Rome -65 min- Shanghai MCT??
 

Hi all,


In November, I will fly from Amsterdam and arrive in Rome (with KLM) at 19:10 gate 1. From there, I will continue to fly to Shanghai (with China Southern) Sched. departure time is 20:15 gate 3.


Booking is done on 1 ticket so I will not have to care about luggage, that's what KLM told me.


Now the company that arranged the tickets, wants to change my first flight to an 8 hours earlier one to ensure I will get my flight to Shanghai. But I'm not happy to wait 8 hours on the airport in Rome.


What about the first option with 65 min. connection, is that one easy to do or shouldn't I take that risk because it's to big :confused:


Opinions please.... thx

Where did you book the ticket? If it's all on one PNR on one ticket that respects MCT, you should have no problems. You say that the company wants to change your flight. Why just not say 'no'. What will they do?

According to EF, the MCT for Intl/Intl at FCO is 45 minutes so 65 should be more than enough time on one PNR.

You will have to clear immigration and possibly go through security again but that shouldn't be cause for concern.

If booked as 1 ticket, you will be fine. MCT at FCO is complied with and you are good to go. No need to change to the earlier and inconvenient flight.

Both KLM and China Eastern fly directly from Amsterdam to Shanghai - KLM up to twice a day.

Ask the company that booked your ticket to move you to a direct service; it is unnecessary to fly via Rome.

Your arrival/departure information above is wrong; you won't arrive on KLM at Gate 1, but in Terminal 1. You won't depart on China Southern from Gate 3, but from Terminal 3. Note also that China Southern does not fly directly to Shanghai from Rome (but China Eastern does, just as they fly directly there from Amsterdam) - if you really are flying with China Southern from Rome, that means you will be connecting again in either Guanghzhou or Wuhan. All the more reason to ask to be put on a direct service from AMS.

https://www.rometoolkit.com/Images/f...Q38zU4LflQ.jpg

irishguy28 you are right. I flew with Southern a while ago so I mixed it up with Eastern. This time, I will fly with Eastern from Rome to Shanghai.


I've told the company already that I don't want this change but they are afraid that I will not get the connection in time.


Everything booked on 1 ticket and because MCT is 45 minutes, I will keep it just like it is right now.


Thanks guys!

Just make sure you pack an extra set of clothing and your toiletries in your carry-on in case the bags don't make it.

What sort of company or travel agent is this? To me, it's suspicious that they want to give you such an inconvenient new schedule when there's no MCT violation and you have a single ticket. Was there a schedule change and, if so, what were the original connecting times? Also, how long ago was the ticket purchased?

I'd check fares and fare class availability for their new proposed itinerary compared to your current flights. I wonder whether this could be a case of an unethical travel agent somehow planning to rebook you onto cheaper flights and pocket the price difference.

travelagent is Supersaver. Old (confirmed) schedule was:

KL1607 from Amsterdam to Rome 16:55 - 19:10
MU788 from Rome to Shanghai 20:45 - 14:35

New proposed schedule is:

KL1601 from Amsterdam to Rome 9:55 - 12:10
MU788 from Rome to Shanghai 20:15 - 2:25

Ticket was purchased on the 9th of June this year.

I would suspect the travel agent made a fare miscalculation (to his/her disadvantage) on the initial booking and is trying to put you on a cheaper routing to make up for it.

Regarding your existing booking you´ll just be fine.

Having additional 20 mins above MCT is just fine.
Even the MCT itself has already some time (albeit just a tiny bit) reserve calculated in ...

Stick to the original booking.

Thanks for the clear answers everybody, really appreciated!