minhaoxue

Yes. Since you are on one ticket and also the benefit of flying with *A, they should check your luggage all the way through. Upon landing in PEK, you will need to clear Immigration and per the website, your luggage will transferred. Kind of confusing whether CA will do it automatically or do you do a drop off.

http://www.airchina.us/en/baggage_beijing.html

jiejie

Won't be automatic. He'll have to pick up at PEK Bag Claim and go through Customs, then either recheck at bag drop for CA domestic (if still exists and bag is tagged to SZX) or recheck upstairs at Domestic Departures. Similar concept to what happens when arriving from intl flight at a USA gateway that is not one's final destination.

jiejie

Definitely you can and it's the way I would do this. At check-in at SYX, just make sure you tell them to tag only to PEK where you will pick bags up and recheck separately to USA next day. They may default to doing this anyway since it's an overnight stop.

moondog

Not if you're already at the airport... the train station is almost an hour away.

ETA: I just realized that you were talking about flying to SH and then taking a train. If you go to SHA, this is not a horrible idea because the train station is attached to T2, but it's still sub optimal. PVG is just as far from SHA as PEK is from Beijing South. You don't want to do either.

minhaoxue

Yes, that is what I figured. It would be unfortunate if the paxs needs to go to the departure level just to drop off the luggage. The website I provided seems to suggest CA will take the luggage shortly after clearing Customs.

Weatherboy

So are you saying the Air China site is wrong and that they don't automatically transfer international to domestic bags on their metal?

drewguy

I think jiejie is discussing the general case. That said, it's not absolutely clear that a passenger connecting to a CA flight in the US would have this service, although it seems unlikely that CA would distinguish between bags that were checked at LAX vs. checked elsewhere through LAX.

jiejie

I'm saying that you are going to be touching your luggage in PEK. If you are entering China at PEK, that is where you will go through Immigration and Customs even if your final domestic China destination is elsewhere. This means pick up your bags at PEK Baggage Claim and walk through Customs....usually this is no big deal for obvious foreigners and you just walk past officers to the exit. Sometimes Customs will randomly designate people to bring their stuff to the xray machines and/or inspection tables for a look-see....but usually about 95%+ of foreigners aren't bothered. This is not under CA discretion but Chinese government policy. The USA is no different: If I was flying PEK-SFO-DEN, I'd have to go through US Immigration in SFO, then pick up my bags and go through Customs there as well. If my bags were tagged all the way to DEN, I could put them through the bag transfer area after SFO Customs. Otherwise; I'd have to go to my SFO-DEN airline check-in desk.

Therefore, the only question is whether CA will have operational when you pass by, the transfer baggage area after Customs where you can put your SZX-bound bags (if tagged that way), or if you will have to go back upstairs to departure level to CA desk to recheck the stuff.

Regardless, you will arrive in SZX as a domestic passenger and thus no Immigration or Customs there--just pick up bags at domestic Bag Claim area and head for the exit.

moondog

In his case, yes. However, on single flight number routes like FRA-PEK-SHE, Shenyang pax clear border control in PEK, but don't have to see their bags until they arrive in SHE.

pthom

Hello all,
Travelling from EWR-BKK in late Nov. (United award tkt, First class).

Details are as follows-

EWR-ORD on United
ORD- PEK on United (getting in at 3:40 pm)
PEK-BKK on Thai (departing 5:05 pm)

Connecting time in PEK is only 1 hour and 25 min. United reservations agent told me minimum is 1:30 minutes.

Am I cutting it too close? We will have checked in baggage. (US citizens, if it matters)

Any advice will be appreciated. Thanks.

drewguy

Bags should be able to be checked through. You'll go through transit lane, which can be shorter, and Thai should be in same area of terminal so there's not a lot of walking to do. I think you'll be okay if your flight is on time, but if you're late it could be tight.

pthom

Thanks for info. Looking for an alternate flight, but at this stage in the game, not going to be easy. Original itinerary with better connections was in biz, but need to change date. Will pay fee, cough up extra miles for upgrade to first, and probably have to stick with this itinerary - don't want to scrap plans altogether !

MSPeconomist

I would disagree here. OP proposes an itinerary with 85 minutes to connect at PEK, an airport that he/she apparently doesn't even know well. MCT is 90 minutes. Obviously 85 < 90.

I would be very surprised if UA will ticket this on one ticket or one itinerary. It's "illegal." Two tickets/PNRs would be even more risky and cost more miles.

Moreover, if OP does get this ticket, check in could be refused at the airport. Or at the airport, UA will refuse to accept checked bags. If OP gets to PEK and misses an illegal connection, UA and TG might well refuse to help. If bag doesn't make the connection, TG could refuse to deliver it to OP's hotel or to give compensation for a lost bag. Etc.

pthom

Wow, will have to call United and ask some more questions. Tickets are on hold since I am in the middle of transferring miles to the accounts. The last agent I spoke to did say it should be okay, they would take care of me at no cost if United was delayed, etc etc but would like something more concrete. And yes, first visit to PEK.

Any other suggestions would be very welcome.

tentseller

IME many phone agents does not know anything about the airport their airlines flies into and out of, especially overseas.