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AA: Boston -> DFW -> Shanghai March 15 same day RT 567$

AA: Boston -> DFW -> Shanghai March 15 same day RT 567$

Old Mar 18, 2016, 3:35 pm
  #16  
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Originally Posted by best
Please clarify: so arriving from and returning to US within 72 does not work?
Originally Posted by BThumme
Correct!

You have 72 hours to transit to another country. Transiting back to the US, however, is not a third country (as that means China was your destination)
Originally Posted by luckypierre
Is this correct? Simply adding a stop while retaining the USA as the ultimate destination of the itinerary allows the transit visa?

I answered these questions with a link in this post upthread.


Originally Posted by 24left
China has 2 or now 3 main TWOV - 24 hour and 72, which will be extended to 144 (3 days to 6 days)

You must arrive in China from one country (and HKG counts) and depart to different one

See wiki for excellent info

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/china...hread-117.html

Suggestion: Perhaps anyone posting MRs that include stops to or through Mainland China, should include the link to the FT thread.
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Old Mar 18, 2016, 3:43 pm
  #17  
 
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As has been mentioned many times, an ICN or TYO stop will make this flight non require a visa.

These fares can be generally routed through those two cities at a small cost. HKG is usually higher.
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Old Mar 18, 2016, 3:45 pm
  #18  
 
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Originally Posted by 24left
Suggestion: Perhaps anyone posting MRs that include stops to or through Mainland China, should include the link to the FT thread.

If I post a MR to BKK should I link to the Thailand forum? Does SIN MR deserve a warning about spitting, chweing gum or the strict drug policy............It would never end.

I don't disagree but the cynic in me says perhaps anyone who is going to buy a plane ticket to someplace they have never been should do some googleing first. These aren't short lived fares, people have the time to educate themselves.
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Old Mar 23, 2016, 10:58 am
  #19  
 
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No China Visa Needed

This run is in the past but an important thing to note is that you DO NOT need a visa if you are flying in to Shanghai or Beijing and DO NOT leave the airport. Another words, on a turnaround you are not leaving the international area of the airport and no visa is required. However, you may not even find a place to smoke (if that is a desire) without leaving the international area, so be careful.

Just to confirm, I did this in November 2015 on a run, LGA-DFW-PEK r/t with no problem in LGA and no questions or problems in PEK.

Last edited by alawrencenyc; Mar 23, 2016 at 11:04 am
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Old Mar 23, 2016, 11:22 am
  #20  
 
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Originally Posted by alawrencenyc
This run is in the past but an important thing to note is that you DO NOT need a visa if you are flying in to Shanghai or Beijing and DO NOT leave the airport. Another words, on a turnaround you are not leaving the international area of the airport and no visa is required. However, you may not even find a place to smoke (if that is a desire) without leaving the international area, so be careful.

Just to confirm, I did this in November 2015 on a run, LGA-DFW-PEK r/t with no problem in LGA and no questions or problems in PEK.
While you managed to complete this run, it is technically not permitted under PRC regulations.

While it is very easy to transit PEK, even without a printed boarding pass, it is technically not permitted.

The potential issues will be on the ground in the U.S. where AA representatives will not want to issue a boarding pass. They may only do so if you can prove transit to a third country or have a visa, as this is what TIMATIC will tell them is required.

So yes, you don't need a visa, but there is a chance you won't be allowed to board because your ticket doesn't meet the requirements for TWOV. Just because you managed to pull it off doesn't mean others will be able to do so.

I would advise to simply route this flight through Tokyo or Seoul, which often can be done at the same rate as the normal routing. This fulfills the requirements for PRC TWOV.
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Old Mar 23, 2016, 11:41 am
  #21  
 
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Originally Posted by alawrencenyc
This run is in the past but an important thing to note is that you DO NOT need a visa if you are flying in to Shanghai or Beijing and DO NOT leave the airport. Another words, on a turnaround you are not leaving the international area of the airport and no visa is required. However, you may not even find a place to smoke (if that is a desire) without leaving the international area, so be careful.

Just to confirm, I did this in November 2015 on a run, LGA-DFW-PEK r/t with no problem in LGA and no questions or problems in PEK.
While I'm sure it's possible to do this, I wouldn't recommend relying on. AA agents are required to check visa status, and will generally give you a hard time. Even the 72 hour transit exception requires a bit of advocacy (although at least you can rely on it).

Also, I would not recommend anyone do this, but if you are stuck with a RT ticket, you can book a refundable ticket to a third country and present that itinerary to get your 72 hour transit visa. Once back in the airport, simply board the flight to the US and cancel the other flight.
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Old Mar 23, 2016, 12:49 pm
  #22  
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Originally Posted by benzemalyonnais
While you managed to complete this run, it is technically not permitted under PRC regulations.

While it is very easy to transit PEK, even without a printed boarding pass, it is technically not permitted.
Originally Posted by kingabraham3
Also, I would not recommend anyone do this
This.

Poster got lucky - every time checkin folks check my passport they rifle through to look for visa. No visa or onward ticket, no go.
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Old Mar 23, 2016, 9:21 pm
  #23  
 
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Originally Posted by EmailKid
This.

