Originally Posted by
Android.Zz
I had called airline before hand to be on safe side. After calling several times, and discussing back and forth finally one lady found the rules about 144 hours TWOV, and told me that she will write it down with my booking in their system, so their staff could see it at check in. There was also one guy who advised me to get a Chinese visa before hand if I want to be sure to not get denied boarding.
I went to airport 3 hours before take off. At check in I had to discuss the same issue again about 144 hours TWOV, after contacting their supervisor and seeing my confirmed ticket out of PEK on 4th of Aug, I was allowed to board.
Thanks for the report, especially about the Turkish stamps.
As mentioned before on this thread there is almost zero point to calling the airline before travel. It's usually a waste of time, and in any event, it has no impact on your ability to travel.
Reservations staff are not front-line and don't deal with TIMATIC on a regular basis. Check-in staff on the other hand are experienced.
As you found out, any note that reservations puts into your booking cannot be used by check-in staff. This is because the rules could have changed between your call and the time you travel. Check-in staff have to use TIMATIC as it appears at the time you check-in, so they have to start the enquiry for your eligibility fresh at that point.
And of course in other cases, reservations staff get it pain wrong (like telling you to get a visa). This also causes unnecessary angst for many people.