2+ airports, the airport is not specified (Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur). 8 flights a day to Seoul, 7 of which to GMP. You have no reason to fly NRT<->ICN: who wants to ride public transportation for 100+ kilometers when you can cut that distance by half?

On the subject of Japan and mobile phones/SIM cards, you can get online a (data) SIM card from b-mobile VISITOR SIM | b-mobile wireless internet, shipped to Haneda’s post office, where you can pick it up and start browsing while on the train. Speed is so fast that you can use it to make good voice calls, either with Skype out, or your favorite chat app’s voice call function (Line, Kakao Talk, Whatsapp, etc).

If you live in HK, or drop by HK before going to Japan, you can get a China Unicom SIM card for Japan (or Taiwan, or Korea).

Japan 7 Days 5GB Data SIM S.Korea 7 days 5GB Data SIM

Taiwan 7 Days Data SIM

Do not buy alcohol in Japanese duty free shops. The prices are higher than liquor stores downtown. There are a few places where alcohol is cheaper in duty-free shops, but Japan is not one of them. Hong Kong and Seoul may be cheaper (although with the recent changes at Incheon, the new contracts and hikes in rents and profit-sharing, and thus in margin % for the operators, the prices are going up up up).

Another sidebar, Guvnor

Speaking of booze and Japan, places like Sokuhai are the cheapest around. The places are smallish, and are packed with the most common and not so common stuff.

This one’s my “local”, in Ginza.

See お酒のソクハイ, their website.

Cramped shelves…

Another option is Liquors Hasegawa, リカーズハセガワ本店 JR東京駅八重洲地下街, in the Tokyo station underground maze.

There are actually two Liquors Hasegawa shops there. One that’s near the entrance, and is nothing more than a corridor-sized space crammed with spirits.

And a much larger shop at the rear of the underground mall.

The capital city of a country that’s a not country: TPE

Likewise in Taiwan, if you’re flying within Asia, Songshan airport has international flights. Songshan is in Taipei city, not an hour’s drive out. And again, it has domestic connections. Last time I went to Taipei, I flew Haneda-Songshan. I was checking in at my hotel within 30 minutes of my arrival.

Easy choice…

If you have to land in TPE, forget taxis. Take the airport subway. Cheaper and faster than a taxi.

JKT, aka CGK

If you are flying into Jakarta, try to split your flight into two: your place to Singapore with whatever airline you want, and Singapore-Jakarta with Garuda. The reason is that most foreigners need[ed] (see below) to queue twice: once to buy a visa, and once to get through immigration. On a foreign airline, you have 300+ foreigners. All queuing twice. On Garuda, you have 3. The rest are Indos who use a different line. When flying Cathay, Hong Kong to Jakarta, it took me 2 hours. When flying (numerous times) Garuda from Singapore, about 5 minutes. Remember that after immigration you still have a 2-hour taxi ride into town.

Lately I have little business in Singapore, alas, and more in KL. And it just so happens that Malaysian airlines is doing its utmost to attract customers. A triangle HKG-CGK (via KUL, of course)-KUL-HKG [hence 4 four flights but with a stop in KL on the way back] costs in Economy about half of HKG<>KUL on Cathay. And in Business Class, it costs about a fraction above HKG<>CGK. You have to play your cards right, and try different flights and dates, but it works out quite nicely.

Indonesia has suspended in 2016 I think the buy-a-visa process for many countries, hoping to foster tourism. So now you only have to queue once, at the same counters. But if you arrive very early or very late — a few months ago I arrived at 4 am, which I don’t recommend — you have to go all the way down, to the local immigration counters. Which have fortunately segregated counters for foreigners. However, if the Immigration officer asks you the purpose of your visit, state HOLIDAY, or VACATION, or anything but BUSINESS. The visa exemption, see below, is TOURISM PURPOSE ONLY.

The new visa stamp. No money, no sticker. Weeeeeeeeeeee.

Bonus track. If you are an elite member of SkyTeam, whatever airline, after immigration go to the small Garuda arrival lounge, hand over your luggage tag, go inside and have a drink. A Garuda employee will grab your bag for you. [EDIT: that lounge, as of August 2016, has been taken over by Customs. Ouchies.]

Taxi!

So. Once you’ve arrived at Soekarno Hatta, you’re not quite there yet. The airport is far, and distances in Jakarta are not calculated in kilometers, but in hours. The airport is about 30 km from Monumen Selamat Datang (Grand Indonesia, Plaza Indonesia shopping malls, Grand Hyatt, Kempinski, Pullman, Mandarin hotels). Depending on the day and the time of day, it can take 35 mn (my record so far) to 3 hours (my other record). Arriving on a Friday evening is asking for trouble. Monday morning 8 am, airport to city, nightmare. City to airport? Super fast. Last week, it took my taxi 40 mn…

Next, do not book one of the limousine/taxis right after Customs. And do not change money at the money changers right across from them. After Immigration, and before luggage pickup and Customs, withdraw some money from one of the ATMs. You’ll get a better rate from your bank card than the money changers. Then, armed with cash, leave the airport terminal, and look for the Blue Bird taxi stand.

