2 hour layover in Beijing - enough?
 

Hi,

I'm flying from Amsterdam to Wuhan, but have a 2 hour layover in Beijing (PEK).

Is 2 hours enough? It's with the same airline and the ticket was bought in one go.

I believe I'll be landing at terminal 2 but departing from terminal 1.

Thanks for the help.

The MCT is 2 hours but on one ticket if you miss the next flight you will be rebooked.

I thought that, but I emailed the airline and asked about what would happen if I missed the connection (due to lines at immigration, delayed baggage, or whatever reason) and got this reply:

Hello,
Thanks for your email. But please be noted that if the first flight is normal and you will not catch the next flight,
You should pay fees for date changing. And we can offer you a night free accommodation in Beijing if these two flights are issued within one ticket .


Best Regards

And in another email from the airline, I was told the MCT is 90 minutes.

Which makes it sound like I would be responsible for paying for the next flight.

Sorry, 2 hours is standard for ID but 90mins for a CZ-CZ ID connection. I would ignore the email reply.

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Yeah, I trust you over the email.

What do you recommend? Take the flight or not?

I may have another option with Cathay Pacific but that's only got a 1 hour 30 layover in Hong Kong.

It is a valid connection and unless you can change the ticket for free then why would you book another one?

I haven't bought the ticket yet.

Thanks for all the help by the way, much appreciated.

I'd take either but a 90 minute connection in HKG is probably safer than 120 minutes at PEK. For the HKG transfer, no immigration (assuming single ticket), efficient transfer security, the airport generally is less prone to major delays.

If you need to be in Wuhan at a certain day/time, I would book the 90 min connection via HKG as it would be safer, but if being rebook on the next PEK-Wuhan flight does not ruin everything for you (but will still be inconvienient of course) I would book the flights via PEK.

You have a valid connection on one ticket so you should be fine if you miss the PEK-Wuhan flight - but of course if the AMS-PEK flight lands on time, you may have to explain why you missed the Wuhan flight given that MCT was complied with. Obviously, taking a break, "sightseing" or visiting lounges on the way to the gate will not be acceptable excuses.

I agree, the reply in the email is wrong; if you miss the flight due to reasons outside your own control, CZ will have to rebook you free of charge (and to pay for hotel and meals if overnight stay is needed).

Is there a reason you wouldn't want to fly CX instead of CA?

I believe AF serves Wuhan from CDG. If this is an option, I would go with it.

Connecting in Beijing, HK, and Shanghai is painful.

Connecting in HKG is more painful than connecting in CDG?

T2 to T1 is an easy indoor walk. 15-20 mins max. But delays seem to be a big problem in PEK.

-When your ultimate destination is Wuhan, definitely!

Domestic flights in China tend to accumulate delays during the day as aircraft spend more time at each point than the schedule allows for. If your ongoing flight is in the afternoon or evening, you'll probably have plenty of time for this reason.