Only have a 50 Minute Layover in Hong Kong between flights. Is that sufficient time?
Jan 4, 2018, 8:14 am
#31
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Hong Kong
Programs: CX, UA, Shangri-La, Hyatt, Starwood
Posts: 7,708
First question: Make sure when you check-in at the first airport, they link the two PNRs. Once you do that it doesn't really matter IME if they're separate or the same if they're both on CX metal. But the bigger point here is your first question isn't really relevant or basically misses the point, because your Q seems to implicitly assume connected PNRs get "waited for". You, the individual passenger, are really just a very tiny variable in the whole process to wait or go. Just as one example, occasionally CX will strictly enforce the MCT on CX-CX itinerarites when it comes to arrival delays. Meaning, let's say your itinerary was originally a 90 minute connection. But the first flight is 55 minutes late, so you arrive with only 35 minutes to connect. Physically-wise, aka transit security and running to gate from virtually anywhere in HKIA to anywhere else, it's almost guaranteed you can make your flight. But practically, we've seen CX play hard ball with these situations (occasionally) before and say "due to your arrival delay, you missed the MCT and we've already re-booked you on the next flight. Here's your new BP" In this case, our speculation is CX has almost certainly already given your seat away, because they needed the seats on your second flight perhaps for an overbooked scenario, IRROPS on other flights, etc. They were in need of seats and could squeeze you off due to a technicality.
It's true you have a better chance of being "waited for" if you're, say a group of 30 people. But one or two folks, once your PNRs are linked don't bother worrying if they flight is waiting for you or not. It's up to the Gods if you land under the MCT. *I have never experienced a case like the one I've outlined above, and have transited HKIA numerous times under the MCT.* But we read about situations like this on here.
Second question: Please provide more details. The situation is different if you miss the once-daily flight to Manchester, versus if you miss one of the 15 or so daily TPE departures. And it depends how you bought your ticket. Quicker, more convenient and comfortable options will open up if you're on a cash ticket. But generally CX is good with irrops. Reports on here for the less-frequent departures include paying for hotels, or routing via other cities on the next available flight.
Jan 4, 2018, 11:10 pm
#32
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Asia Pac
Programs: AA UA DL AS CXDM JL NH Hilton Hyatt Marriott SPG IHG
Posts: 545
It's a lot easier if you have a specific example (flight #s especially useful), because there isn't really uniform advice especially for your second question.
First question: Make sure when you check-in at the first airport, they link the two PNRs. Once you do that it doesn't really matter IME if they're separate or the same if they're both on CX metal. But the bigger point here is your first question isn't really relevant or basically misses the point, because your Q seems to implicitly assume connected PNRs get "waited for". You, the individual passenger, are really just a very tiny variable in the whole process to wait or go. Just as one example, occasionally CX will strictly enforce the MCT on CX-CX itinerarites when it comes to arrival delays. Meaning, let's say your itinerary was originally a 90 minute connection. But the first flight is 55 minutes late, so you arrive with only 35 minutes to connect. Physically-wise, aka transit security and running to gate from virtually anywhere in HKIA to anywhere else, it's almost guaranteed you can make your flight. But practically, we've seen CX play hard ball with these situations (occasionally) before and say "due to your arrival delay, you missed the MCT and we've already re-booked you on the next flight. Here's your new BP" In this case, our speculation is CX has almost certainly already given your seat away, because they needed the seats on your second flight perhaps for an overbooked scenario, IRROPS on other flights, etc. They were in need of seats and could squeeze you off due to a technicality.
It's true you have a better chance of being "waited for" if you're, say a group of 30 people. But one or two folks, once your PNRs are linked don't bother worrying if they flight is waiting for you or not. It's up to the Gods if you land under the MCT. *I have never experienced a case like the one I've outlined above, and have transited HKIA numerous times under the MCT.* But we read about situations like this on here.
Second question: Please provide more details. The situation is different if you miss the once-daily flight to Manchester, versus if you miss one of the 15 or so daily TPE departures. And it depends how you bought your ticket. Quicker, more convenient and comfortable options will open up if you're on a cash ticket. But generally CX is good with irrops. Reports on here for the less-frequent departures include paying for hotels, or routing via other cities on the next available flight.
