thibaultFR

Hi all,
I hope you are all well.

I am flying out back to Paris in 15 days.
I will be flying VA to HKG and then connect with Etihad.
I never went to HKG airport
I am Etihad Gold (like VA gold)
I will have a luggage tagged priority

Here is my question :
My VA flight lands at 5.20 PM (VA69)

Do I have enough to catch EY833 that leaves at 7.45 PM or it’s not possible ?
I can also catch EY6290 (HX codeshare) that leaves at 10.45PM.
It would be on 2 different PNR.
I would like to think that VA could check me in for EY but apparently they would not do that as it's a different PNR ?

They are almost the same price but would obviously be in Europe as fast as possible.
The MCT for HKG between EY/VA seems to be 1hrs but I guess only if it’s the same PNR.

EY check in counters closes 1h before flight departure and 45 mns for premium passengers
I read online that it was possible to transfer directly and that the airport can grab the bag and check it again, however I am not sure at all ?

I have a French passport and heard that HKG was a fast airport so I would like your advices on it.
I would prefer to catch EY833 to arrive in Paris at 7am instead of 3pm.
Thanks all

christep

If your inbound arrives on time then you have 1h40 to get through immigration, get your bags and back round to check-in. That should be plenty. You've probably got about 30 minutes of leeway for a late arrival. The flight seems to arrive fairly well on time most days recently.

I'm not aware of any service that an airline provides (particularly between two airlines and PNRs) which would get your bags for you.

RichardInSF

I've transferred international to international at HKG, admittedly not recently, and I definitely remember that you didn't need to go through immigration to do that. You went straight to the transfer lounge, with at most, just having to pass security.

It can be a rather long walk if you have to transfer between the two ends of T1 in the direction opposite than the travelator goes, but you could probably get a ride if you ask in advance.

I'd say you can make the earlier connection it if your inbound flight is no more than 40 minutes late, provided you have only carry-on or the two airlines have a baggage interline agreement (which I don't know). If you have to claim your bags and re-check, then I wouldn't risk it.

thibaultFR

Hi all,

Just to update you about the situation :

I booked my direct flight on EY from HKG. I also called Virgin Australia and the customer representative has been able to link my VA and EY PNR together so my luggage should be checked-through. She told me that VA will be able to check me in directly from BNE all the way to Paris.

I have also been able to book my EY flights under the triple miles promo, so so far so good. I have found the Virgin Call centre very helpful and nice.

I will keep you updated about how it goes in two weeks!

beep88

There is air side transit desk, where they can transfer baggage from your incoming flight to your connecting flight, even on separate tickets/PNRs, for SOME itinerary / passenger where bags were not through-checked. In which case you bypass baggage claim and immigration.

How / Who qualifies for such service is not published. At Changi Airport (SIN), this service is published and works very well.

If baggage is through-checked at origin, of course no immigration or baggage claim at HKG.

thibaultFR

Thanks for your answer !
I have contacted VA and they told me that it should be fine but I am not sure at 100% to be honest.
She kept saying that it's up to the check in staff. VA can definitely check through luggages and passengers to EY as I had a single PNR last time on EY and the first leg was on Virgin.
I guess I will be able to see that at the check-in. If not, I might change my flight to get the codeshare one on Hong Kong Airlines.
I will monitor VA69 to see if the plane is on time and if not, I will definitely change my ticket as I can't risk to miss my connection.

thibaultFR

Hey all,

Just wanted to report about my experience with Virgin and Etihad.

The lady at the check in counter at Brisbane was more than happy to check through my luggage to EY at HKG despite having 2 PNR.
As soon as she checked through my luggage, the Virgin app showed my Etihad itinerary.
Haven't had to do a thing at Hong Kong but just check in at a transfer counter and head to the Hong Kong Airlines lounge.

My luggage was amongst the first to arrive at the baggage claim!

A great experience overall and the VA product from MEL to HKG is excellent in Y !
I will try next week to get EY to check through my luggage to BNE via VA in HKG

Marco Polo

https://www.etihad.com/en/about-us/our-partners/