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Mileage Runs turnarounds / turnabouts / transits:- Experiences please

Old Sep 12, 2014, 6:12 pm
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Last edit by: dordal
As this thread has gotten quite big, here is an index of links to the relevant posts for quick reference, sorted by airport code. If you are unsure of the airport code please use the FT airport code lookup.

Key

e = link to post external to this thread
w = link to post within this thread
> = transit
< = turnaround
APT = airport code

e/w >/< APT airport name, country [specific airline, terminal or type of connection here]

INDEX

Code:

 A
 w < ACC Accra, Ghana
 e < ADE Aden, Yemen (warning difficult to do)
 w < AKL Auckland, New Zealand on CX
 e > AKL Auckland, New Zealand
 e < AKL Auckland, New Zealand
 w < AKL Auckland, New Zealand on TG
 e > AMM Amman, Jordan
 e > AMM Amman, Jordan
 e > AMM Amman, Jordan
 w < AMS Amsterdam, Netherlands
 e > AMS Amsterdam, Netherlands
 w < AMS Amsterdam, Netherlands on UA
 w < AMS Amsterdam, Netherlands on SQ
 e < ANC Anchorage, USA
 e < ANC Anchorage, USA
 w < APW Apia, Samoa
 e < ARN Stockholm, Sweden
 w < ARN Stockholm, Sweden on TG
 e < ATH Athens, Greece
 e > AUH Abu Dhabi, UAE on BA
 
 B
 w < BCN Barcelona, Spain on SQ
 w < BDL Hartford, USA
 e > BEG Belgrade, Serbia
 e < BEY Beirut, Lebanon
 e > BEY Beirut, Lebanon
 w < BHM Birmingham, USA on NW
 w < BIO Bilbao, Spain
 e > BKK Bangkok (Don Muang), Thailand
 w < BKK Bangkok (Don Muang), Thailand
 e < BKK Bangkok (Don Muang), Thailand
 e > BKK Bangkok (Suvarnabhumi), Thailand on SQ
 e > BKK Bangkok, Thailand TG -> TK
 e > BKK Bangkok, Thailand LH -> TG
 e > BNE Brisbane, Australia domestic to international on QF
 e > BOM Mumbai, India international -> international
 e > BOM Mumbai, India domestic -> international
 e > BOM Mumbai, India
 e > BOM Mumbai, India international -> domestic
 w < BOM Mumbai, India
 w < BOS Boston, USA
 w < BQN Aquadilla, Puerto Rico on UA
 e < BRU Brussels, Belgium
 w < BZE Belize City, Belize
 
 C
 e < CAI Cairo, Egypt
 e < CAI Cairo, Egypt
 w < CAI Cairo, Egypt on QR
 e > CCS Caracas, Venezuela international -> international
 w < CCU Kolkata, India
 w > CDG Paris Charles de Gaulle, France
 e < CDG Paris Charles de Gaulle, France
 w < CGK Jakarta, Indonesia
 e < CGK Jakarta, Indonesia
 e < CGK Jakarta, Indonesia on SQ
 w < CGK Jakarta, Indonesia
 e < CGK Jakarta, Indonesia on SQ
 w < CGK Jakarta, Indonesia on SQ
 w > CGK Jakarta, Indonesia
 e < CGK Jakarta, Indonesia on JO/JL
 w > CGK Jakarta, Indonesia on TG
 w < CGK Jakarta, Indonesia
 e > CHC Christchurch, New Zealand international -> international on NZ
 w > CLT Charlotte, USA
 w < CMB Colombo, Sri Lanka
 e < CMB Colombo, Sri Lanka on SQ
 e < CMB Colombo, Sri Lanka
 e < CMB Colombo, Sri Lanka
 e < CMB Colombo, Sri Lanka
 e < CMB Colombo, Sri Lanka
 w < CMB Colombo, Sri Lanka on SQ
 e < CMN Casablanca, Morocco on LH
 w > CNS Cairns, Australia
 e < CNS Cairns, Australia international -> international
 e > CNS Cairns, Australia domestic -> domestic
 e < CNS Cairns, Australia international -> international
 e > CPH Copenhagen, Denmark
 w < CPH Copenhagen, Denmark
 e < CPH Copenhagen, Denmark on BA
 e > CPH Copenhagen, Denmark
 w > CRK Clark, Philippines on OZ
 