First question: Make sure when you check-in at the first airport, they link the two PNRs. Once you do that it doesn't really matter IME if they're separate or the same if they're both on CX metal. But the bigger point here is your first question isn't really relevant or basically misses the point, because your Q seems to implicitly assume connected PNRs get "waited for". You, the individual passenger, are really just a very tiny variable in the whole process to wait or go. Just as one example, occasionally CX will strictly enforce the MCT on CX-CX itinerarites when it comes to arrival delays. Meaning, let's say your itinerary was originally a 90 minute connection. But the first flight is 55 minutes late, so you arrive with only 35 minutes to connect. Physically-wise, aka transit security and running to gate from virtually anywhere in HKIA to anywhere else, it's almost guaranteed you can make your flight. But practically, we've seen CX play hard ball with these situations (occasionally) before and say "due to your arrival delay, you missed the MCT and we've already re-booked you on the next flight. Here's your new BP" In this case, our speculation is CX has almost certainly already given your seat away, because they needed the seats on your second flight perhaps for an overbooked scenario, IRROPS on other flights, etc. They were in need of seats and could squeeze you off due to a technicality.
It's true you have a better chance of being "waited for" if you're, say a group of 30 people. But one or two folks, once your PNRs are linked don't bother worrying if they flight is waiting for you or not. It's up to the Gods if you land under the MCT. *I have never experienced a case like the one I've outlined above, and have transited HKIA numerous times under the MCT.* But we read about situations like this on here.
Second question: Please provide more details. The situation is different if you miss the once-daily flight to Manchester, versus if you miss one of the 15 or so daily TPE departures. And it depends how you bought your ticket. Quicker, more convenient and comfortable options will open up if you're on a cash ticket. But generally CX is good with irrops. Reports on here for the less-frequent departures include paying for hotels, or routing via other cities on the next available flight.
Booked an NZ trip for my brother's family of 4. CX421 (TPE 1210 HKG 1420) connecting to CX199 (HKG 1520 AKL 0735), there are only 60 min in between. I transfer thru HKG all the time, and like QRC3288 said, even less than 60min is more than sufficient, and I am on rev J ticket. For this NZ trip, however, the TPE-HKG leg is on BA miles, and HKG-AKL leg is on AS miles. And it seems CX only has two daily flights out from HKG for this route. For a family of 4 with kids and not a frequent visitor thru HKG, I am afraid they might not be able to make it if there is any delay for CX421.
For the first question, I remember several times I've heard the captain saying we're still waiting for the connecting passengers, but then, it must be a big group
Jan 5, 2018, 3:53 am
#33
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Hong Kong, France
Programs: FB , BA Gold
Posts: 15,568
Thank you very much, QRC3288, for the detailed explanation! I should've been clearer!
Booked an NZ trip for my brother's family of 4. CX421 (TPE 1210 HKG 1420) connecting to CX199 (HKG 1520 AKL 0735), there are only 60 min in between. I transfer thru HKG all the time, and like QRC3288 said, even less than 60min is more than sufficient, and I am on rev J ticket. For this NZ trip, however, the TPE-HKG leg is on BA miles, and HKG-AKL leg is on AS miles. And it seems CX only has two daily flights out from HKG for this route. For a family of 4 with kids and not a frequent visitor thru HKG, I am afraid they might not be able to make it if there is any delay for CX421.
For the first question, I remember several times I've heard the captain saying we're still waiting for the connecting passengers, but then, it must be a big group
Booked an NZ trip for my brother's family of 4. CX421 (TPE 1210 HKG 1420) connecting to CX199 (HKG 1520 AKL 0735), there are only 60 min in between. I transfer thru HKG all the time, and like QRC3288 said, even less than 60min is more than sufficient, and I am on rev J ticket. For this NZ trip, however, the TPE-HKG leg is on BA miles, and HKG-AKL leg is on AS miles. And it seems CX only has two daily flights out from HKG for this route. For a family of 4 with kids and not a frequent visitor thru HKG, I am afraid they might not be able to make it if there is any delay for CX421.
For the first question, I remember several times I've heard the captain saying we're still waiting for the connecting passengers, but then, it must be a big group
There are three other CX hlights departing between 10 and 11:15, I would strongly advise to book those.
I know that it is not easy to change an avios booking for four pax, but ...
