As anyone in the North part of Kunming knows, getting to the airport can be a real hassel. The gold #3 buses (RMB-35: across from the Dubai Club) have been anything but regular, and the taxi drivers near here want RMB-120 per trip or more.
We noticed a new bus #919E parked in the first lane of the Being Shi Qu parking lot around November 4th that said 'Airport Bus'. We stopped and found out that it is a regularly scheduled (every half hour) service starting at 07:00 till 19:00 daily.
I would have posted about this right away but thought we should try it first, so last week when we took a short trip we gave it a trial. The trip was pleasant (except for one short loud music video), and took about 70 minutes even with heavy Shibo lu traffic. For our return trip, we just exited the arrivals level, following the traffic direction to the end of the road where several # 919 busses are parked, looked for # 919E. It uses our Kunming bus card, and saving the best news for last - is only RMB-13 per person. ;)
Unfortunately if you need to go later than 7 PM you still have to use #3 bus or a taxi.