Put my mind at ease, please (connection time in SYD)
Mar 13, 2014, 3:02 pm
#16
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: VA near IAD
Programs: UA 1-K, AA PLT
Posts: 57
If you want to use the VA transfer bus, after you clear immi, quarantine & customs, go to the most extreme left hand side of the int terminal, you will see the VA transfer bus sign. Plead your case, or have some Aud$ with you!
If you can print out your VA boarding pass, see about checking in for the VA flight online, if at all possible.
Right after clearing customs (right after the X-ray machines) but IMMEDIATELY before the FINAL automatic door to get out of this area, bear to your left and you will end up in a small hall with check-in desks for VA (and IIRC Jet Star as well??). There was only one person ahead of us in the line, at about 6:45 in the morning. They took our bag and issued the boarding passes (Sydney to Hamilton Island). They also gave us vouchers for the bus, which departed just past these check-in desks. The bus took about 10 minutes to appear and it did take about 15 minutes to get to the domestic terminal. The bus dropped us off at the check-in hall of the domestic terminal, where you have to go back through regular security with everyone else. This took about 10 more minutes at that time of the day (about 7:30am). By the time we were sitting at the food court in the domestic terminal it was about 7:45 am.
So, from international touch-down to being inside the domestic terminal it took us about an hour. However, consider that it was in August (I am assuming the tourist volume in August is lower than other times of the year, am I wrong?), we were lucky with almost no queues, and I haven't accounted for the fact that one would want to be at the gate about half an hour before the flight.
Mar 13, 2014, 4:50 pm
#17
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Tasmania, Australia
Programs: M&M SEN, Amex Plat, Club Carlson, Marriott, HHonors & Accor Gold, Velocity Silver, Qantas Bronze
Posts: 3,767
I transferred UA to VA going to Hamilton Island in August 2013 and at least as of that time the procedure was as follows:
Right after clearing customs (right after the X-ray machines) but IMMEDIATELY before the FINAL automatic door to get out of this area, bear to your left and you will end up in a small hall with check-in desks for VA (and IIRC Jet Star as well??). There was only one person ahead of us in the line, at about 6:45 in the morning. They took our bag and issued the boarding passes (Sydney to Hamilton Island). They also gave us vouchers for the bus, which departed just past these check-in desks. The bus took about 10 minutes to appear and it did take about 15 minutes to get to the domestic terminal. The bus dropped us off at the check-in hall of the domestic terminal, where you have to go back through regular security with everyone else. This took about 10 more minutes at that time of the day (about 7:30am). By the time we were sitting at the food court in the domestic terminal it was about 7:45 am.
So, from international touch-down to being inside the domestic terminal it took us about an hour. However, consider that it was in August (I am assuming the tourist volume in August is lower than other times of the year, am I wrong?), we were lucky with almost no queues, and I haven't accounted for the fact that one would want to be at the gate about half an hour before the flight.
Right after clearing customs (right after the X-ray machines) but IMMEDIATELY before the FINAL automatic door to get out of this area, bear to your left and you will end up in a small hall with check-in desks for VA (and IIRC Jet Star as well??). There was only one person ahead of us in the line, at about 6:45 in the morning. They took our bag and issued the boarding passes (Sydney to Hamilton Island). They also gave us vouchers for the bus, which departed just past these check-in desks. The bus took about 10 minutes to appear and it did take about 15 minutes to get to the domestic terminal. The bus dropped us off at the check-in hall of the domestic terminal, where you have to go back through regular security with everyone else. This took about 10 more minutes at that time of the day (about 7:30am). By the time we were sitting at the food court in the domestic terminal it was about 7:45 am.
So, from international touch-down to being inside the domestic terminal it took us about an hour. However, consider that it was in August (I am assuming the tourist volume in August is lower than other times of the year, am I wrong?), we were lucky with almost no queues, and I haven't accounted for the fact that one would want to be at the gate about half an hour before the flight.
Mar 13, 2014, 7:45 pm
#18
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: VA near IAD
Programs: UA 1-K, AA PLT
Posts: 57
You most likely have more experience in this than I do. However, in my one and only experience, we were most definitely on two completely different tickets. They took our bags no questions asked.
Mar 18, 2014, 8:45 pm
#19
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: San Francisco/Sydney
Programs: UA 1K/MM, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Something, IHG Gold, Hertz PC, Avis PC
Posts: 8,151
Overall the VA experience isn't as good as Qantas, mainly due to the fact the VA bus travels on the public roads rather than airside like QF, which means that it takes longer, but also means that you clear security at the domestic terminal which is normally a longer wait than at the QF transfer area in International.