Poster got lucky - every time checkin folks check my passport they rifle through to look for visa. No visa or onward ticket, no go.
That has been my experience; the one time I have used the visa waiver-a little business in PVG, then onwards to SIN-the AA system forced me to do a counter check in and required a little explaining to the agent here in San Antonio. It did appear that the agent had to respond to the system (or at least she was typing while I explained the provision).
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Old Mar 23, 2016, 9:54 pm
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Originally Posted by alawrencenyc
This run is in the past
This MR is not in the past it has been around for a while and will probably come back. Also, there may be FTers who have booked something similar that are still making their travel plans and looking to FT for information

Originally Posted by alawrencenyc
...but an important thing to note is that you DO NOT need a visa if you are flying in to Shanghai or Beijing and DO NOT leave the airport. Another words, on a turnaround you are not leaving the international area of the airport and no visa is required. However, you may not even find a place to smoke (if that is a desire) without leaving the international area, so be careful.

Just to confirm, I did this in November 2015 on a run, LGA-DFW-PEK r/t with no problem in LGA and no questions or problems in PEK.
As other posters have mentioned up-thread your all-caps claim of not needing a visa is not true. You played with fire and got LUCKY. Not only do you need to follow the TWOV rules but AA shouldn't have even let you board the plane. Your Visa or onward travel plans should have been checked at check-in in LGA AND at boarding in DFW. Setting AA's massive document check failure asside, nothing stopped the Chinese from checking your documents in PEK. I'll reiterate you got LUCKY!
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Old Mar 23, 2016, 11:49 pm
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Originally Posted by Madone59
This MR is not in the past it has been around for a while and will probably come back.
Plus BOS-DFW-PEK-DFW-BOS is still available for $568-$573 as a walk up fare for the next month. My Easter options looked uninspiring so I'm heading over tomorrow and coming back on Monday. Wangfujing seems as good a place as any to spend the weekend.
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Old Mar 24, 2016, 12:33 am
  #26  
 
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Originally Posted by Ambraciot
Plus BOS-DFW-PEK-DFW-BOS is still available for $568-$573 as a walk up fare for the next month. My Easter options looked uninspiring so I'm heading over tomorrow and coming back on Monday. Wangfujing seems as good a place as any to spend the weekend.
that's 17k miles... considering it gives 34k to Plat, it's like paying about $200 out of pocket for the 4 500-mile upgrade. Whoah. You break even, and get some interesting EQMs!
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Old Mar 24, 2016, 8:48 pm
  #27  
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Originally Posted by alawrencenyc
This run is in the past but an important thing to note is that you DO NOT need a visa if you are flying in to Shanghai or Beijing and DO NOT leave the airport. Another words, on a turnaround you are not leaving the international area of the airport and no visa is required. However, you may not even find a place to smoke (if that is a desire) without leaving the international area, so be careful.

Just to confirm, I did this in November 2015 on a run, LGA-DFW-PEK r/t with no problem in LGA and no questions or problems in PEK.
As others have said, OF COURSE YOU NEED A VISA FOR THIS! You got lucky, plain and simple.
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Old Mar 25, 2016, 4:41 am
  #28  
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Originally Posted by kingabraham3
While I'm sure it's possible to do this, I wouldn't recommend relying on. AA agents are required to check visa status, and will generally give you a hard time. Even the 72 hour transit exception requires a bit of advocacy (although at least you can rely on it).

Also, I would not recommend anyone do this, but if you are stuck with a RT ticket, you can book a refundable ticket to a third country and present that itinerary to get your 72 hour transit visa. Once back in the airport, simply board the flight to the US and cancel the other flight.
I can't recommend this either because the computers have come a long way since TWOV was first introduced ~20 years ago. In the TWOV thread, I have been challenged by my suggestion that the odds of getting called out are only ~10%, but even if you agree with my "10%" figure, the downside could be unfathomably bad (e.g. 1 in 10 chance of being cordoned off in an interrogation room for hours, paying dearly to leave the country, and earning a special label in the PRC immigration database). As such, I think it is poor form to even hint this approach is viable.
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Old Mar 26, 2016, 2:22 am
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Originally Posted by luckypierre
Is this correct? Simply adding a stop while retaining the USA as the ultimate destination of the itinerary allows the transit visa?
Technically your destination is now ICN or whatever city you chose to add and you are simply transiting China en route to said destination. If it's a same-day turn I don't know how picky they'll be about whether or not China is your actual destination but again, it's technically allowable.

Originally Posted by alawrencenyc
This run is in the past but an important thing to note is that you DO NOT need a visa if you are flying in to Shanghai or Beijing and DO NOT leave the airport. Another words, on a turnaround you are not leaving the international area of the airport and no visa is required. However, you may not even find a place to smoke (if that is a desire) without leaving the international area, so be careful.

Just to confirm, I did this in November 2015 on a run, LGA-DFW-PEK r/t with no problem in LGA and no questions or problems in PEK.
This is absolutely not correct and AA staff have recently received clear instructions to deny boarding to any passengers who intend to do this without a visa. I cannot stress enough how bad of an idea this is and anyone who follows this advice will likely not be permitted to travel.

It is not considered transit without visa to depart and arrive from the same country.

Last edited by ThreeJulietTango; Mar 26, 2016 at 2:27 am
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