Jay71

Looking for suggestions on a checked baggage strategy.

We arrive at HKG on a Saturday night at 7:30pm on Delta. Our next leg is Sunday afternoon at 3:30pm on Vietnam Airlines. Once we clear customs, will we be able to check in into Vietnam Airlines and drop off our checked luggage? I can't seem to find any info around if the Vietnam Airlines counter will accept luggage that early, though the HKG website seems to indicate the check in is available 24x7.

We're hoping to grab a few things from our check luggage and then only head into town with our carry-on to poke around a bit.

The backup plan appears to be lugging our gear to Hong Kong station and then immediately dropping our checked luggage at the In Town Check-In.

TIA.

moondog

Try your best to get DL to interline your bags for you.

If that doesn't pan out, I like your "back up" plan a lot more than the idea of trying to pull it off in the terminal because it entails less walking and is nearly certain to work.

rkkwan

VN only has two flights a day, both in the afternoon. Definitely no VN counter to do check-in the evening before. They also DO NOT provide DAY-PRIOR in-town checkin at Kowloon or Hong Kong Airport Express stations.

moondog

They're on the 24 hour list, no?

rkkwan

They are on SAME DAY list. There's no such thing as "24-hour list". Either same-day only or day-before.

http://www.mtr.com.hk/en/customer/se...m_checkin.html
http://www.mtr.com.hk/archive/en/services/itci.pdf

Red ones offer day-before check-in. VN is black.

Marco Polo

http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea....arate-tickets/

moondog

Wow. That's a pretty obnoxious policy.

Jay71

Appreciate all the excellent info. Looks like we may be hooped but I'm reading conflicting info around how early we can check in using the In Town check in. Going to email VN's HK branch.

rkkwan

Pretty clear to me the earliest you can do in-town check in is when the counter opens around 6am on the day of your flight. Who's telling you otherwise?

tentseller

As someone who has done DL HKG arrival and then VN to SGN , my bags were interlined to SGN at YYZ DL check in. I took what I needed that night in carry on.
The key is that the connection is the next available flight in the same "alliance". Most likely same ticket.

moyeung

in terminal 2 there is a baggage storage concession that charges a daily rate of approx UD$18 have left bags there in the past, very convenient if you dont want to lug your checked bags around

Jay71

There was another website we pulled up that something somewhat conflicting. I can't remember which one.

Unfortunately, it sounds like DL is not interlining and the flights aren't on the same ticket.

Yep, we thought about this too. I've used left luggage at HKG before and I don't have any problems with it. It's just a decision if we want to spend the dollars and the logistics of the where it is, dropping off, picking up for departure, etc.

--

VN's HK office replied recommending either doing in town check-in when it/their (?) counter opens at 6:00am or at the airport at noon when their counter opens there.

no1cub17

To say the least! DL won't even interline bags onto Skyteam airlines? Unreal. That is just unbelievable.

Even Dougie Air will still interline bags on separate tickets if you're connecting to a oneworld operated flight.

tentseller

I have check all my DL Asia connections to VN MU CI and CZ since middles of 2012, IME all 10 connections DL was able to interline my checked bags onto those 4 Skyteam airlines even on separate tickets.

YMMV

Marco Polo: What has your DL interlining actual experience been like?

Jay71

Ok, well, I've called up Delta and asked about interlining the luggage with VN. The friendly rep said it was doable. I just have to present copies of both my DL and VN tickets/itinerary at check-in in Vancouver. It'll be a bonus if it works. I'm curious what the heck they'll do with the luggage for 19hrs.