Originally Posted by
jcirujales
Hi, so how did things go? I'm flying from Japan to Beijing then back new york and also have a connecting flight in China. Did you have to go through immigration and was the connecting flight enough time?
I'm curious what happens if you miss your connection, I know that China Air would help by providing free hotel and allow you to jump on the next flight but I'm not sure Air China would (two different airlines)?
NEVER EVER call Air China "China Air". There is a Taiwanese airline called "China Airlines".
So many posts are WRONG that there is no immigration for immediate I-to-I transit. Yes, there is! Except (1) if you're not leaving the airport or changing terminal, at PEK, you go through one immigration counter that processes you in-and-out simultaneously. Required documentation is exactly the same. (You can't go USA-China-USA.), and (2) this immediate transit immigration check has been recently simplified and delegated to non-border agents (but still using immigration computers: scanning passport OCR, matching API).
And, NO, the planes aren't necessarily close to each other. T3E is a huge place. There are even bus gates to planes parked faraway.
And also, from my experiences last week, the simplified immigration process' benefits have been negated by the security check which followed. Instead of a dedicated transit-security line (which I had a few years ago), everyone is now funneled with regular departing passengers. The line/queue took quite a while to go through!
If the OP has any special dietary needs, i.e. special meals, be aware of consequences of being transferred to the next flight. Also, PEK still has liquid ban at the gate for US-bound flights. They even bring out buckets so you can pour it out and keep your own bottles.