URGENT! Advice needed for connecting flight tonight!
May 7, 2019, 6:41 am
#46
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: London, U.K.
Programs: bmi British Midland International Diamond Club
Posts: 3,370
talking about tax...in this situation, since you had two separate tickets, I assume you paid the HKG departure tax in your VS ticket? but since you arrived by plane the same day, you should be able to get back the HKD 120 (?) HK airport departure tax, if you don't mind the hassle of printing out the form from online and then mailing it back to HK... 
May 7, 2019, 7:03 am
#47
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: London, U.K.
Programs: bmi British Midland International Diamond Club
Posts: 3,370
@etkuo
You did this to yourself... Will be pretty hard to find sympathy here.
Not asking for any.
This is just contradicting. You said you are a risk-taker, but you were worrying for the whole flight and came on FT freaking out for help...
I took a risk booking 2 separate flights with a very short connection time. I did not take into account that I would be unable to print my VS boarding pass. If I had been able to do this then there would be no need for me to start this thread. If my CX flight had been significantly delayed then I would have missed my VS flight, even with a boarding pass in hand. This thread would not exist if that had happened.
My intention was to print my VS boarding pass so I would bypass the transfer desk. Even with a contingency of 30 mins for delayed arrival into HKG I would still likely have made the VS flight. I did not take into consideration that I would not be able to print my boarding pass.
You did this to yourself... Will be pretty hard to find sympathy here.
Not asking for any.
This is just contradicting. You said you are a risk-taker, but you were worrying for the whole flight and came on FT freaking out for help...
I took a risk booking 2 separate flights with a very short connection time. I did not take into account that I would be unable to print my VS boarding pass. If I had been able to do this then there would be no need for me to start this thread. If my CX flight had been significantly delayed then I would have missed my VS flight, even with a boarding pass in hand. This thread would not exist if that had happened.
My intention was to print my VS boarding pass so I would bypass the transfer desk. Even with a contingency of 30 mins for delayed arrival into HKG I would still likely have made the VS flight. I did not take into consideration that I would not be able to print my boarding pass.
May 7, 2019, 7:15 am
#48
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: HK
Programs: Qantas (Lifetime Gold), PAL (Elite), British Airways (now sadly blue), Cathay MPO DM
Posts: 647
May 7, 2019, 7:33 am
#49
Join Date: Aug 2017
Posts: 205
May 7, 2019, 8:54 am
#50
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: MNL
Programs: CX MPO DM, Le Club Accor Platinum, World of Hyatt Explorist
Posts: 2,284
May 7, 2019, 10:28 am
#52
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: London, U.K.
Programs: bmi British Midland International Diamond Club
Posts: 3,370
Here's a tale from 2008, when I booked that Special Hot Fare from CMB-JFK (via Australia). To this day I still have no idea what possessed me to book such a crazy itinerary to get me from London to Sri Lanka for the positioning flight. It involved 4 separate flights, 1 overnight train, 1 prebooked taxi and 1 checked-in bag. I made the positioning journey to CMB without any hiccups. Was fun!
It started off like this.
3rd Jan
London-Frankfurt (Y)
British Airways flight 914 from LHR-FRA, departing at 19:05 and arriving 21:45. One way cost Ł47.70
3rd Jan
Frankfurt-Dusseldorf ( DB train)
DB train from Frankfurt Airport Stn, departing 23:29 and arriving Dusseldorf Airport Stn 02:39. One way cost 29€
04th Jan
Dusseldorf-Istanbul (Y)
Air Berlin flight 3768 from DUS-IST departing 05:50 and arriving 09:55. One way cost 75.00€
04th Jan
Istanbul-Dubai (Y)
Singapore Airlines flight SQ491 from IST-DXB departing 12:55 and arriving 18:40. One way cost 264.47€
04th Jan
Dubai-Abu Dhabi (prebooked taxi)
4hr 10 min transit duration and 1hr journey in a prebooked taxi from DXB-AUH airport. Cost 175 Dirhams
04th Jan
Abu Dhabi-Colombo (Y)
Sri Lankan Airlines flight UL208 from AUH-DXB departing 22:50 and arriving 04:45. One way cost Ł126
05th Jan
Colombo-Singapore (start of Special Hot Fare)
Sri Lankan Airlines flight 302 from CMB-SIN departing 07:25 and arriving 13:50
It started off like this.