Jan 5, 2018, 8:21 am
#34
Suspended
Join Date: May 2006
Location: HKG
Programs: A3, TK *G; JL JGC; SPG,Hilton Gold
Posts: 9,952
Try change to an earlier flight. Unless on a monday morning 4 seats on a morning tpehkg flight should be ok.
Failing which, turn up at the airport early, and explain urself to the standby counter.Esp if the inbound flight is *late*, they would move u to an earlier flight if they could.. even on avios ticket
Jan 10, 2018, 5:40 am
#35
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Asia Pac
Programs: AA UA DL AS CXDM JL NH Hilton Hyatt Marriott SPG IHG
Posts: 545
Great thanks to brunos and kaka for the reference and advice! I took the penalty and changed their TPE-HKG flight to the earlier 10am flight. Don't wanna be the one that mess up their family outing !!
Jan 10, 2018, 7:56 am
#36
Join Date: Nov 2006
Programs: MPC,CA,MU,AF
Posts: 8,171
According to EF, the average delay of CX421 is 41 minutes, a very big risk. This is a flight coming from ICN into TPE.
There are three other CX hlights departing between 10 and 11:15, I would strongly advise to book those.
I know that it is not easy to change an avios booking for four pax, but ...
There are three other CX hlights departing between 10 and 11:15, I would strongly advise to book those.
I know that it is not easy to change an avios booking for four pax, but ...
Jan 10, 2018, 3:53 pm
#37
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Hong Kong
Programs: CX, UA, Shangri-La, Hyatt, Starwood
Posts: 7,708
Yea, our answers to these tight connection queries should come with the (obvious) caveat: if your inbound is delayed, your margin of error is slim to none!
You can have the best large transit airport in the world - which I think HKG is - but all of HKGs convenience is totally irrelevant if your theoretically simple (by HKG standards) 50 minute connection....... Is kicked off with a 45 minutes inbound flight delay!! No amount of brilliant transit designs can save that scenario!
So it goes without saying to any future posters who read this thread, that the airport itself is no problem, but HKGs strengths quickly become moot if you're delayed on the inbound sector of a short transit (duh). And the shorter the transit, the more you're leaving it up to chance simply due to an inbound delay.
You can have the best large transit airport in the world - which I think HKG is - but all of HKGs convenience is totally irrelevant if your theoretically simple (by HKG standards) 50 minute connection....... Is kicked off with a 45 minutes inbound flight delay!! No amount of brilliant transit designs can save that scenario!
So it goes without saying to any future posters who read this thread, that the airport itself is no problem, but HKGs strengths quickly become moot if you're delayed on the inbound sector of a short transit (duh). And the shorter the transit, the more you're leaving it up to chance simply due to an inbound delay.
Jan 12, 2018, 4:48 am
#38
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Asia Pac
Programs: AA UA DL AS CXDM JL NH Hilton Hyatt Marriott SPG IHG
Posts: 545
Yea, our answers to these tight connection queries should come with the (obvious) caveat: if your inbound is delayed, your margin of error is slim to none!
You can have the best large transit airport in the world - which I think HKG is - but all of HKGs convenience is totally irrelevant if your theoretically simple (by HKG standards) 50 minute connection....... Is kicked off with a 45 minutes inbound flight delay!! No amount of brilliant transit designs can save that scenario!
So it goes without saying to any future posters who read this thread, that the airport itself is no problem, but HKGs strengths quickly become moot if you're delayed on the inbound sector of a short transit (duh). And the shorter the transit, the more you're leaving it up to chance simply due to an inbound delay.
You can have the best large transit airport in the world - which I think HKG is - but all of HKGs convenience is totally irrelevant if your theoretically simple (by HKG standards) 50 minute connection....... Is kicked off with a 45 minutes inbound flight delay!! No amount of brilliant transit designs can save that scenario!
So it goes without saying to any future posters who read this thread, that the airport itself is no problem, but HKGs strengths quickly become moot if you're delayed on the inbound sector of a short transit (duh). And the shorter the transit, the more you're leaving it up to chance simply due to an inbound delay.
Jan 12, 2018, 10:40 pm
#40
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Asia Pac
Programs: AA UA DL AS CXDM JL NH Hilton Hyatt Marriott SPG IHG
Posts: 545
Thank you very much cxfan1960 for the reminder!! I almost forgot about this important piece of info!!
