jcirujales

Hi, so how did things go? I'm flying from Japan to Beijing then back new york and also have a connecting flight in China. Did you have to go through immigration and was the connecting flight enough time?

I'm curious what happens if you miss your connection, I know that China Air would help by providing free hotel and allow you to jump on the next flight but I'm not sure Air China would (two different airlines)?

HkCaGu

NEVER EVER call Air China "China Air". There is a Taiwanese airline called "China Airlines".

So many posts are WRONG that there is no immigration for immediate I-to-I transit. Yes, there is! Except (1) if you're not leaving the airport or changing terminal, at PEK, you go through one immigration counter that processes you in-and-out simultaneously. Required documentation is exactly the same. (You can't go USA-China-USA.), and (2) this immediate transit immigration check has been recently simplified and delegated to non-border agents (but still using immigration computers: scanning passport OCR, matching API).

And, NO, the planes aren't necessarily close to each other. T3E is a huge place. There are even bus gates to planes parked faraway.

And also, from my experiences last week, the simplified immigration process' benefits have been negated by the security check which followed. Instead of a dedicated transit-security line (which I had a few years ago), everyone is now funneled with regular departing passengers. The line/queue took quite a while to go through!

If the OP has any special dietary needs, i.e. special meals, be aware of consequences of being transferred to the next flight. Also, PEK still has liquid ban at the gate for US-bound flights. They even bring out buckets so you can pour it out and keep your own bottles.

moondog

I typically no longer bother to correct people over this mistake, or CA v AC for that matter, because it's usually possible to tell which airline they are referring to based on context.

@jcirujales: Assuming both flights are booked on the same ticket, I don't think you have much to worry about. 1 hour is probably doable, and if it isn't, CA will surely figure out how to get to you to NY on a later flight. I assume they would hook you up with a hotel, if needed. If they don't, this is nothing to lose sleep over because you can find a hotel on your own for less than $50.

889

Yes, at T3 when transitting international-to-international, there's someone at a booth who looks at your passport and boarding pass before you head downstairs, and then someone downstairs who mindlessly repeats the process, but these desks are not marked as immigration checks and the checks aren't conducted by immigration officers. They're like the security checks you get at other airports, like HK, just repeated twice.

oopl

What about a HKG-PEK-LAX routing?
Is that considered international to international?

moondog

Yes..

CO-PLAT

How about this connection on xmas day?

jiejie

I wouldn't book this short timing. You're going international to domestic at PEK. Even though it's Terminal 2 which is smaller than Terminal 3, you'll still have to deplane, get through Immigration and Bag Claim/Customs, then recheck for the domestic CZ flight. I'm pretty sure DL > CZ metal change will scuttle any possibility of luggage through-check to CAN.

The CZ flight you're trying to connect to is the last one of the night so if you miss it, you'll be spending the night in Beijing. Maybe that's not a problem for you.

Truthfully, in December, I'd avoid connecting in PEK at all due to both air traffic and weather/fog delays. Surely you can find something that either goes directly into CAN (connecting outside China like LAX, ICN, etc) vs this routing. It would be worth it not to try maximum cheap out on this, especially that time of year when backup Plan B flights may not be available due to sellouts.

travelinmanS

You'll be fine. Connecting through PEK is ok when flyin in from overseas. That's plenty of time and odds are your CZ flight to Guangzhou is delayed which gives you even more time. Now if the routing was reversed and you were coming from CAN and connecting through PEK to go overseas then I'd recommend at least a 6 hour connection.

Cplusplus

Has anyone done this more recently? Still doable? I'm going from JFK>PEK>BKK. First flight is scheduled to land 3/23 in PEK at 18:40, connecting flight leaves an hour later at 19:45. I don't see any flights until the next morning. Both are Air China on the same itinerary. Should I let the FA's know that I have a short connection? The first flight doesn't have the best on-time performance. I've read that Air China puts you in a cheap hotel with another passenger in the case of missed connections. I can stay at night at the nearby Hilton but obviously would like to get to BKK sooner rather than later.

jiejie

It's doable if the first flight is on time. The biggest potential time snarf is the security checkpoint that you have to go through. It does pay to know your options in the event of a misconnect, and to state your preference to Air China staff who need to rebook you. Realistic possibilities that CA would use are:
1) CA 975 at midnight 00:10 (technically 3/24) to Singapore arr 06:30 then Thai Airways flight SIN-BKK dep 08:15 arr 09:35. I've been rebooked on this maneuver and it's not bad. IMO, the best of the connecting Plan B options if you need to minimize lost time in Bangkok.
2) TG 675 nonstop to BKK dep 3/24 06:50 arr 11:05. IMO, the best of the nonstop Plan B options.
3) CA 757 nonstop to BKK dep 3/24 08:15 arr 12:30. CA will probably try to put you on this before option #2 , if space is available.

Hopefully you won't misconnect or if you do, won't have to go below these options since at that point, you'll be losing 2/3 to a full day in Bangkok on 3/24. There are nonstops on CA in the early afternoon, TG in the late afternoon, and CA again on your flight, 24 hours later. And there are other connection options though I'd rate them worse for hassle factor and they don't get you to Bangkok any earlier than mid-afternoon on the 24th.

If rebooking is needed, CA will prefer to rebook on their own metal or TG.

Cplusplus

I appreciate the info. As you mentioned, I was looking at CA757 and TG675 as my backup. Is there much of a difference in passenger traffic going through security between the two times? Might as well sleep in a bit later if it is similar.

allset2travel

Did some searches for this to no avail.

I will be flying in on CZ (domestic to PEK, arriving at T2), and connect to AA (also in T2). I have 3 hours to make the connection on 2 separate NPRs.

Can I stay air-side (assume I have carry on only) for the connection from CZ to AA?
If I do have to go land-side, is 3 hours enough, and does this involve any shuttle bus?
Thanks in advance!

moondog

As post #24 suggests, 3 hours is perfectly fine in the reverse direction, but your CZ flight is low on the totem pole (i.e. you won't be leaving CAN or SZX until PEK confirms a landing slot; while things are much better now, all of us have experienced 12+ hour delays).

JPDM

You can't stay airside, you need to pass immigration. Same terminal so obviously no shuttle bus.