3rd Jan
London-Frankfurt (Y)
British Airways flight 914 from LHR-FRA, departing at 19:05 and arriving 21:45. One way cost Ł47.70
3rd Jan
Frankfurt-Dusseldorf ( DB train)
DB train from Frankfurt Airport Stn, departing 23:29 and arriving Dusseldorf Airport Stn 02:39. One way cost 29€
04th Jan
Dusseldorf-Istanbul (Y)
Air Berlin flight 3768 from DUS-IST departing 05:50 and arriving 09:55. One way cost 75.00€
04th Jan
Istanbul-Dubai (Y)
Singapore Airlines flight SQ491 from IST-DXB departing 12:55 and arriving 18:40. One way cost 264.47€
04th Jan
Dubai-Abu Dhabi (prebooked taxi)
4hr 10 min transit duration and 1hr journey in a prebooked taxi from DXB-AUH airport. Cost 175 Dirhams
04th Jan
Abu Dhabi-Colombo (Y)
Sri Lankan Airlines flight UL208 from AUH-DXB departing 22:50 and arriving 04:45. One way cost Ł126
05th Jan
Colombo-Singapore (start of Special Hot Fare)
Sri Lankan Airlines flight 302 from CMB-SIN departing 07:25 and arriving 13:50
May 7, 2019, 10:44 am
#54
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Hong Kong
Programs: Hilton Honors Gold, Marriott Gold, BA Silver, Hertz President's Club
Posts: 483
Nice one OP! I'm currently sitting in the FRA lounge having given myself too long/normal (2.5 hours) connection/transfer between flights (ironically)
May 7, 2019, 10:58 am
#55
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: SIN
Programs: CX DM, SQ KF Gold
Posts: 980
I must admit reading about the op’s travels is slightly bemusing - ...the previous instalment was about being stuck in Singapore and having to buy a expensive last minute ticket to Melbourne for having applied for an evisitor ‘100% expecting’ to have it granted instantaneously, which did not happen...
I must admit I was guilty of the same crime last year, rocking up at SIN for my flight to SYD thinking everything was in jolly good order, when at the check-in desk the agent stumped me by asking whether I had applied for that e-visa.
With holding a German passport and what not, why would you need a visa to go to Australia for a short holiday? And it hadn’t even been the first time that I had travelled Down Under... Oh well! Luckily I had arrived uncharacteristically early, so after frantically browsing the web and applying for an e-visa through I believe at least one travel agent and once directly through the official Aussie government website, and refreshing my emails every 24 seconds to see if my e-visa confirmation had finally arrived in my inbox, I was eventually able to breathe a sigh of relief when after 45 minutes or so the long-awaited confirmation had finally docked at my email entrance, which enabled the agent to check me in after all. All through this my darling wife was cackling so much that she had to practically pick herself up from the floor, since she had applied for her e-visa months before and thought that so would have I...OP, in case it wasn’t clear from my earlier comments, I actually admire your happy-go-lucky approach and can see why the unpredictability of your life can be quite fun; you will certainly have a lot of hilarious stories to share with your grandchildren, if you ever make it that far... Drop me a line when you next pass through SIN, I would be delighted to share a drink and a story or two with you!
May 7, 2019, 11:06 am
#57
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: London, U.K.
Programs: bmi British Midland International Diamond Club
Posts: 3,370
Agreed, 100%!
@Strawb: you don't need to document your entire travel history, but a TR about this trip would be appreciated by many people.
@Strawb: you don't need to document your entire travel history, but a TR about this trip would be appreciated by many people.
May 8, 2019, 10:44 am
#58
Join Date: Nov 2017
Programs: MPC-DM, Enrich-Plat
Posts: 1,310
......
The op self described as a ‘risk taker’ and that sounds accurate enough and this time the risk taking gods were on his side but the last two were expensive (well as others pointed out trying to enter China without a visa is not even a ´risk’ because risk involves at least some minimal odds of success).
.....
.....
What I have my issues with is, OP tries other people/organizations bear the costs of his junkie plannings, seemingly using his social skills to let people step outside their permitted authority and waving him the costs he causes with his planning.
May 13, 2019, 6:31 am
#59
Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 2,592
CX meet at the gate with a buggy and bring me to... .the ticket counter to rebook me. (with an extra connection...)
They don't even try to bring me to the satelliite gate and CX told me that my flight was in final call.
May 14, 2019, 12:55 am
#60
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: LTN
Programs: Aeroflot Bonus, British Airways Executive Club
Posts: 463
Lately my flight was delayed and my 65 mns connection was reduced to 45 mns with a satellite connection
CX meet at the gate with a buggy and bring me to... .the ticket counter to rebook me. (with an extra connection...)
They don't even try to bring me to the satelliite gate and CX told me that my flight was in final call.
CX meet at the gate with a buggy and bring me to... .the ticket counter to rebook me. (with an extra connection...)
They don't even try to bring me to the satelliite gate and CX told me that my flight was in final call.