Merlin666

I have never been to Asia and have a scheduled connection in PEK (about 4 hours in the morning). Do I need any specific travel documents (other than passport and boarding pass)? Is there a *A lounge? Any other considerations?

jiejie

Three missing pieces of information you need to give: what is your passport, is it intl-to-intl or intl-to-Chinese domestic connection, and what are the airlines involved? The response may vary according to those factors.

Merlin666

German passport, coming from SIN on SQ, going to NRT on UA.

moondog

I'm guessing you meant NH to NRT (or possibly CA), both of which are in T3 (as is SQ), so you don't really need to leave the airport. You should be able to use the CA lounge there, which isn't so bad. No strange document requirements exist.

ETA: I was not aware that UA was flying NRT-PEK now.

jiejie

Good answers on all three counts, will make your life easier. German passport, you can have visa-free international transit so no worries there. SQ to UA is a Star Alliance transfer so everything will stay in Terminal 3. You'll need your passport and your boarding passes to go through immigration--you'll go through a specially marked "international transit" desk not the regular queues. If you aren't issued the UA connecting boarding pass in SIN, then there will be a transfer desk near the immigration desks where you can get this. Your baggage should now be transferred directly from SQ to UA without you having to deal with PEK baggage claim, just double-check your luggage tagging at SIN check-in.

T3 has First Class and Business Class/*A Gold lounges. Economy ticket on UA + *A Gold status on anything gets you into the lounge--but it's really nothing spectacular esp on food/snacks. Lounges are airside, near the international departure gates. With that short a period of time to layover, just stay at the airport but bring some entertainment or work to do. There's the usual duty-free shopping on the secure/gate side, but very little choice in the way of food, bookstores, etc.

Moondog: Yep UA 898 daily PEK-NRT, leaves late morning arrives mid-afternoon.

Merlin666

Thanks, this sounds very straightforward.

tiddyzhang

SQ & UA are in T3 , transit time will be less than 1hrs normally . the only star lounge in T3 is Air China lounge , nothing special but not bad .

wxguy

I'm traveling BOS-ORD-PEK on UA for the first time, with a two-hour connection to *A carrier CA (the CA ticket is on a separate PNR).

Can an experienced FTer tell me about the UA terminal set-up at PEK? Specifically...

lixiaojuventus

First of all, UA uses the newest terminal, Terminal 3, shared by Air China.

For your questions,

1. Yes, you definitely need to go through Immigration/Customs at PEK. The process is like this: Upon arrival at Terminal 3-E, you will need to clear Immigration first. Then take the express train to Terminal 3-C to claim your luggage and clear customs. After that you go up to the fourth level to check in with Air China and go through ordinary domestic security clearance.

2. I'm not 100% sure about that but I did hear that someone was able to check luggage all the way to EWR at CAN with the following itinerary: CAN-PEK by CA and PEK-EWR by CO. But perhaps that guy had the two flights on the same PNR.

3. With an UA F seat, you will be able to enter Air China International First Class lounge at terminal 3-E, as opposed to the Air China International Business lounge for *G and/or Business class pax.

euslaner

You must reclaim your luggage and bring it to a CA counter. Not so on the way home.

The CA F lounge is about the same as the C lounge. Been in both.

1kBill

I have been able to get bags checked through back to the USA from various airports in China, on different PNRs and even on airlines not part of *A. However, my first requests were often rebuffed and I have usually had to insist that check-in agents tag the bags all the way.

Make sure you have copies of your itineraries with you to show them. Then, at your connection point, you will have to show UA your bag tag information so they can make sure they can locate the bag.

moondog

If it's not too late, I suggest you try to route via ICN instead of PEK because the connection experience is far nicer (e.g. no need to reclaim luggage or check in twice, much less walking, better lounges/shops). If you take an overnight flight on OZ (e.g. from ORD, LAX, SEA, etc), you can connect to OZ in the morning. Meanwhile, CA offers an evening flight that connects with daytime flights from the US.

pjrubindc

A non-English and non-Chinese speaking relative will be changing planes at PEK from an ICN-PEK Air China flight (which I gather is at T3C) to a PEK-EWR Continental flight (which I gather is T3E).

Does anyone have any experience with how difficult and/or time-consuming this tranfer will be?

Thanks.

jiejie

It's not difficult and not too time-consuming. I'm assuming the checked bags will be routed from ICN-PEK-EWR without the need for your relative to ever see them until EWR. The procedure will be:
--deplane with all other passengers, ride the shuttle train to the main terminal area (unless if coming into C), and move to the immigration desks.
--relative should look for the desk marked "international transfer" which at T3 is often by itself, just before the long line of regular immigration desks. The officer will need to see passport and onward boarding pass (also have the first boarding pass handy in case officer wants to see). This does not require a valid Chinese visa as your relative will technically not be entering China.
--then relative goes back to transit side and to next gate, which will almost certainly involve a shuttle train ride back to the airside building E. Things are pretty well signed.

I could make this change in elapsed time from exit jetway of first flight to gate of second flight, usually in 30-ish minutes, and flights to USA will likely start loading at 45-50 minutes before takeoff. But, it would be better to have a 2-3 hour scheduled layover just to make things more leisurely.

dsgtc0408

Jiejie, I need to weigh in.

About a couple of weeks ago my wife traveled SIN/PVG/ORD changing from SQ to UA at Shanghai Pudong. At check in at Changi Airport here, we were told by SQ that per a new rule, it was no longer possible to check the bags all the way through to the US but that it could only be checked as far as PVG, thus anyone with check in luggage has to legally enter China just to do a transit. (Evidently someone in China government has made a change.) In my wife's case she had a whole lot of hours to spare (actually got a nap at the transit hotel), plus she's Singaporean so no visa issues; in other words, just an irritation. But for anyone that has visa issues or is trying to make a tight transfer, this could be a real nuisance.

In any case when arriving in the US she quizzed UA staff at ORD and was told the same thing, ie can only check in as far as China. She is returning back to SIN today, reversing the sequence. I expect she's going to have to do the whole immigration and customs thing again. Anyway, do you think you can confirm this with your own contacts? Thanks.