tommyleo

What are your thoughts on this connection time? It will be ticketed in Economy with no elite status. Thanks in advance...

Oct 23, 2017
CA4171 KMG-PEK, 7:20A - 10:45A
CA981 PEK-JFK, 1:00PM - 2:20PM

ajeleonard

If same ticket and CA to CA then 2h15m should be no issue at all

tommyleo

Hi there. The image of the itinerary didn't load in my post, so I just manually entered it.

My main concern is a smog delay coming into PEK since the KMG-PEK flight is in the morning.

JPDM

Taking a domestic flight to connect an international flight is crazy, especially coming from Kunming which has a very poor on-time record.
I would certainly never do this. I would fly into Beijing the day before.
I suspect that ajeleonard does not know China.

cxfan1960

Connections in PEK are always risky, especially for short/regional to long-haul connections. Even though 135 min should be plenty, you have to bet that CA4171 will not be delayed or canceled. Having said that, delays are infrequent for early morning flights.

tommyleo

My concern would be a delay on the inbound flight due to "fog" (aka, smog) in Beijing in the morning. Happened to me once before, and I am under the impression that fog delays aren't a rarity in the morning at PEK.

cxfan1960

There can be fog delays, but I haven't encountered that in the past. My flights usually arrives PEK around noon.

JPDM

Problem will be in Kunming. Weather is often bad, hence the poor on-time record of flights out of Kunming.

jiejie

PEK usually does not have fog delays in (late) October; smog is another story and cannot always be predicted. But I think any delay is more likely to happen at KMG.

Since it's all on one ticket, if you misconnect through no fault of your own, CA will have to get you to New York. I think this is OK to book as long as you give yourself a flex-day at the destination so that if you were delayed getting back by up to 24 hours, it wouldn't be a disaster. Also know your misconnect rebooking options on CA and other Star Alliance partners: UA has the next nonstop to EWR at 15:35. The next CA nonstop to JFK is at 09:00 the next morning, and usually they'll give you a hotel for the night if you ask....but it don't expect anything swish. There are other connection options, but I'd down-rate those unless you're really in a hurry. An afternoon/evening in Beijing can always be put to good use if you end up with an overnight delay. Fortunately, this is not a hugely busy time of year for TPAC so some seats should be available on something heading back.

johnathome

One other factor is the Communist Party meeting in Beijing may be around that time? Was just talking to a client about his visit to Beijing in late October and this subject came up. Expect lots of delays during that week.

jiejie

Yes, above post is true. Party Congress is Oct 24-27 in Beijing. That could increase the delay factor for causes not due to weather, also there's the possibility of being bumped off the KMG-PEK flight by traveling Yunnan officials, especially on the 22nd and 23rd.

I think on balance, a better idea would be to choose another routing on the 23rd out of Kunming, that does not connect in Beijing at all. Go through Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Taipei, Seoul, etc. Even if a little more expensive.

tommyleo

Thank you for your input! ^

travelinmanS

A 2.5 hour domestic to International connection in China is not prudent no matter what the airport you're flying to or from. Try to get there the day before just to be safe. Flying in China domestically is really a crapshoot when it comes to arrival times.