 D
 e < DAC Dhaka, Bangladesh on TG
 w > DCA Washington National, USA
 e < DEL Delhi, India
 e < DEL Delhi, India
 e > DEL Delhi, India
 e > DEL Delhi, India domestic -> international
 e < DEL Delhi, India
 w < DEL Delhi, India
 e > DEL Delhi, India international 9W -> AA
 w < DEL Delhi, India
 w > DFW Dallas Fort Worth, USA
 w > DFW Dallas Fort Worth, USA
 w < DME Moscow, Russa
 e < DOH Doha, Qatar on BA
 e < DUB Dublin, Ireland on AA
 e > DUB Dublin, Ireland
 e < DUS Dusseldorf, Germany
 w > DXB Dubai, UAE
 w < DXB Dubai, UAE
 e < DXB Dubai, UAE on BA
 e > DXB Dubai, UAE with children during Ramadan
 
 E
 e < EBL Erbil, Iraq / Kurdistan
 w < EWR Newark, USA
 e > EWR Newark, USA
 e > EZE Buenos Aires, Argentina
 e < EZE Buenos Aires, Argentina
 e > EZE Buenos Aires, Argentina
 
 F
 e < FAT Fresno, USA
 e > FCO Rome, Italy on BA LGW-FCO-LHR
 e < FCO Rome, Italy on BA
 w < FCO Rome, Italy
 w < FCO Rome, Italy
 w < FPO Freeport, Bahamas
 w < FRA Frankfurt, Germany on NW
 e > FRA Frankfurt, Germany
 w < FRA Frankfurt, Germany
 e < FRA Frankfurt, Germany
 e < FRA Frankfurt, Germany
 e < FRA Frankfurt, Germany on AA
 e > FRA Frankfurt, Germany nonschengen on LH
 e > FRA Frankfurt, Germany nonschengen on LH
 e > FRA Frankfurt, Germany nonschengen on LH
 e > FRA Frankfurt, Germany nonschengen on LH
 e > FRA Frankfurt, Germany nonschengen on LH
 w < FUK Fukuoka, Japan on SQ
 
 G
 e > GOT Gothenburg, Sweden
 e > GRU Sao Paulo, Brazil
 e > GRU Sao Paulo, Brazil Delta to Gol
 e > GRU Sao Paulo, Brazil BA to JJ (Tam)
 w < GUM Guam, Guam on NW
 e < GUM Guam, Guam on JL
 
 H
 e > HAN Hanoi, Vietnam
 w < HAN Hanoi, Vietnam
 e > HEL Helsinki, Finland
 e < HKG Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR
 e < HKG Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR
 e < HKG Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR
 e > HKG Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR CX -> 5J
 e > HKG Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR QF -> OZ
 e > HKG Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR LX -> OZ
 e > HKG Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR OZ -> QF
 w > HKG Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR
 e < HKT, Phuket, Thailand
 w < HYD Hyderabad, India
 
 I
 e > IAD Washington Dulles, USA
 e < ICN Seoul Incheon, South Korea
 e < ICN Seoul Incheon, South Korea
 e < ICN Seoul Incheon, South Korea
 e < ICN Seoul Incheon, South Korea
 e > ICN Seoul Incheon, South Korea
 e > ICN Seoul Incheon, South Korea
 w < ICN Seoul Incheon, South Korea
 e < IKA Tehran, Iran
 e > IQQ Iqique, Chile
 e > IQQ Iqique, Chile int->dom
 w < IST Istanbul, Turkey
 e < IST Istanbul, Turkey
 w < IST Istanbul, Turkey on BA
 e > IST Istanbul, Turkey international -> international on TK
 e > IST Istanbul, Turkey international -> international on TK
 e < IUE Niue, Niue
 
 J
 w < JAX Jacksonville FL, USA
 w < JAX Jacksonville FL, USA
 e < JFK JFK New York, USA on CX
 w < JFK JFK New York, USA on UA
 w > JFK JFK New York, USA
 w > JFK JFK New York, USA
 e < JFK JFK New York, USA international -> international
 e > JNB Johannesburg, South Africa int->int
 e > JNB Johannesburg, South Africa international -> international
 
 K
 e < KIX Osaka Kansai, Japan on SQ
 e < KTM Kathmandu, Nepal
 e < KUL Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
 e > KUL Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
 e < KWI Kuwait City, Kuwait on BA
 
 L
 e > LAX Los Angeles, USA
 w > LAX Los Angeles, USA
 w > LAX Los Angeles, USA
 w < LAX Los Angeles, USA
 e > LAX Los Angeles, USA NZ -> LH
 w < LAX Los Angeles, USA on TG
 e < LDH Lord Howe Island, Australia
 w < LED St Petersburg, Russia on LH
 w < LGW London Gatwick, UK
 w < LGW London Gatwick, UK
 w < LGW London Gatwick, UK
 w < LGW London Gatwick, UK
 w < LGW London Gatwick, UK
 w < LGW London Gatwick, UK (September 2006)
 e < LGW London Gatwick, UK
 w < LHR London Heathrow, UK
 w < LHR London Heathrow, UK
 w < LHR London Heathrow, UK
 w < LHR London Heathrow, UK on UA
 w < LHR London Heathrow, UK (October 2006)
 w < LHR London Heathrow, UK on AA
 w > LHR London Heathrow, UK
 e > LHR London Heathrow, UK international -> domestic
 w < LHR London Heathrow, UK CO turnaround beware
 w < LHR London Heathrow, UK
 w < LHR London Heathrow, UK
 e > LHR London Heathrow, UK T5->T3
 e > LHR London Heathrow, UK T3->T5
 e > LIM Lima, Peru
 e > LIM Lima, Peru AA->LA
 w > LIM Lima, Peru
 e < LIR Liberia, Costa Rica AA
 e > LIS Lisbon, Portugal
 e > LIS Lisbon, Portugal BA->TP
 w < LON London, UK
 e < LPB La Paz, Bolivia
 
