CGRA

Yes I did but he refused
I also booked the chaperon/ connection service from WFS so I had two buggy waiting for me. She was very nice but useless.
The only good thing was to fly the A350 with the mini J cabin just for me )
I was able to book a last minute buggy service at BKK and it was very useful, definitely worth it and the price was very reasonable. (same company than HKG but different price)

By the way, "Chaperon" sometimes use the employee line at security / transfer and sometimes not. YCMV

brunos

It sounds like that the OP had a "satellite" connection, meaning the KA island (sometimes called North satellite). And still has to clear security.Not sure how a buggy can transfer from arrival level (before security) to departure level (after security).
It means that you have to go all the way to gates 500 after you clear security. Then, you wait for the next bus to the satellite. The bus often has to wait for planes crossing, then a fairly long walk to the gate.
CX had probably scheduled the buggy before knowing the delay as a 65min transfer to the satellite is doable and speeded up a little bit by a buggy. But HKG air space can get crowded and if you disembark 40min before the next flight there is no hope for a satellite departure unless plane is scheduled with a delay.So they used their buggy to get you to the transfer desk.

When the bridge to the satellite opens, that might be faster.

miklcct

If booking a "protected" connection does not guarantee you make the flight which the gate hasn't been closed yet, I won't consider this airline at a high priority when connecting. The official CX-CX MCT is 50 minutes and it's only 5 minutes below that after delay, I expect the airline to run the passenger immediately to the gate to make up that 5 minutes.

I have encountered a scenario where a flight is held because an incoming flight where connecting passengers came from was slightly late.

orbitmic

In fairness, that is certainly not the norm with any of the airlines that I fly (and I am a regular on about 30 different of them including many majors in Europe, North America, Asia, and Oceania).

There are specific cases when flights might be held of course: e.g. a lot of passengers from a late flight are connecting on the service, this is the last service of the day, the flight is expected to have a short flight time so can make up for a delay and the next one is full, etc. Beyond those specific cases (for which CX is neither more nor less likely than others to hold a plane), however, anyone expecting the plane for him/her in this day and age is in for some fairly severe disillusion.

miklcct

I was taking Azerbaijan Airline, there were few people (less than half full) on the 767 when boarding time was up, but the plane was held until connecting passengers filled the plane. That was GYD-PEK route, a three-weekly long-haul service.

moondog

When I lived in the Bay Area, I flew UA to China (Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai) quite often, and all 3 of those flights were frequently held for connecting passengers

orbitmic

Quote:

Originally Posted by miklcct

I was taking Azerbaijan Airline, there were few people (less than half full) on the 767 when boarding time was up, but the plane was held until connecting passengers filled the plane. That was GYD-PEK route,

[Emphasis mine] That's exactly one of the special cases that I mentioned in my post! (last service of the day) except that in your case that is even worse because as the service was only 3 weekly, not only was there no more service the next day but there wasn't even one the day after! Again, in this case, keeping the plane waiting would be frequent with all airlines, CX included. This is entirely different from the case of CGRA who could be accommodated the same day.

Again, would there have been another UA flight from SFO to the destination that same day for passengers who'd miss this one? If not see above and see my earlier post about exceptions when this is the last flight of the day to the destination.

DernierVirage

You must be a bundle of laughs at parties.......

CGRA

On my example it did cost money to CX as they rebook me on a CX plus Bangkok airways. Still much cheaper than holding an entire plane for at least 10 mns.

Side question : on the way back I did arrive in a « satellite » terminal which was connected to the main terminal by train.
Is there 2 « satellites » terminal one accessible by train and the other one by bus (pending a bridge) ?

Thank you for your help.

tentseller

Yes, there is the 200s satellite which is connected by train. There are also lounges.

There is the 500s satellite which is like a bus terminus serving mainly LCCs.

brunos

I don't think that the gates 200s are called satellite.

The North satellite (also known by insiders as Dragon island) is not mainly serving LCCs. The major airline there is KA (Cathay Dragon). Some Non-LCC Chinese airlines are also using it.

CGRA

thank you I have learnt something.
So most probably my Cathay dragon was departing from the 500 gates.

kaka