Transit at Singapore or KK?
 

I am planning a vacation to Borneo for next May, using ANA points to fly on OZ.I want to start in Kota Kinabalu and end in Kuching. In looking at options for the return flights from Kuching, I can fly to KK or Singapore and pick up a OZ flight to ICN. Both flights are overnight, which is what I want. It costs almost the same on AirAsia to fly to KK or Singapore from Kuching. Both options leave me with long layovers before the flight to ICN.

If I were to fly to Singapore on AirAsia, would I have to clear immigration and customs, get my luggage, leave the secure area, and check in again for the OZ flight? How much time should I allow for this?

As we will be flying J class on the OZ flight, which airport will have the better lounge to hang out in for the long hours? The AK flight to BKI gets in at 3:10pm and the OZ flight is at 1:40 am. There is an AK flight that gets in to BKI at 12:30 am but I doubt we'd make the connection to the OZ flight at 1:40am.

The AK flight to SIN gets in at 5:50pm and the OZ flight is at 11:00pm am. This would give us 6 hours to transfer. Is this option going to be a big hassle? The timing is better through Singapore than KK.

If the airlines don't interline or sometimes just if you have separate tickets, yes you will need to collect your bags, which implies going through immigration (very quick and efficient at SIN) and customs, and then check in and recheck the bag after check in opens for your next flight. Until then you will not be able to access lounges except possibly through priority pass (SkyView or something in T1) as airline lounges at SIN are all departures lounges. Others have posted here that SIN has baggage storgage land side. You could explore the city instead of waiting land side or you might take a day room at the Crowne Plaza at SIN, also land side.

SIN is a wounderful transit airport, but you need to think carefully of the logistics of connections with LCCs here. Also, if you could fly SQ, they allow check in up to 48 hours before flights, so you would not potentially be stuck land side if you were departing on SQ.

SQ has a flight to ICN at 12:10 am. I would assume I could check in for a flight well in advance since they will have plenty of desks open. But that's assuming I can get J award seats on SQ flights. I understand they are very hard to get. I have never flown SQ before. I don't know if Asiana has another airline handle their check in as they only have the one flight a day in and out of SIN.

Air Asia does not interline with anybody. So if you fly them into SIN, you'll definitely have to go through Immigration then Baggage Claim/Customs, and back to Departures to check-in with OZ or your selected onward carrier. Singapore Immigration and follow-on is pretty efficient, so generally a couple of hours' scheduled arrival to scheduled departure is sufficient. However, Air Asia is not necessarily punctual and therein lies the potential problem. What happens if there is a delay of one hour, two hours, four hours....?

Old Asia hands tend to never schedule an Air Asia regional flight followed immediately by a long-haul international, without an intervening day or night between the two. The gamble is just too great.

With mainline airlines that interline (ie. OZ and SQ), you should be able to avoid passing through Singapore Immigration if that is what you prefer. Boarding passes not issued in Kuching can be handled at airside transfer desks in SIN. If you ever have need of a Transit Hotel airside, SIN's are quite decent, quiet and very clean with everything you need for privacy and a good sleep that a lounge can't provide.

So with the time of the return OZ flight from KK at 1:40 am, should I fly from Kuching to KK the day before and spend one more full day there at the end of the trip? I will have already been in KK at the beginning, for maybe 2 days, then may have to be there again coming and going from Sandakan. Kuching looks to be a much more interesting place.

Any other suggestions as to what airlines/cities to use for this trip? the airlines need to be *A partners. Asiana is the easiest to get J award seats on. And the Seoul stopover needs to be on the way home to the US.

I'm open for suggestions.

I see a flight on Silk Air from Kuching to Singapore, SQ5077 that arrives SIN at 10:20pm. This would connect to SQ 608 to ICN at 12:10pm. I assume since this is a SQ codeshare that my bags would be transferred. Would this be enough time to change planes at SIN, to get through customs, immigration, and check back in?

I might be able to get the SilkAir flight added to my Award flight if ANA will allow a codeshare for an award. I'll have to call and ask. Even if I have to buy it, it's pricing out at $69 incl. all taxes in advance.. I don't know if SilkAir charges extra to check bags.

If this is an MI flight it is not in *A and therefor will not be added to an award itin.

It is an actual MI (Silk Air) flight. Even if I have to pay for it, would Silk Air interline the bags and check them through to the SQ flight 608? Is there enough time between these flights to transfer? Looks like it would be an hour and 40 minutes. Malaysian has a flight MH 647 that arrives 10:05 pm to SIN. Are they a more reliable airline to be on time than Air Asia?

Silk Air is owned completely by SQ. Yes, they will interline bags.

Good to know. But will we have enough time to deplane, clear customs and immigration, go back through security, and make a flight with an hour and 40 minutes?

Have you ever traveled internationally? Why on earth would you clear customs and immigration on a transit?

Yes, I have traveled internationally extensively. I would have to clear customs and immigration and check back in at SIN because I will be on a separate ticket coming in from Kuching, Malaysia. The ticket from SIN-ICN will be a separate award ticket on Asiana. I'm not really transiting. See my first post.

I would definitely rank MH above AK on reliability, so that could be a backup option to the MI flight. Before you pull the trigger on the MI flight, contact SQ and tell them your hypothetical situation and see if you could use the SIN airside transfer desks to check-in/get your boarding pass for the flights to ICN and beyond, without having to go through SIN Immigration, Customs, and Baggage Claim. If not, then 1 hour 40 minutes to accomplish all this is still probably doable, as long as the incoming flight KCH-SIN is on time. Or go for the earlier, safer flight on MH.

If you're so sure of the need to go through immigration et al then why inquire about interlining bags?

Further you jump back and forth with the prospect of SQ, uh, no, OZ, uh no, SQ it's nigh impossible to follow which tangent you're on for each post.

Lastly, what you are doing, a 1:40 transit, is indeed transitting. That you're doing so on 2 diff itins is a distinction wihtout a difference.

As I haven't booked the flight from SIN-ICN yet, I don't know if I'll be on SQ or OZ. I'm not even sure I'll fly to SIN to get to ICN. I may just double back to Kota Kinabulu on a MH flight KUC-BKI that has us sitting at BKI for 5 hours waiting for the OZ fight to ICN. That's what I'm trying to avoid as I suspect there are no J lounges at BKI and that it's a crappy airport to have to spend 5 hours in.

I'm doing research on all possible options available so when I make my call to the ANA award desk, I can request the flights i want and not rely on them to do the searching. When I decided to choose Borneo as a vacation destination I didn't realize it would be such a PITA getting there and out under the parameters of an ANA award.