Do not take any other taxi than Blue Bird if you value your wallet and the sanctity of your various orifices. The taxi attendants (the guys loafing around at the stands, supposedly there to help you, but in reality to fleece you, have this nasty habit of offering a flat rate, making it sound like it’s compulsory. Last time, they were all asking for 400,000 rupiah for a ride downtown. Maaf ya, asshole, I may be just a hapless-looking bule, but I know how much a ride costs. Even the Korean family behind me smelled a rat. They couldn’t speak English, so they just said nonono and left.

That’s the meter just before arriving at my hotel. Add 15,000 rupiah for the tolls.

When leaving Jakarta, you can get free WiFi. Except that the SHIA network never worked for me. The Pura Indah Lounge, near the entrance to D1-D7, has a reasonably strong one. [EDIT: last time in late 2016 the SHIA network worked…]

Near gate D3 I found an open network, SuperWiFi-WEB. It held all the way to the plane, which was a nice surprise.

Shopping.

Indonesia’s Independence day is August 17. Please write it down if you’re into Duty-Free shopping. Lotte DF was offering 17% discount, on top of which some brands offered an extra discount ranging from 10% to 30%. Lotte DF’s prices in CGK are so-so, but with the 17%+ discount, some of the products I checked out were REALLY worth buying. The rest of the time, well, they’re usually more expensive than KLIA, HKG or ICN.

KLIA.

I have been coming more to Kuala Lumpur lately, and this airport has a few points in common with Jakarta and Singapore. Yeah, both of them…

• Like CGK, the airport is very far. As in 1 to 3 hours to downtown by taxi, depending on the weather and traffic. Jakarta is slightly worse, but damn, if you take a taxi at the wrong hour, you’re in for a long crawl in KL too. I usually take a limousine taxi just before exiting into the arrival hall, 76 ringgit. To give you a point of comparison, meter taxi, same timing, same distance, 120+.
• On the other hand, there is a train that goes to KL Sentral, the train station. Of course once you’re there you still need to find a taxi to your hotel/home, but you’ve made better time than with a cab.
• Like Singapore, security is casual at the entrance, and thorough at the boarding lounges. This is probably costlier for the airport, but ensures everybody passes through good security controls. And like in Singapore, people arriving in KL and leaving KL cross each other in the corridors of the terminals. Not the best design, but hey, whatever works.
• The terminals are interconnected by a train, like in Singapore. Depending on where you’re going/coming from you might have to take the train. Budget a little time for this.
• Like in Jakarta, the number of places where you can sit down if you don’t have access to a lounge is limited. They’re usually upstairs. Wifi works well, though, and unlike Singapore, you don’t need a phone number.
• Cathay Pacific and Malaysian Airlines have good lounges. Not sure about others.
  Shopping.
• The duty free shops are run by Eraman. The selection is okay – there’s actually LOTS of alcohol, for a Muslim country that taxes alcohol and tobacco with a sin tax. Plenty of chocolates too. The prices are usually not bad.

Singapore

If you are from Hong Kong, Australia, USA, Malaysia, the PRC, Singapore has a reciprocal eIACS agreement (conditions apply). See enhanced-Immigration Automated Clearance System.

Answering: Is 2 hour layover enough in Singapore?

Singapore Changi is a huge airport, and without knowing anything about your flights, how could we answer…? For all we know, your two flights are in neighbouring gates in T1, or you arrive in T1 and your connecting is in T3, and there’s no Transfer Desk for your connecting airline. In which case, you’re, as they say in Snatch, proper fucked.

[I’ll add more later. Somehow I am drawing a blank. Even though that’s an airport I know inside out].

Fukuoka

Of all places, why FUK [Yeah, I know, I couldn’t resist mentioning its IATA code]? Because I can!

Internet

The airport has a strong network throughout the airport, fukuoka-ap_Free-Wi-Fi. So strong that even the Fukuoka Lounge (used by many airlines) doesn’t have a separate network. Funny enough it requires a login through Google/FB/etc for mobiles but not for laptops.

Connection to the city

FUK is not very far from downtown, but Japan prices being what they are, avoid taxis. Fukuoka has a nice subway and bus system, but the International Terminal is kind of isolated, like Haneda ten years back. You have to get to the Domestic terminal in order to catch the subway. Get out at Gate 4 and turn left.

See the blue bus through the window? That’s the one!

That’s the bus stop. The bus will take you all the way around the airport:

Remember to board the bus at the rear – and exit at the front. That’s how they do it there.

Get off the bus and walk straight. You’ll arrive at the Subway entrance/exit 1A – remember that number when you retrace your steps.

The subway network in Fukuoka is not exactly terrifying – like it can be in Tokyo. They have a stored value card – Nimoca – but Suica, Pasmo and friends work too.

Shopping.

Nothing to buy there really. As far as I can see, the prices at the Duty-Free shops are more expensive than downtown, and the product mix targets a very specific clientele: Korean and Chinese females. And most larger shops downtown offer tax-free discounts.

There are only a couple of shops selling basic food items and drinks. Do not go to the airport hungry – there’s only so much soft ice-cream you can eat (one of the shops serves udon and ramen, of dubious quality). Although the 510 Yen ice-cream was criminally good.