TTC192Rocket

I'm flying on BR 891 in August from TPE-HKG landing at 8:50 AM (initial itinerary).

I would like to book BR 892 departing at 9:50 AM back to TPE (separate itinerary booked on EVA's site).

Would this be the same plane (789), crew, etc.? I have done this before on airlines when I knew that there would be only their one plane at that airport. With the busy HKG-TPE route, I'm wondering if there are any potential issues with equipment swaps, delayed or missed flights, etc.

BR 891 is a reward booking through AC Aeroplan, and due to mileage limitations and other segments on my trip, it was better to fly into HKG.

garykung

Based on my research so far, yes - it is a turnaround plane.

YuropFlyer

Given the busy route, I'd probably NOT do it. Too high a chance a plane gets cancelled (not enough load, 2 planes combined into 1) and then your bookings mixed up.

Say, they cancel this rotation, and the TPE-HKG flight he is changed onto is one later (with the earlier one being already fully booked, thus not an option) while for the HKG-TPE segment, due to a connection in TPE (I assume? Cheaper to start in HKG for a longer trip Ex-TPE is the motivation I guess?) they will put him onto an earlier flight. And that would be all out of it. Of course he could then ask to be put onto an even earlier flight (or one day ahead?) but it depends how much in advance the communication will be in case something like this happens. I'd probably only do such connection if the HKG-TPE-XXX ticket wouldn't be THAT bad to throw it away in case something goes wrong.

Also, HKG, you'll have to pass through transfer security, and it might involve quite some walking/airport train ride, while 1hr is fine for that, it will be fairly tight if your gates involve some distance, some queues at security, etc. - definitely doable with a same-plane departure, but might become MIGHTY tight if the aircraft arrives a bit late (say, 40min late arrival, they want to make time up, quick cleaning, while baggage is already unloaded/loaded, I think this can be done in less than 20min before boarding is starting again - and 20min to get from your arrival gate to tranfer security and back is mighty tight. Sure, boarding will take some time as well, but even in 30min you'll have not much time for anything going wrong..)

TTC192Rocket

Thanks for the replies!

Yeah, the risk of a canceled flight, mis-connects and such has me reconsidering the immediate turnaround. Plus, I may want to visit HK itself.

Was thinking of booking a Hong Kong Airlines ticket the next day as it's cheaper, but who knows what will happen given their shaky financial situation?

BlackHappy

I've always wondered how these turnarounds work. Let's say it's not HKG with multiple flights, but something like PEK or SHA. My guess is I'll need to get separate tickets for BR716+715 because the connection is tight. Will TPE issue both boarding passes, so I just "transfer" when I'm in PEK? I assume I can do BR772+BR771 on the same ticket (because of a longer layover), so TSA should give me both boarding passes?

TTC192Rocket

I did a similar trip to this recently:

BKK-ZRH-PRG on LX

Then, took the same plane PRG-ZRH-FCO. The crew were surprised to see me occupy the same seat an hour earlier. The big difference is of course, due to the Schengen border-free rules, I didn't have to go through any secondary security screening (and same gate in PRG). By contrast, BR may have several planes in HKG that they can swap over or consolidate in a pinch.

I'm quite familiar with HKG as you head down the ramp, through transit security, and then back upstairs (not checking in any luggage). With respect to boarding passes, I'm guessing one can access them via the BR app?

With summer being typhoon season and all, I guess it is safer to just stay in HK a day or 2 to sight-see, then go back to Taipei.