Aloha1

I will be flying SQ First from SIN to SYD arriving around 07:30. I have a connecting VA flight to LAX at 14:40 that same day. I know I can access the Air NZ Lounge but wondered about luggage upon landing at SYD. If SQ allows it,can they check my bags all the way thru to LAX or will I need to claim them and go thru customs? If I need to claim my bags, is there a quick and easy VA check in after I clear and where? Will I need to go thru customs regardless?

serfty

Is this travel on the one booking?

Aloha1

No, two PNR's both International (SIN-SYD and SYD-LAX). My understanding is that SQ and VA have a partnership arrangement?

vbroucek

This is an issue for SQ, so you will be better posting this question on SQ. Yes, they do have agreement, but VA definitely works on strictly "one PNR" basis. So if it was VA->SQ, answer would be no, but I do not know what SQ's practices are, so cannot answer SQ->VA.

Aloha1

Thanks, I'll do just that. BUT, any comment on the customs issue upon arrival? Just like to know what I will need to do.

serfty

Given the 7 hours between the flights I hope that SQ check your bags through, otherwise you going to some hours wait landside before check-in opens at 11:40am for your flight to LAX.

http://www.virginaustralia.com/au/en...onal-check-in/

BearX220

Greetings. Bumping this thread to see if anyone has more recent experiences with the Seamless Transfer Lounge at SYD international having arrived in SYD via another carrier / PNR. These reports are three years old:

But others say they charge $15 / head for the bus ride.

Wife and I are arriving via CX from HKG in a few weeks and have an onward VA flight SYD-OOL with a 4+ hour transfer window... can we use the VA Seamless Transfer Lounge right the other side of Customs / Quarantine to check a bag and collect OOL BPs?

This transfer guide doesn't say one has to arrive on a VA service:

https://www.virginaustralia.com/eu/e...transfer-maps/

But if they are collecting $15 / head for a bus transfer I think we will say the heck with the transfer lounge and just hop the train for cheap.

Thanks in advance as always.

LTN Phobia

I have a similar question to BearX220, except that I do not mind paying the bus transfer fees.

My main concerns are the baggage - we will be arriving on BA F, separate tickets, going on VA in J (not sure where yet!). My husband and I will have 8 checked bags between us (excess baggage will have been paid for online in advance for the VA flight in case of doubt..) so nothing other than dropping them off at the Transfer lounge would be easy and if they cannot accept our bags there, we'll have no choice but to fly on QF domestic which I'd like to avoid.

So, could someone just confirm that they can accept our bags there, even if we arrive on a completely separate tickets from a completely unrelated carrier please?

Thank you!

RTWFF

This thread is about International/International transfers. The question about the bus is for International/Domestic transfers, as is the BA -> VA question. The domestic and international terminals are completely separate. You definitely have to collect your baggage - https://www.virginaustralia.com/au/e...cting-flights/ and https://www.virginaustralia.com/au/e...al-connections

The bus is complimentary. Not that I know all this stuff off the top of my head, I just typed in "vrgin australia transfer international domestic sydney" to this wonderful new searching tool called Google and up popped the answer. You should try it sometime

serfty

This thread has been about International Arrivals into Sydney T1 with a transfer to domestic T2 before a VA domestic flight.

Last month I used the service after a DL flight to transfer to a domestic flight to MEL.

However, this was on the one ticket.

Just before exiting the C customs area there is a door on the left which takes you into a hall where you can redeposit bags and perhaps get new BP's for your onward domestic flight.

From there a landside bus dropped me off at the departures level of T2 - from there I walked up a ramp to the premium security checkpoint after which I was in the 'Lounge". If you have no premium access then there is the normal T2 security to negotiate.

Arriving on CX or BA you would normally be process at the A/B area - that's where your luggage will come out, so there is little choice. (If carry-on only, it has been possible to move from the A/B piers before immigration to the C pier to be processed there.)

More here: https://www.virginaustralia.com/au/e...al-connections

Being on separate tickets I don't know if you are able to use this VA facility any more - there is nothing indicated about paying to do so any more.

LTN Phobia

I saw the VA door by turning left last time because the exit seemed closer from where I was so I am pretty sure that I can access that door to Virgin domestic transfer.

That is my concern. If they don't let me use the facility to drop off my bags at all, that will be a major pain and this will be a determining factor.

I may need to email VA to check.

BearX220

No it isn't.

Thanks, I know all that. Was not inquiring about check-through policy.

Thanks for the A/B versus C guidance. Very helpful.

If not, with all that checked luggage, getting a people-mover taxi may be your best bet.

vbroucek

If going the "taxi way", be prepared for possible barrage of abuse from the driver - they are sometimes waiting long time in a queue and getting this short trip is last thing they want. Done that been there... One even refused to do INT-DOM trip at all.

LTN Phobia

This is precisely the reason why I am trying to avoid using a taxi.

I don't mind in a way if they refused (actually I do mind because I don't think they are legally allowed to do so?), but I take exception to being abused.

I have had one deliberately take a long way to rack up the fares by about 500% around there and when I pointed it out, he took the liberty to verbally abused me repeatedly until I threatened to call the police. In hindsight I should have called the police but I was in a rush so I stopped at that when he finally reset the meter.

If he just said "I've been waiting a long time, would you mind making it AUD 50?" (which would have been a phenomenally ridiculous fare but...) I'd probably have given it to him, but not when he takes me for a sneaky ride and abuses me because he mistook me for a tourist - I do not take kindly to abuse of anyone but especially not tourists because they are valuable customers to the country.

I had a couple of other unpleasant taxi-related experiences in Sydney despite rarely taking them (so the % of unpleasantness is rather high).

I do not stand for nonsense but I'd rather not experience it in the first place.
Hence being rather keen to see if VA would accept the bags there.

Really, SYD needs services like Skycaps at LHR.

vbroucek

That's also reason why I often take less attractive connection HBA-MEL-XXX or v.v. rather then HBA-SYD-XXX. I try to avoid SYD like a plaque...