 M
 e > MAA Chennai, India 9W -> LH
 w < MAA Chennai, India
 w < MAD Madrid, Spain
 w > MAD Madrid, Spain RJ->BA
 w < MAD Madrid, Spain
 e > MAD Madrid, Spain nonschengen IB -> BA
 e < MAN Manchester, UK on SQ
 e < MAN Manchester, UK on SQ
 e < MAN Manchester, UK
 e < MAN Manchester, UK
 e > MAN Manchester, UK international -> international
 e < MCO Orlando, USA
 e < MCT Muscat, Oman on BA
 e < MCT Muscat, Oman
 e < MCT Muscat, Oman on BA
 w < MEL Melbourne, Australia
 e < MEL Melbourne, Australia
 e > MEL Melbourne, Australia NZ -> SQ
 e > MEL Melbourne, Australia SQ -> NZ
 e > MEX Mexico City, Mexico
 e < MLA Malta, Malta
 w < MLA Malta, Malta
 e < MLE Male, Maldives
 w < MNL Manila, Philippines
 w < MNL Manila, Philippines
 e < MNL Manila, Philippines on SQ
 e < MNL Manila, Philippines on TG
 w < MNL Manila, Philippines on UA
 
 N
 e < NCE Nice, France
 e < NGO Nagoya, Japan
 w > NGO Nagoya, Japan - international to international
 e < NLK Norfolk Island, Norfolk Island
 w < NRT Tokyo Narita, Japan
 w < NRT Tokyo Narita, Japan
 w < NRT Tokyo Narita, Japan
 e < NRT Tokyo Narita, Japan
 e < NRT Tokyo Narita, Japan
 e > NRT Tokyo Narita, Japan
 e > NRT Tokyo Narita, Japan AA to other oneworld airlines
 e > NRT Tokyo Narita, Japan, international -> domestic
 e > NRT Tokyo Narita, Japan OZ -> NZ
 e > NRT Tokyo Narita, Japan international -> international on JL
 
 O
 w < OAK Oakland, USA
 e < OOL Coolangatta Gold Coast, Australia int->int
 w > ORD Chicago, USA
 w > ORD Chicago, USA
 e < OSL Oslo, Norway
 w > OSL Oslo, Norway on TG
 w < OTP Bucharest, Romania
 e < OTP Bucharest, Romania
 e > OTP Bucharest, Romaia TK -> LH
 
 P
 w > PEK Beijing, China
 w < PEN Penang, Malaysia
 w > PER Perth, Australia
 w > PER Perth, Australia
 e < PER Perth, Australia domestic
 w < PNH Phnom Penh, Cambodia
 e < POM Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea international
 e > POS Port-of-Spain, Trinidad
 e < PPT Papeete, Tahiti on NZ
 e > PRG Prague, Czech Republic
 w > PUJ Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
 w > PVG Shanghai, China
 e < PVG Shanghai, China on NZ
 e < PVG Shanghai, China
 
 R
 e > RAR Rarotonga, Cook Islands
 w > RDU Raleigh-Durham, USA
 w > RDU Raleigh-Durham, USA
 e > RUH Riyadh, Saudi Arabia tricky
 w < RUH Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
 
