CaliforniaSteve

My wife and I are traveling to Singapore in early November. We'll be leaving SFO at 1:10AM, arriving in HKG at 8:05AM with our connecting flight to SIN departing at 9AM. Both flights are Cathay Pacific. Is a 55 minute connection time sufficient in HKG, or should I switch to the Cathay flight that departs HKG at 11:35AM?

If we were to miss the connection on the original flight, I assume Cathay would stick us on the next flight?

FlyPointyEnd

55 minutes is okay, I don't fly long haul often but from what I know they mostly arrive on time or slightly ahead of schedule...depends on the tail/headwinds.

If you want to use the lounge, you might want to take the later flight...that said, if your incoming flight is delayed, CX will protect you on the next available flight.

Kacee

I would book the longer connection, particularly if flying J, in order to stretch and enjoy a shower in the lounge.

The early morning arrivals can also be problematic in terms of hotel check-in.

JClasstraveller

Departing HKG at 9am means a 12:30pm arrival into SIN. After clearing customs and immigration and travelling into the city, it's close enough to 2pm for it not to be an issue.

TonyBurr

I would boo the earlier flight from SFO-HKG. If your present flight is delayed you could have a lot of stress wondering if you will make your connection. CX will put you on the next flight available if you misconnect, but what if flights are all full? You do not know when you would get out of HKG.

QRC3288

55 minutes is more than enough. That's a comfy connection on HKIA, so your only real downside is if you're 20+ minutes late landing. I'd say 1/8 or 1/9 chance that happens max, so I'd just do it. Cathay will accommodate you if it gets delayed. There is plenty of lift to SIN both on CX and other carriers you won't have an issue. The 90% chance you make it will be great for you to check-in and enjoy your day in SIN, instead of sitting around exhausted in a Cathay lounge for 5 hours at HKG.

Whereas if you arrive early (a FAAAAARR greater likelihood than arriving tardy on those early am US arrivals), there is a low chance you're swapping into the earlier flight when you think "damn, I wish we just took the earlier flight...".

That being said, I laid out a description about bare-bones minimizing your transit time in HKIA which might be useful. I'll search around and see if I can find it.


*update: FOUND IT. Look at this thread here, I've linked to post #8 where I describe some transit concepts in my second point. The fellow had a different transit (he had 1:15, you have 0:55) but same idea.

*And one thing I'll add for you, is that those ex-North America morning departures make a habit of an early arrival.

*Final point: your arrival and departure gates are somewhat unpredictable, unfortunately. It's easy to guess at departure gates for North America but not always arrivals, and especially not regional departures.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/catha...l#post26803215

jagmeets

That connection time is par for the course for us, though we usually take the daytime departure connecting to CX715 to SIN. Morning's even better for the multitude of flights to SIN (we take the daytime to maximise the US stay, before work in SIN). Yes, transit security is packed at the hour, but it moves fast enough. More likely than not, a small delay on the inbound will mean someone with your name on a placard waiting to whizz you through to the onward flight. Unrelated, but we also have ~a 50% record of the inbound plane from SFO taking us to SIN.

Follow QRC3288's directions. We know HkG well and almost always have time for a quick shower and/or a drink in between. The only reason to book a later connection would be, as mentioned by FPE, to take in the Lounges.

Just be prepared for a disappointing breakkie - on CX691, or even in the lounge.

JAGMAP

Always feel more comfortable (and relaxed) booking a Meet & Greet on tight connections in HKG. Paid off a couple times on MH --> CX connections.

http://www.worldwideflight.com.hk/

CaliforniaSteve

Sounds like keeping the present pair of flights is probably the best idea. I'm not worried about getting into Singapore early because we're staying with my wife's in-laws. As for breakfast and the lounge, that's not high on our list. LOL. We want to get to Sing as early as possible to start in on the eating Olympics there!

Thank you for all the opinions and suggestions. I appreciate the help.

Kacee

Priorities! Enjoy. As others have noted, the connection is reasonable.

jagmeets

The original issue sorted, may I go OT?

<Flame suit on>My bolding above- now that's an interesting way to address one's folks- unless, of course..

Enjoy the food-a-thon! This thread is making me crave my favourite spots in the Bay Area! 3+months to go

CaliforniaSteve

LOL. It's my wife's cousins, not my family.