njjim

Will be flying Continental flight to Peking, then 5 hrs until Egyptair flight to Bangkok. Airport website indicated that some flight transfers may involve passport control, luggage, reboarding, etc. Anyone flown this route or have any exp? Easy transfer or a nightmare requiring visa? Any info would be greatly appreciated - have made the EWR-HGK-BKK flight and it was no problem, but PEK?

moondog

you won't have any problems as long as you get a chinese visa (transit visa will do, but a real visa would kill 2 birds with one stone if you fancy visiting china in the future).

with 5 hours to kill, i suggest you leave the airport (if nothing else, head down to the lido to eat/shop; otherwise, check out a spa nearby). also, fyi there is a tg nonstop to bkk that leaves earlier (usually from the gate next to the co flight, in fact).

CkCrunch

I sort of have a similar question...

Is 2hrs enough at PEK? I am thinking about booking a CO flight from EWR to PEK connecting to a Dragonair/Cathay/Air China flight to HKG and I'm going to have checked luggage.

I'm a HK resident and I have the re-entry card-- would that allow me to get through immigration quicker?

Do you know if they allow you to check through luggage?

moondog

the hk-id might save you some time in line, but you will need to pick up your luggage. just out of curiosity, why not take the n/s or, alternatively, break your trip up in nrt instead?

yancantcook

I'm traveling from EWR>PEK via Continental and then a domestic Chinese airline from PEK>HRB.

I have 2 questions for the readers:

1) How long does it take to clear immigration/customs, etc generally?
2) Do I have to go get my luggage at baggage claim and go through security again to recheck the bags for the domestic airline?
3) What is the minimum amount of time people have connected to a domestic flight in China after an incoming international flight to PEK?

Thank you!

moondog

I can usually make it from the plane to the curb in under 20 minutes, but I'm a fast walker.

yes

First of all, I wouldn't dream of connecting in PEK (or anywhere in China, for that matter) when other options were available for comparable prices (in your case, I'd probably look into OZ via ICN) because it's unpleasent and schedules are hard to predict.

....but, that won't stop me from commenting:

-tpacs are usually on time
-it would take me no more than 45 minutes (worst case scenario) to to get from my seat on my incoming flight, buy a ticket for my next flight, and check-in
AND
-the domestic check-in cut off is 30 minutes

***I think I'd feel comfortable with a 90 minute connection***

Moving on to your specific case:

-Only CA and CZ fly to HRB from PEK. CA is an easier connection because it flies from the main terminal.
-It looks like the 340p CZ flight might end up being your best bet (that's 5 minutes shy of a 2 hour connection)
-the next flight after that is CA1611 at 420p.
-I would advise against buying your ticket in advance because doing so will lock you into one of the two airlines (i.e. your schedule flexibility would be cut in half)
-However, if you are risk averse enough to buy in advance, methinks you'd probably also appreciate the extra 40 minute cushion and the shorter walk that the CA flight entails

yancantcook

First of all, thanks for your help!

My mother will actually be the passenger for this flight. We have flown OZ via ICN to HRB before, but there is a 8 hour lay over in ICN and driving to JFK from Philadelphia is a big pain. That's why, we're considering the EWR>PEK>HRB route because Newark is much easier to get to for us.


Arrival>>>Domestic check-in:

Question: Are there porters there to help with transporting bags from international arrival to domestic check-in? My mother will not be able to transport two 70pound bags herself unfortunately. Also, how long is the walk from international arrival to domestic check-in?


Buying Domestic ticket
Question: Is it possible for my mother to goto the check-in counter and buy her ticket and check-in for the flight at the same time? Is payment only via RMB or can she pay with a US credit card?

If you can only pay with RMB at the airport, then I will probably just buy the domestic ticket for her on CZ or CA online since it will save her the hassle of converting currency.

Thank you!

moondog

There are porters, but there are also carts (you can keep the same cart you pick up in the baggage claim area and take it anywhere in the airport) and elevators.

I believe CZ is the only airline in Beijing that uses terminal 1 and it is only a 5-10 minute (indoor) walk from terminal 2.

Most domestic flights leave from terminal 2, 3-4 minutes from the international section.

You buy tickets at the airline ticket windows, not at the check-in counter. These are pretty easy to locate and do accept US credit cards.

FoxBravo

[Apologies for the double post--I realized after posting on "TravelBuzz" that this is probably better suited to the China-specific forum]

Hi Everyone,

Longtime reader, but this is my first post [ok, now my second--see above]. I'm planning a business trip to Shanghai in a couple of weeks, and am leaning towards taking CO's nonstop EWR-PEK, then connecting to a domestic flight to Hongqiao. I haven't been to PEK for years (before Terminal 2 was even built), so I was wondering if anyone has recent experience with international to domestic connections at PEK, and/or vice versa. Any tips or tricks, or should I try avoid this option altogether?

Also, one of the possible flights on the return from SHA to PEK is on China Southern, which is somewhat appealing to me because I can earn a few more NW miles and because I have heard generally good things about CZ. However, I know they use Terminal 1 at Beijing unlike CO and everyone else. How easy is it to get between the two terminals, and is there any shuttle bus or other way to stay airside and avoid leaving the terminal completely (or will I have to do this even at T2)?

For what it's worth, I speak some Mandarin--a bit rusty, but enough to read signs and ask for help if totally lost.

Thanks in advance for your help!

dtsm

Haven't been to BJ since new terminal completed (but will be flying over nexth month) - you might want to consider Continental's non-stop to HK, then making connection to Shanghai.

Not sure of flying times EWR/Bj vs EWR/HK....I believe to Shanghai it's about the same from either Bj or HK.

For domestic Beijing/Shanghai/Beijing route (if you do decide on this), check other threads for websites that sell domestic tickets at good prices, ctrip.com, etc. etc.

FoxBravo

I did consider going via HKG, but the flying time from NY is considerably longer, and more important, CO's flight (as well as CX's nonstop) arrives too late to make any connections to SHA.

mapu

Making international to domestic connections in PEK is easy these days. Once you arrive in PEK, make your way through immigration, claim your baggage and clear customs. Then you take the elevator to the departure level, make your way to terminal 1 and check in for your domestic connection. I do this all the time and you can easily make the connection in an hour if the line at immigration is not too long.

moondog

-CZ's flight leaves at 9a (not a practical connection from CO's EWR flight)
-all SH flights depart from T2 now
-it takes less than 10 mins to walk from T2 to T1

FoxBravo

Good point--will probably go with FM for PEK-SHA--but on the return, CZ's noon flight out of SHA makes a perfect connection.

Many thanks to you and mapu for the info!

andrewwm

Also, I hate to be the guy to harp on this, but I would really really make sure that your domestic tickets are on the same itin as your international segment.

Since flights from PEK<->SHA are delayed basically more often than not, and often for hours with no alternate flight options, you'd be really screwed if your SHA->PEK flight was delayed for whatever reason (which is a real possibility). It would still be probably a royal pain getting any kind of compensation from CO for spending an extra night in PEK but at least they'd owe you a seat on the flight out the next day. When flying out of China, I'd probably try to fly direct to the US and connect there if I were you...