 S
 w < SAN San Diego, USA
 w < SAN San Diego, USA
 w > SBP San Luis Obispo, USA
 e > SCL Santiago, Chile
 e > SCL Santiago, Chile int->int
 e > SCL Santiago, Chile int->int
 e > SCL Santiago, Chile dom->int
 w < SEA Seattle, USA
 w < SFO San Francisco, USA
 w < SFO San Francisco, USA
 w > SFO San Francisco, USA
 w < SFO San Francisco, USA on SQ
 e < SGN Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam on SQ
 w < SGN Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
 w < SIN Singapore, Singapore
 e > SIN Singapore, Singapore
 w < SIN Singapore, Singapore
 w < SIN Singapore, Singapore
 w < SIN Singapore, Singapore
 e > SIN Singapore, Singapore SQ -> UA
 w < SIN Singapore, Singapore
 e > SIN Singapore, Singapore SQ -> LH
 w < SIN Singapore, Singapore on UA
 w < SJU San Juan, Puerto Rico
 e < SJU San Juan, Puerto Rico
 w < SJU San Juan, Puerto Rico
 w < SJU San Juan, Puerto Rico
 e < SKG Thessaloniki, Greece
 w < SMF Sacramento, USA
 e < SOF Sophia, Bulgaria
 e < STN London Stansted, United Kingdom on AA
 e < STN London Stansted, United Kingdom
 e < STN London Stansted, United Kingdom
 e < STR Stuttgart, Germany
 w > STL St Louis, USA
 e > SYD Sydney, Australia int->dom
 e > SYD Sydney, Australia dom->int
 e > SYD Sydney, Australia
 e > SYD Sydney, Australia international -> international on QF
 e < SYD Sydney, Australia on NZ
 e > SYD Sydney, Australia NZ -> TG
 e > SYD Sydney, Australia TG -> NZ
 e > SYD Sydney, Australia NZ -> NZ
 
 T
 e < TBU Nuku'alofa, Tonga
 w < TGU Tegucigalpa, Honduras on UA
 e < THR Tehran, Iran
 e > TIP Tripoli, Libya
 e < TLV Tel Aviv, Israel
 e > TLV Tel Aviv, Israel
 w < TPE Taipei, Taiwan
 e > TPE Taipei, Taiwan CX->UA
 w < TPE Taipei, Taiwan on MH
 e < TUN Tunis, Tunisia
 e < TUN Tunis, Tunisia
 
 U
 e < UIO Quito, Ecuador
 w < USM Koh Samui, Thailand
 
 V
 e < VCE Venice, Italy on BA
 w < VCT Victoria, USA on CO
 e < VIE Vienna, Austria
 w > VNS Varanasi, India
 
 W
 e < WAW Warsaw, Poland
 e < WDH Windhoek, Namibia
 
 Y
 w < YEG Edmonton, Canada
 e > YHZ Halifax, Canada
 w > YUL Montreal, Canada
 e > YUL Montreal, Canada
 w > YVR Vancouver, Canada
 w < YVR Vancouver, Canada
 w < YVR Vancouver, Canada
 w < YVR Vancouver, Canada
 e > YVR Vancouver, Canada
 w < YVR Vancouver, Canada
 w > YVR Vancouver, Canada
 w < YYC Calgary, Canada
 w > YYC Calgary, Canada
 w < YYC Calgary, Canada
 w < YYZ Toronto, Canada
 e > YYZ Toronto, Canada
 w < YYZ, Toronto, Canada
 w > YYZ Toronto, Canada
 w < YYZ Toronto, Canada
 w < YYZ Toronto, Canada
 
 Z
 e > ZRH Zurich, Switzerland
 
 Misc no problems at these airports posts 
 Misc cautionary tales in these countries posts
 e < Canada customs problems
 e < Middle East turnarounds
 
 
updated to post #565
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Mileage Runs turnarounds / turnabouts / transits:- Experiences please

Old Jul 17, 2010, 8:20 pm
  #361  
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The index is updated to here.
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Old Jul 17, 2010, 9:40 pm
  #362  
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Originally Posted by Kiwi Flyer
The index is updated to here.
Thanks KF ^
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Old Sep 19, 2010, 5:51 pm
  #363  
 
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Carlsbad, CA turnaround time?

I'm scheduled to arrive on UA 6204 from LAX at 2:31 and depart back to LAX on UA 6204 at 2:49. Does anyone know if they use the same plane, or will I probably miss the connection? Thanks.
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Old Sep 19, 2010, 10:11 pm
  #364  
 
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Originally Posted by jean9nine
I'm scheduled to arrive on UA 6204 from LAX at 2:31 and depart back to LAX on UA 6204 at 2:49. Does anyone know if they use the same plane, or will I probably miss the connection? Thanks.
If it's an out-and-back from LAX on the same flight number, it's almost certainly the same plane, especially since United does not fly to any other hubs from that airport.
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Old Oct 11, 2010, 3:22 am
  #365  
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MR Question - quick turnaround in Thessaloniki?
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/briti...ssaloniki.html
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Old Feb 19, 2012, 3:05 am
  #366  
 
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NGO International-To-International Transits

I recently did two international-to-international transits at NGO, traveling together with a friend. Trip was ICN-NGO-GUM and then return. ICN-NGO and NGO-ICN were CO flights on OZ metal, and NGO-GUM / GUM-NGO were CO flights on CO/UA metal.

Outbound we had 3 hours between flights. We arrived on-time at 17:45 and went to the international transfer desk and were processed very quickly by a CO agent, and I was given an invitation to the JAL Sakura Lounge, but only one invitation for myself and none for my traveling companion, even though I'm Star Alliance Gold. There was no queue whatsoever at security so breezed right through.

