Flying XIY-PEK-US on MU and UA, separate tickets. Connection time in PEK?
Dec 18, 2018, 11:46 pm
#16
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: PEK and BOS
Programs: BA - Blue
Posts: 4,531
IME, military operations along trunk routes are much less common these days than they were in previous years. That having been said, "stuff" definitely happens more in China than other places.
I am 95% confident that the OP will be fine with a 4 hour layover, but I would be 95% confident with a 2 hour layover in any airport in the USA.
I am 95% confident that the OP will be fine with a 4 hour layover, but I would be 95% confident with a 2 hour layover in any airport in the USA.
If it were me, and coming in the night before isn't possible, I would risk the early morning departure: changing terminals is less of a risk in my mind, than taking a flight 3 hours later. One would hope that if the earlier flight is cancelled, one _might_ be able to squeeze onto the later flight (notwithstanding the insane loads of domestic flights).
I don't think the CA lounge is that great, at least after the first 15 minutes: spending 7 hours there "to bide the time" would be a major drag. But having said that, I think venturing into the city just for the sake of it, when the OP and family have already spent a week in BJ is a total waste of time too. I would bring a good book and/or some work, and hope things work out.
tb
Dec 19, 2018, 2:02 pm
#17
Join Date: Feb 2006
Programs: UA, Starwood, Priority Club, Hertz, Starbucks Gold Card
Posts: 3,953
I haven’t flown UA out of PEK in several years, so I’m not sure if UA permits checking into a U.S.-bound flight more than 3 hours before departure even if the counter is open for the other flights. AA, for example, wouldn’t allow check-in for DFW and LAX during the check-in for the (now defunct) ORD flight. I once had to wait 2 hours in T3 to check-in for LAX (after arriving from Taiyuan on the HSR). Slitting my wrist would have been more pleasant.
Feb 2, 2019, 9:44 am
#18
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: DEN
Programs: UA Gold-MM, AA Gold-MM, F9-Silver, Hyatt Something, Marriott Gold, IHG Plat, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 6,393
To close the loop on this thread --
We ended up flying Air China from Xi'an to Beijing on the 11 AM flight. (Thanks for the suggestion moondog.) I had checked FlightAware, and the flight had been +/- 15 minutes of on-time for pretty much the past two months. And indeed it was. We had about 1.5 hours in the Air China lounge before our flight started boarding, which was just a nice amount of buffer.
So it all worked out quite well. Thanks everyone for your help and advice.
We ended up flying Air China from Xi'an to Beijing on the 11 AM flight. (Thanks for the suggestion moondog.) I had checked FlightAware, and the flight had been +/- 15 minutes of on-time for pretty much the past two months. And indeed it was. We had about 1.5 hours in the Air China lounge before our flight started boarding, which was just a nice amount of buffer.
So it all worked out quite well. Thanks everyone for your help and advice.
Feb 3, 2019, 8:35 am
#19
Join Date: Jan 2005
Programs: SQ, QF, UA, CO, DL
Posts: 2,893
To close the loop on this thread --
We ended up flying Air China from Xi'an to Beijing on the 11 AM flight. (Thanks for the suggestion moondog.) I had checked FlightAware, and the flight had been +/- 15 minutes of on-time for pretty much the past two months. And indeed it was. We had about 1.5 hours in the Air China lounge before our flight started boarding, which was just a nice amount of buffer.
So it all worked out quite well. Thanks everyone for your help and advice.
We ended up flying Air China from Xi'an to Beijing on the 11 AM flight. (Thanks for the suggestion moondog.) I had checked FlightAware, and the flight had been +/- 15 minutes of on-time for pretty much the past two months. And indeed it was. We had about 1.5 hours in the Air China lounge before our flight started boarding, which was just a nice amount of buffer.
So it all worked out quite well. Thanks everyone for your help and advice.