goodeats21

I had to make changes to my holiday travel plans, and now facing a 1.5 hour connection at PEK. Any tips or pitfalls to look out for?

Arrive LX Business Class 0515 hrs
Depart TG Business Class 0650 hours

I believe these are both Terminal 3, correct?

I am hoping to by carry-on only, unless I get stopped by LX for an overweight rollerboard.

Any insight into the process/flow I should expect would be appreciated.

**Disregard. I was able to make other arrangements to avoid PEK altogether. Thanks.

ThinBlueLineMSN

I am traveling SEA-PEK-CTU and returning CTU-PEK-ORD in April aboard Hainan. My understanding w/ HU is I need to recheck luggage on inbound flight to PEK-CTU, but not sure on return. Question is does checked luggage have to be rechecked on outbound via PEK? Part 2, is the signage and direction clear for connections? One forum I read say it's free for all, the next say it's a controlled chaos that's manageable. I have 4 hours layover inbound and 2 hours on the return. Any insight is greatly appreciated. Thank you!

moondog

A few thoughts:
-yes, you'll need to recheck luggage on the outbound, but no worries there because you have the 4 hour cushion
-on the return, I give you 90% odds of getting the luggage tagged all the way to ORD, but it's not the end of the world if you don't pull this off because T1 baggage handling is pretty efficient
-HU's setup in PEK is idiot proof; domestic flights operate in T1 (they have it all to themselves, and it's small), and international flights = T2
-T1 and T2 are connected via an indoor walkway (5-10 minutes)
-the 2 hour layover on the return seems a little tight to me because of the general delay situation at PEK compounded by potential weather issues (April is a strange weather month in Beijing...inversions and sand storms), BUT I'd still be comfortable rolling those dice

ThinBlueLineMSN

Thank you moondog, i'm feeling much better about this already. I rechecked my reservation and actually have 2 hours 45 minutes layover on the return, a little extra buffer. I tend to overthink new airports I haven't travelled thru, did the same with HKG in the fall. Hearing PEK is "idiot proof," well there leaves me hope after all. Much appreciated again!

jmsssaaannn

Oh no. I booked this exact flight (ORD->PEK->ICN) with the same tight layover between Terminal 3 and Terminal 2. I don't fly internationally very often at all and I did not even think about the possibility of not being able to connect. Is it completely impossible to make this connection unless PEK->ICN in Terminal 2 on KE is delayed? What is the worst that could happen should I miss the connection. It's on one ticket, AA should help me get to Seoul, no?

moondog

I would not book that connection myself, but you should be okay. Just focus on presenting yourself at ke check-in by t-60. Furthermore, AA should protect you.

jmsssaaannn

Thanks moondog. Looks like I'll be sprinting as soon as a land. Any tips on how to get to Terminal 2 the fastest possible?

GinFizz

By "same tight layover" do you mean 2hrs 45 minutes?

Can you tell us exactly what your flights are? I am assuming the ORD-PEK flight is on AA (as you mention T3 arrival and AA protection), but as far as I can see that flight arrives either around 19:25 or 20:20 depending on season - with the only remaining direct flight the same day to ICN on KE at 21:15. The default MCT for T3-T2 is 120 minutes - but with immigration and luggage collection that is already very tight.

JPDM

There is a shuttle bus between the 2 terminals. They are quite far apart and buses leave every 20 minutes or so.

moondog

The AEX is probably the fastest, but not if you just miss it (it runs at 10-15 minute intervals). Note: AEX only runs from T3 to T2, not the reverse.

JPDM

By AEX, Moondog means, the Airport Express.

YuropFlyer

I'd strongly advise AGAINST airport express for T3->T2 transfer.

The Terminal Bus is easy to spot, drives very frequently (at least as frequently as the airport express), is quite much less far to walk than taking the AEX, and you don't have to pay for it. (imho, T3->T2 is a "full fare" ticket at 25 RMB or so..) - plus, person asking might not even have RMB with them.. getting RMB, walking over the bridge to Parking/AEX, getting downstairs, buying a ticket, waiting for the train, driving over to T2 (like 7min faster or so than the bus..), having to get up again from basement in T2 etc. - I can assure you that will take longer in average than simply hopping in the free T3-T2-T1 transfer bus. Most probably you'll be in T2 before even boarding the AEX that way

JPDM

I think that you have you instructions mixed up. At T3, the Airport Express is at the same level as the arrivals. It is for the bus that you need to go downstairs.

moondog

This is a bit of a crapshoot.

-Both the bus and the train run at 10-15 minute intervals, though not at the exact same times
-I don't find either more/less convenient to walk to/from
-The train is definitely faster, but we're only talking about 5 minutes v 10 minutes
-Assuming the taxi queue is very short, I might be inclined to recommend that option

jmsssaaannn

No. The layover is 2 hours. ORD -> PEK on AA arrives at 19:25 (flight 187), and then PEK -> ICN on KE leaves at 21:25 (flight 854). I will only have a carry on so hopefully no luggage collection.