After going up the escalator, there was a sign just across the corridor indicating the JAL and Star Alliance lounges were downstairs. Given I had a JAL invitation, went to that lounge first, thinking I'd try the *A lounge later. At first the lounge dragon refused to allow my traveling companion in. So I said we'd just go to use the *A lounge instead, but she said it was already closed for the night. I showed her my Gold card (all three of them actually), but she said only I could enter, but to please wait a moment. She made a few phone calls and after a good 5 minutes finally said it was fine and we both could enter, after recording the number of one of my *A Gold cards and our boarding pass information. The lounge was just mediocre, about what I expected from a small to mid-size airport in Japan, but was fine to pass the next 2+ hours away. Spent a bit of time at the massage chair, which was quite good compared to massage chairs I'd tried in other places.

Arrived at the gate at the scheduled boarding time, but had to wait at least 20 minutes for boarding to begin. Boarding went fast and we departed only 10 minutes late or so.

For the return trip, we checked in at GUM, but for some strange reason my friend was given both GUM-NGO and NGO-ICN boarding passes, while I was only given GUM-NGO. The CO/UA agent had no explanation as to why, but only said that sort of thing happens frequently. Visited the UA lounge and had no problems getting the two of us in.

The plane arrived a few minutes late into NGO behind the scheduled 10:30 arrival time, but then just sat at the gate for more than 20 minutes, being there was some problem with the airbridge. The connection time was only 90 minutes, but at this point we only had 65 minutes remaining. We hurried up, being I wanted to spend some time in the *A lounge. Saw a very long queue from some other flight that arrived just before ours, and figured it was the queue for passport control. There was an OZ agent who met us and directed us to the transfer desk while she waited for other passengers also making the same connection. We were processed fairly efficiently, and I got my NGO-ICN boarding pass, but then needed to wait for the other passengers who were transiting. While waiting, I noticed the huge queue I saw was not for passport control, but for international transit security. I began to worry and asked the OZ agent about it, but she said not to worry and just wait next to the transit desk. Finally with just 40 minutes before our departure time, and 10 minutes before boarding time, we were escorted by OZ staff through to the front of the security queue, and quickly processed.

This time the *A lounge was open, and we had 5 minutes to spend there before our boarding time. While I'd say it was similar to the JAL Sakura Lounge, in as much as most of these smaller lounges in Japan seem similar, I did prefer the *A lounge to the JAL lounge. Just wished I could have stayed there a bit longer. The announcement came that our flight was boarding and we stayed there a few more minutes before leaving, then to the boarding gate, where our plane left on time.

Anyways, a word of warning to anyone transiting in NGO, the security queue apparently can get quite long at times. I believe most in the queue I saw were transiting to a Delta flight, which left after ours, so I'm guessing there was no issue for those passengers. I'd estimate the queue took at least 30 minutes, perhaps as much as 45 minutes. But with staff able to have passengers jump the queue who's flight is leaving sooner, it wasn't really a problem that I could see. But if you're transiting with limited time and already have your onward boarding pass, it would probably pay to go to the transit desk and see if you need to wait in the queue or not.
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Old Feb 19, 2012, 3:35 am
  #367  
 
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CGK Turnaround on TG

Doing a TG turnaround at CGK late last year, after having read reports of others doing turnarounds there, I wasn't particularly worried as I was prepared to follow what my fellow FT members had done. I was able to get my return boarding pass in BKK, which made me feel even more at ease. We arrived a bit late, but I figured that even with just a 70 minute turnaround time it wouldn't be a problem, being I was getting back on the same plane and it needed to be cleaned and refueled, so it would be delayed by a similar time to the late arrival.

I was the first to arrive at the VOA area and I proceeded to go upstairs as others had said they did, but was stopped by a security guard. I told him I was transiting and had my onward boarding pass. He said, "ok", but then as I proceeded up the stairs, he told me to wait while he checked. In checking, suddenly he said I had to go talk to an immigration official. I first talked to one staff member, who directed me to another, and then finally an immigration official arrived. He then made several phone calls over the period of about 15 minutes, while I just stood next to him. Finally he said I would need a VOA and to go through immigration. I told him I read of many others from the internet who did exactly what I was attempting to do and they needed no VOA but could just go upstairs to transit. He told me the rules had recently been changed and I could not do that. By this time the entire flight had filled up the queue, as well as another flight which had arrived. I mentioned that I would likely miss my flight due to it now already being nearly the boarding time for the original scheduled return flight. But the immigration officer only told me that an airline staff member would meet me after I was processed to guide me. There was no ability to jump the now long queue. So I got my forms and filled them out while waiting at the end of the queue.

