dinap05

Hi there,

I'll be travelling from YUL-EWR-PEK-HND this September. My flight from UA89 lands in PEK at 1:45pm and I connect to NH962 at 3:35pm. This leaves me only 1h50m to connect. I'm hoping to have all my onward boarding passes when I leave from YUL. I've done some research and found our plane lands around gates E26- E31 and our connecting flight departs from around E23.

I know the MCT is 60 mins for I:I connections within T3. I don't believe I need a visa for China. I'm just unaware if we would need to collect our luggage in PEK. However, I believe that we would still need to go through immigration, security and quarantine.

Short of running from one gate to another, I'm afraid that 1h50m is not enough time to connect as the gate supposedly closes 1 hour before the flight's departure.

I've looked into asiafasttrack, which is a service that supposedly makes your connection smoother by providing an agent to walk you though each process. They quoted me $719 for the two of us!

Would anyone be able to provide any information or tips as trying to make this connection as "smooth" or seamless as possible? Would anyone be able to walk me through the connection? Any help or info would be greatly appreciated!

moondog

You should be fine. I wouldn't lose any sleep over this (assuming single ticket).

JPDM

But you won't be able to just walk from one gate to the other.

dinap05

it's my understanding that we'd arrive on the 3rd floor of terminal T3 and have to make our way to the 2nd floor and then proceed through quarantine, immigration (although no visa would be required), security check and then finally customs? According to the map of the T3 departure guide this would take more than 1h30m!

moondog

If this were the case, even semi frequently, the MCT would not be 60 minutes. There are many connections I would dare try in China, but your specific case is fine. What's more, there is no need to map anything out in advance because there are both signs and people to assist.

dinap05

Thanks! puts my mind at ease. Keeping my fingers crossed we arrive on time

moondog

Check UA 89 on Flightaware; it seems to arrive 25-30 minutes early, on average. But, you shouldn't count on that cushion, and also don't need it.

GinFizz

Agree with moondog that you should be fine. Also there is another flight to HND at 17:10 in case of major delays.

Your description of the transfer process is correct but note that:

"proceed through quarantine" = walk past an infra-red camera while someone sits at desk checking their mobile phone;

"security check" = dedicated area for transfer passengers so almost always involves someone having to stop looking at their mobile phone to stamp your boarding pass;

"customs" = an unmanned desk where you can put your bags while you reorganize things after security.

The only possible bottleneck is immigration - there should be a separate line for immediate transfers but if things get messy and you end up in a long and slow queue for the 72 hour transit without visa line you may have to be pro-active and go to the front of the queue and show your boarding pass.

The walk from your arrival gate to the transfer area, and then to the departure gate could take 20 - 30 minutes though (all my flights to Japan from T3 have left I think from one of the gates at the far end of T3E).

Ausriver

Don't worry. Flights leaving PEK would expect 1hr delay on average, you'll have about 3 hours to make your connection

moondog

In the instant case, we are talking about PEK-HND in isolation. These flights tend to board (and close their doors) on time, most of the time.

dinap05

Thanks! This gives me some real perspective on what to expect

dinap05

Can anyone confirm whether I would have to retrieve my checked in luggage?

moondog

I don't think you'll need to reclaim your bags in this case, but I certainly won't guarantee such (and, I doubt anyone else will either).

889

I did an international-international transit at T3 earlier this month, and the security check was a complete madhouse. Everyone - - and there seemed to be hundreds - - was cast into a long snaking line that ended in a single magnetometer with two flanking x-rays staffed by personnel doing their utter best to process passengers as slowly as possible. An unbelievably trying experience, and a very good reason to avoid an itinerary with a transfer in Beijing.

Note that as the line heads down the stairs there is a guard who will let you take a shortcut if your flight departs soon, but this only shortcuts some of the difficulty. Remember, you have to take the initiative and pester the guard to let you through, otherwise you'll just be standing there while your flight departs.

Also, right before security there is a quick look at your passport, but no formal immigration check.

dinap05

Wow... Did you have to pick up your luggage too?