Flying XIY-PEK-US on MU and UA, separate tickets. Connection time in PEK?
I'm aiming to fly from Xian to Beijing and then connect to a United flight. The United flight departs at 530 PM.
I am considering the 1130AM China Eastern flight from XIY to PEK. It arrives at 130 PM. That would nominally allow 4 hours to claim bags, change terminals (if necessary), recheck them with United, and get through security. I
However, I've read that these flights are often delayed, and am deciding if I should book the 8 AM (arrive 10 AM) flight instead. But that would give us a 7.5 hour layover which we'd rather avoid. (We've been to Beijing, so no need to go downtown on this trip.) We'd rather have those extra hours in the morning in Xian.
We are 1K's on United, so if we were to miss the flight, chances are pretty good that they'd rebook us without an issue, but still, would like to avoid that.
So, is 4 hours reasonable?