After being processed, a staff member was waiting for me and took me through the arrival process, but again not jumping any queues. He guided me to the TG check-in desk, even though I showed him my return boarding pass. The TG check-in was already closed, but I was guided to a check-in desk manned by a Garuda staff member, who told me I needed to pay the departure tax. Without any Rupiah, and very little time, I was told I could pay the equivalent in US Dollars (albeit I'm sure at an unfavorable rate). I didn't have the time or desire to debate the issue and try to change money at a money exchanger, so just paid what was requested and got back my boarding pass and onto passport control and security. Again, I was escorted, but no jumping the queues. Luckily, a new passport control desk opened up just as I arrived and I was able to rush to be first in line behind one passenger who went up to be processed. After this, the escort let me know the way to the TG gate and departed. Arriving at the TG gate, the plane was already boarded, and I went immediately inside to be greeted by the same FA's who served me on the outbound flight. The doors closed within a few minutes.

I'm not sure if truly the immigration policy has changed, or I just got unlucky. I still was successful in doing my turnaround, as I have been with all the numerous turnarounds I've attempted, but I was probably more frustrated with this one than with any of the other turnarounds. I'll definitely think twice before doing any other turnarounds or transits in Indonesia.
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Old Feb 19, 2012, 4:12 am
  #368  
 
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ARN Turnaround on TG

Time-wise, with over 7 hours between arrival and the return flight, there's no big issues in doing this turnaround. I could not get my return boarding pass in BKK, but knew from doing other TG turnarounds in Europe that it's nothing to worry about.

The only thing I really have to comment on is that I encountered perhaps the rudest immigration official ever upon arrival. She asked me how long I was staying, and I mentioned I was departing that afternoon. She wanted to know what flight I arrived on and what flight I was departing on. After hearing I was getting right back on the same TG plane, her voice turned even gruffer than it already was and she started grilling me on why I'd fly such a great distance just to return again. I smiled and said I was doing it for the miles. She then yelled at me and said something like, "Why are you smiling and laughing? This is no laughing matter. This is very serious." She asked me several more questions about my itinerary, where I lived, what my job was, and I did my best to answer sternly, without any smile whatsoever. Finally she handed me back my passport without saying anything more and I proceeded on my way. I guess if I ever want to do a MR / turnaround in Sweden again I'll find a business contact first so that I can mention it to immigration to avoid such a grilling.

Outside, I decided to take a coach into the city to spend my time there. I didn't see any manned ticket booths, but did see some automated machines, so used one of them, paid for the ticket, but nothing came out. Went inside to try to find someone but wasn't successful. Finally another customer came to try to buy a ticket. I mentioned to him I wasn't successful, but he tried his and the same result. Being Swedish, he knew who to contact and after waiting 15 minutes someone came and opened up the machine and determined it was inoperable. The worker waited for the coach to arrive and told the driver we'd already paid and to let us on, and to inform the ticket office in the city to issue me a voucher for my return.

Ate brunch in the city center, with it naturally being quite expensive as would be expected for Sweden. Enjoyed walking around for a few hours, even though the temperature was quite cold, before making my way back by coach to the airport to check-in and get my boarding pass. I wasn't at all impressed with the *A (SK) lounge there, but at least it was someplace to sit and relax while waiting for my flight to board.
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Old Feb 19, 2012, 5:08 am
  #369  
 
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OSL Turnaround on TG

I needed to go to Oslo for a brief business meeting. The client was prepared to book me a ticket from Korea to Norway, but the price for a mostly direct flight was much more than TG via Bangkok, so TG it was, with the added bonus of spending a weekend in Thailand. With only the need for about a four hour meeting, doing a turnaround made more sense to me, being it would give me an extra day in Thailand. If the meeting ended up going overtime though, I'd need to reschedule my return and stay one night in Oslo. I wouldn't mind spending more time in Oslo, but not so much during the peak of winter...would prefer to do that when the weather is nicer.

As expected, I couldn't get my return boarding pass in BKK. From the looks of it, we were the first plane to arrive at OSL, and we had to wait a bit before parking at the gate. The announcement was a bit garbled, but something about we arrived too early and needed to wait until 0600. Shortly after 0600 we deplaned, and breezed right through immigration without any waiting whatsoever.

I met my client as expected and was driven to their office. A very nice and scenic drive from the airport into town during the winter with snow covering everything.

My meeting finished a bit sooner than expected, and my client drove me around the city a bit. I asked him to drop me off at the train station, as I wanted to take the train back and perhaps see a bit different scenery or a slightly different view of the same scenery. Again, a very scenic and peaceful ride to the airport.

Check-in went very quickly. A bit of a queue at security, but nothing major, and then into the SK lounge where I just concentrated on sending out a bunch of emails so didn't really look around much.

