I just did a HKG MR.

It was originally departing Saturday morning from SFO, returning Sunday evening to SFO. Due to the HKG schedule changes, I had to leave SFO at 1715 on Friday, have a 5+ hour connection both ways, and stop in ICN both ways, returning mid afternoon on Sunday.

I booked a PY N fare. Every segment except YVR-HKG cleared the upgrade at my window. YVR-HKG cleared (when I called to force it through when there was R space) around 3 days before departure.

Let's start with the "oh my god never again" hassle. I did a LAMP/NAAT test Wednesday morning, Thursday morning, and Friday morning, and a rapid NAAT on Thursday evening to ensure I consistently had a valid test at all times. Before leaving to SFO, the Wednesday and Thursday tests had all come back, so the Wednesday one was never necessary.

It took a while to get a car to SFO (normally it's a 2 minute wait and 15 minute drive, this was a 20 minute wait and 15 minute drive), so I "only" arrived at T-90, which is still about an hour earlier than I would have if I'd been able to check in online.

I'd been in contact with them beforehand about my trip, and [MENTION=503852]canopus27[/MENTION] had been in contact with others, as he was joining me from YYZ, so I knew I was good to go. That did not make check-in easy.

Why was this so hard? The immediate turn makes every system (and many people) want me to meet entry requirements for HKG. The HKG station manager definitely said something like "he will not be entering Hong Kong so does not need to meet any requirements". But good luck convincing most agents that you're not forced to enter even while in transit.

In fact, I ran into a huge snag that made me think I was cancelling the whole trip. Depending on where you look, the test requirement is different. The HKG government website says you need a "PCR-based nucleic acid test". TIMATIC just says "nucleic acid test". (I don't want to get too off topic, but this is a pretty key part of my story, so NAAT and PCR are both types of nucleic acid tests, and both are acceptable by most countries, such as Canada).

So they wouldn't check me in. However, they were quite willing to literally run me two aisles over and have me pay $275 for a rapid PCR test. But by the time I'd had my nose swabbed, upgrades had been cleared and they'd given my seat away.

They finally fixed that problem (I got a J seat back, but not "my" J seat), but were only willing to check me in to YVR, and told me to deal with the rest there. I was fine with that. My rapid PCR result came back before departure.

On arrival in YVR, I went to the concierge office (as they'd been informed of this situation), and they were all ready to check my documents and give me the remaining three boarding passes.

I went downtown to meet a friend for a couple drinks, then back to YVR to meet canopus27 in the international MLL.

At the gate for HKG, they were asking about "quarantine hotel reservations", but we said were just transiting, and getting back on the same flight. With our AC 8 BPs in hand, they were fine with that.

The stop in ICN was interesting. The seatbelt sign was off, we were able to move around, and (at least in J), they were willing to serve anything non-alcoholic. When the crew changed, the YVR-HKG crew mentioned our situation to the ICN-HKG-ICN crew, and away we went.

HKG arrival was about as easy as pre-COVID. The concierge was waiting for us, quickly checked our return tests, and mentioned there were no lounges available. I said I have access to the Plaza Premium, so she had someone escort us all the way through transit security, into the lounge. Unnecessary, but at that point, I was tired enough to just go along with it. No one cared we couldn't enter HKG (well, I couldn't, I think [MENTION=503852]canopus27[/MENTION] could).

All showered up, we boarded the return, had a quick stop in ICN, and made it to YVR. The wifi worked great the whole time, so we actually arranged a wonderful breakfast at Denny's near YVR with some other FTers. Before heading there though, I went to get my YVR-SFO changed to an earlier one. The phone call between the concierge and the help desk was... amusing. The help desk wanted me to pay. I'd clearly had a schedule change. "He's Super Elite... he didn't just BOOK a 9 hour connection". That was a true statement, but I have certainly booked all-day connections in YVR. The concierge couldn't get it done at all (her system wouldn't even let her charge me), so sent us on our way. I got an email 30 minutes later with the earlier flight (yay, only a 5 hour connection ).

In the YVR TB lounge, "close to departure", I asked if I could get a printout of the whole PNR. And while she was pondering the question, her phone rang. "Yes, he's still here. In fact, he's right in front of me. Oh... okay". "Sir, you need to run to the gate NOW". I checked the time, and ... okay yeah, I grabbed my bag and ran.

Out of breath and at the gate, "We would now like to invite passengers seated in zone 4 to board."

While I expressed my displeasure to the confused GA, the gate phone rang. Someone wanted to inform them that they'd just told the lounge to have me run to the gate.

And then I made it home.

So, uh, yeah... the stuff at SFO... that wasn't entirely unexpected (though it did not go as well as I'd hoped). Everything else was mostly reasonable until that damn call to the lounge. I have no idea who made the call, but it wasn't the gate. It wouldn't have been the gate. And I would have been at the gate long before they were done boarding, even without the call.

Would I do another MR during COVID? For a good reason, sure. This one is how I'll hit 350k SQM, worth either 300k points or a $4000 gift card. Would I do another MR to a country I'm not eligible to enter? Likely not.

But if I learned one thing on this trip, it's that TIMATIC isn't always in sync with government websites, and some airline staff will check government websites in addition to TIMATIC, so you want to meet the more stringent of the requirements. Though without being eligible to enter, I don't understand why I needed a test that's only required to enter, not transit. Shrug.