dkc192

Hi folks,

My mother recently booked a cheap MNL-JNB fare. Thing is, she is based in KUL so will have to position to MNL. Originally we were thinking to go with MH for the nonstop, but it seems like MH and SQ operate out of different terminals at MNL (pending the terminal reassignment--who knows if that will happen as scheduled in August).

So I am now thinking to route her on SQ for her positioning flights, reducing the potential hassle of transferring between T1 and T3. She departs on SQ 921 at 19:00. She'll have a checked bag and will be flying in J. I'm looking at booking her inbound on SQ 912, which arrives at 15:55, leaving three hours to clear immigration, collect her checked bag, and recheck landside. Questions:

(1) Would SQ agents at KUL be willing to check her bag straight to JNB while skipping MNL altogether (i.e. check it KUL-SIN-JNB)?

(2) On the way to MNL, she'd have a 50 min layover in SIN. In theory there's a backup if she misses the connection due to an inbound delay from KUL (SQ 916, which arrives MNL at 17:55 and turns around as her SQ 921 departing at 19:00), but this would be an impossible connection if she has to deal with reclaiming her checked bag at MNL. If she were to misconnect in SIN on the way out, would SQ "protect" her by just removing the SIN-MNL-SIN legs and rerouting her bags accordingly?

Any thoughts or other suggestions you all may have are appreciated!