All-in-all a very nice turnaround, with no real issues to report. I'll have to make a return someday and spend more time in the city and surrounding area.
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Old Feb 19, 2012, 5:43 am
  #370  
 
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CRK Turnaround on OZ

I've been making regular business trips to the Philippines for many years, sometimes as frequently as once a month, flying into/out of either CRK or MNL, depending on availability and my schedule. Over 90% of the trips are in business class, and only economy if no C is available. Usually my trips are booked well in advance and are booked as part of a transpac trip. Several times I've needed to cancel or reschedule my meetings in the Philippines, but cannot change my ticket to match, so rather just do a immediate turnaround on the Philippine segments, so that I can still use my transpac segment(s). I've had about four cases of this for my trips to CRK over the years.

Being I'm in business class, I'm the first off the plane. Immigration staff is very limited at CRK, and if you're the last in, you'll be waiting for quite some time. Of the few times I've been in economy, I noticed they sometimes deplane from the front and rear, but usually just from the front. Once I was in the middle when they used both exits, meaning I was the last off, and it took about 45 minutes to be processed. About a year ago they installed air bridges, so it should be a rare case now that you need to deplane down stairs and onto the tarmac. Thus getting a seat near the front will almost always be more advantageous to getting out quickly.

When I first started flying to CRK, OZ was the only carrier at that time of night, but more recently there's been a Cebu Pacific flight from somewhere that lands at a similar time. If that plane arrives before the OZ plane, there may already be a plane-full of passengers that immigration needs to process before even starting on the OZ passengers. However, a large percent of those passengers are Filipinos, whereas the OZ flight is mostly Koreans. Filipinos and foreigners have separate queues, so if you're a foreigner arriving after the Cebu Pacific flight, it won't be as bad if you're near the front compared to being the last off the OZ flight even without the Cebu Pacific flight passengers.

Anyways, there is no ability to do an airside transfer at CRK. I've asked a few times and always am told the same thing - that it's impossible. You must go through immigration/customs, then check-in, pay the departure tax (600 php), and back through immigration/security. For needing to do all that, the process is quite painless at CRK. CRK is much preferable to me than is MNL, especially the old NAIA terminal where security and other checks are a real pain. CRK is much more relaxed about everything and fewer checks. Note, if you don't have 600 pesos on you, you'll need to use a money changer. Use one of the money changers in the arrival area immediately after customs. There should be someone there manning at least one of the booths. If not, ask/wait for someone. If you wait until you go back inside at departures, you may not be able to change money immediately, and have to wait quite some time.

Well for each of my CRK turnarounds, I've always been in C, the first off the plane, and never had the Cebu Pacific flight arrive first. With no checked luggage, it takes me less than 5 minutes from deplaning to exiting the terminal. Less than a minute walk to departures, bag through the scanner, to the business class check-in, pay the departure tax, and normally not much of a queue at outbound immigration, then another security check. Total time from deplaning to the lounge is maybe 15 minutes.

BTW, as of 2 months ago there hasn't been any lounge to use being they're building a new contract lounge for OZ to use. What was scheduled to take only a couple months has taken them about a year so far. Not sure if it's open by now, but wouldn't be surprised if it's still delayed. All versions of the old lounge were very basic, with a normally poor selection of snacks that I almost always passed on. Always enjoyed the mango juice though.

One important point is about arriving late. You're leaving on the same plane you arrive on, so no chance of a missed connection due to your plane leaving before you arrive. This flight does seem to have a tendency to be late departing ICN, sometimes by up to an hour. It's not been a big deal when I'm staying in the Philippines, but when doing a turnaround and having the plane be late once was nearly a problem. You cannot get your return boarding pass in ICN, and when I was late in arriving and went to the check-in counter, I was the very last passenger and my reserved seat had been given away already. They ended up shifting the passenger in that seat so that I got it back. There was an announcement that immigration was closing soon and for all remaining passengers to proceed to immigration. I wondered what would have happened on that occasion if I had been stuck in immigration for 30 minutes or more. Since that experience, if doing a turnaround, I always tell OZ staff at ICN to inform CRK of my situation so that they'll hold my seat for me and be expecting me, even if the plane is late.
A_Lee is offline  
Old Feb 19, 2012, 11:42 pm
  #371  
 
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Originally Posted by A_Lee
I recently did two international-to-international transits at NGO, traveling together with a friend. Trip was ICN-NGO-GUM and then return. ICN-NGO and NGO-ICN were CO flights on OZ metal, and NGO-GUM / GUM-NGO were CO flights on CO/UA metal.

Outbound we had 3 hours between flights. We arrived on-time at 17:45 and went to the international transfer desk and were processed very quickly by a CO agent, and I was given an invitation to the JAL Sakura Lounge, but only one invitation for myself and none for my traveling companion, even though I'm Star Alliance Gold. There was no queue whatsoever at security so breezed right through.