Mar 25, 2018, 8:16 am
#41
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: SIN
Programs: AY Plat, Marriott Plat
Posts: 224
See that AA has some really low fares from HKG to the US (less than half of the fares from SIN where I am based). See plenty of availability for round trip fares from HKG to the west coast for just over 500 USD and east coast for 600 USD and they are generally valid for 1 year travel with very reasonable change fees. For slightly more, there are also options to include legs on CX and JL and the one I am looking to book is HKG-NRT-ORD with HKG-NRT on CX and NRT-ORD on JL. When booking via AA.com, the HKG-NRT shows up with a CX code for some reason (CX524) and NRT-ORD with the codeshare (AA8405).
For SIN-HKG, I intend to make a separate avios award booking on CX. HKG-NRT is on CX524 departing at 0100h and ideally I would have liked to book CX716 that arrives in HKG 2205h which leaves me with a ~3h connection time. This timing is not available though and the other flight is CX636 that arrives at 0010h leaving me with exactly 50 mins for the connection (travelling in a party of 4 and the availability is more limited). This is a legit connection when searching for SIN-NRT options with CX.
Wondering if anyone can advise what are my options for recourse if I miss my connection in this situation with 2 separate PNRs. Will CX rebook me all the way to ORD including the leg on JL given that I am connecting to a CX coded flight or is this a YMMV situation?
For SIN-HKG, I intend to make a separate avios award booking on CX. HKG-NRT is on CX524 departing at 0100h and ideally I would have liked to book CX716 that arrives in HKG 2205h which leaves me with a ~3h connection time. This timing is not available though and the other flight is CX636 that arrives at 0010h leaving me with exactly 50 mins for the connection (travelling in a party of 4 and the availability is more limited). This is a legit connection when searching for SIN-NRT options with CX.
Wondering if anyone can advise what are my options for recourse if I miss my connection in this situation with 2 separate PNRs. Will CX rebook me all the way to ORD including the leg on JL given that I am connecting to a CX coded flight or is this a YMMV situation?
Apr 25, 2018, 5:16 am
#42
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Cardiff, Wales, UK
Posts: 982
Similar question. I’ve got two separate award flights booked (1with Avios and one with AA points); KA pek - hkg in first and CX hkg - mnl in business. The second leg is only showing on AA with the PNR. I’ve got a 1hr 50min transfer in HKG so I’d clearly like my baggage booked through. Is this likely to be a problem?
Apr 25, 2018, 5:30 am
#43
Suspended
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Hong Kong
Programs: None any more
Posts: 11,017
No problem - CX/KA happily through check baggage to any interline partner nevermind their own flights!
The only issue you may have is the nasty record of delays on PEK-HKG flights.
The only issue you may have is the nasty record of delays on PEK-HKG flights.
Apr 25, 2018, 6:31 am
#44
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Hong Kong
Programs: CX, UA, Shangri-La, Hyatt, Starwood
Posts: 7,708
Similar question. I’ve got two separate award flights booked (1with Avios and one with AA points); KA pek - hkg in first and CX hkg - mnl in business. The second leg is only showing on AA with the PNR. I’ve got a 1hr 50min transfer in HKG so I’d clearly like my baggage booked through. Is this likely to be a problem?
However, PEK can sometimes have bad delays. It's not nearly as bad as PVG (which, depending on the month could be a virtual crapshoot). A 1:50 connection ex-mainland China isn't something I'd book out of PVG, and is at the min of what I'd do ex-PEK.
However, what you have working for you is CX has multiple daily flights to MNL. Pretty good frequency. It's not like you're connecting to a once a day destination. I wouldn't worry too much and if you get screwed by the PRC air traffic situation, just chalk it up to bad luck and CX will put you on another flight to MNL.
Apr 25, 2018, 10:20 am
#45
Join Date: Nov 2006
Programs: MPC,CA,MU,AF
Posts: 8,171
As said by christep and QRC3288, technically enough, but statistically uncertain. Carry a hard copy of your itinerary and remember to check-through all the way PEK-MNL. So at least CX is aware that someone is transiting if the PEK-HKG flight is delayed.
Are you taking a morning or afternoon PEK-HKG flight? Morning flights are usually more reliable.
Are you taking a morning or afternoon PEK-HKG flight? Morning flights are usually more reliable.