After going up the escalator, there was a sign just across the corridor indicating the JAL and Star Alliance lounges were downstairs. Given I had a JAL invitation, went to that lounge first, thinking I'd try the *A lounge later. At first the lounge dragon refused to allow my traveling companion in. So I said we'd just go to use the *A lounge instead, but she said it was already closed for the night. I showed her my Gold card (all three of them actually), but she said only I could enter, but to please wait a moment. She made a few phone calls and after a good 5 minutes finally said it was fine and we both could enter, after recording the number of one of my *A Gold cards and our boarding pass information. The lounge was just mediocre, about what I expected from a small to mid-size airport in Japan, but was fine to pass the next 2+ hours away. Spent a bit of time at the massage chair, which was quite good compared to massage chairs I'd tried in other places.

Arrived at the gate at the scheduled boarding time, but had to wait at least 20 minutes for boarding to begin. Boarding went fast and we departed only 10 minutes late or so.

For the return trip, we checked in at GUM, but for some strange reason my friend was given both GUM-NGO and NGO-ICN boarding passes, while I was only given GUM-NGO. The CO/UA agent had no explanation as to why, but only said that sort of thing happens frequently. Visited the UA lounge and had no problems getting the two of us in.

The plane arrived a few minutes late into NGO behind the scheduled 10:30 arrival time, but then just sat at the gate for more than 20 minutes, being there was some problem with the airbridge. The connection time was only 90 minutes, but at this point we only had 65 minutes remaining. We hurried up, being I wanted to spend some time in the *A lounge. Saw a very long queue from some other flight that arrived just before ours, and figured it was the queue for passport control. There was an OZ agent who met us and directed us to the transfer desk while she waited for other passengers also making the same connection. We were processed fairly efficiently, and I got my NGO-ICN boarding pass, but then needed to wait for the other passengers who were transiting. While waiting, I noticed the huge queue I saw was not for passport control, but for international transit security. I began to worry and asked the OZ agent about it, but she said not to worry and just wait next to the transit desk. Finally with just 40 minutes before our departure time, and 10 minutes before boarding time, we were escorted by OZ staff through to the front of the security queue, and quickly processed.

This time the *A lounge was open, and we had 5 minutes to spend there before our boarding time. While I'd say it was similar to the JAL Sakura Lounge, in as much as most of these smaller lounges in Japan seem similar, I did prefer the *A lounge to the JAL lounge. Just wished I could have stayed there a bit longer. The announcement came that our flight was boarding and we stayed there a few more minutes before leaving, then to the boarding gate, where our plane left on time.

Anyways, a word of warning to anyone transiting in NGO, the security queue apparently can get quite long at times. I believe most in the queue I saw were transiting to a Delta flight, which left after ours, so I'm guessing there was no issue for those passengers. I'd estimate the queue took at least 30 minutes, perhaps as much as 45 minutes. But with staff able to have passengers jump the queue who's flight is leaving sooner, it wasn't really a problem that I could see. But if you're transiting with limited time and already have your onward boarding pass, it would probably pay to go to the transit desk and see if you need to wait in the queue or not.
Unless I'm mistaken, JAL is in OneWorld. Why would they admit a Star Alliance member?
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Old Feb 20, 2012, 2:12 am
  #372  
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Originally Posted by mikelat
Unless I'm mistaken, JAL is in OneWorld. Why would they admit a Star Alliance member?
A_Lee noted that the *A lounge was not open at the time his flight departed. Common lounges are fairly normal in Asia.
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Old Feb 20, 2012, 3:05 am
  #373  
 
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Originally Posted by moondog
A_Lee noted that the *A lounge was not open at the time his flight departed. Common lounges are fairly normal in Asia.
Seems to be very common in Japan. I recall that in FUK, TG uses the JAL lounge there rather than the ANA lounge, even though the ANA lounge is open at the time of the TG flight. I remember well because I visited both lounges. Irrespective of the fact that JL is in One World and TG is in Star Alliance, I believe JAL has some codeshare flights on TG metal. I'm guessing perhaps a similar thing with JAL and Continental existed in the past.
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Old Jun 25, 2013, 7:50 am
  #374  
 
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Anyone with some recent experiences that can someone please help me choose between a turnaround at either CGK (6 hrs) or DPS (2 hrs). I don't need the difference in miles between the options.
Being able to skip getting a VOA would be a big factor
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Old Aug 19, 2013, 9:22 pm
  #375  
 
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EWR-DEL Same day turn

Anyone have any experience with same day turn on UA EWR-DEL-EWR

1. Is it possible to stay airside?

2. Any visa requirement?

3. *A lounge finder shows Lufthansa Senator with showers. Anyone experience the lounge? Is it in close proximity to UA gate?

TIA
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