fudgelie

I'm not sure if this is the most suitable place to post this, if not, please let me know and I will move it.

We (myself, partner and our 20 month old boy) are going to be in Japan for 2 weeks. We need to make our way to Ireland at the end of the trip. We can book KIX-HEL-DUB, or we can book ICN-HEL-DUB and book a separate flight on one of the Korean LCC's from KIX-ICN. We're booking via BA Avios, so ICN-HEL has much lower carrier surcharges than KIX-HEL. We can probably save ourselves about US$430 by flying via ICN and that saving is after we've deducted the cost of a separate KIX-ICN flight.

I'm all for paying extra for convience when travelling with an infant, however I'm thinking twice about this one. We'll be checking a bag, so we'll have to clear customs and immigration, collect the bag and re-check it (I'm pretty sure an LCC won't check our bag through to our final destination). Both flights would arrive and depart from T1 in ICN.

I'm wondering could my partner and our infant just follow the signs for connections when they arrive in ICN, then I would go and collect the bag solo and re-check it?

cmhsieh54

I'm a bit confused... wouldn't you have to all go through customs and immigration anyways, so that you could go to the check-in desk to get your boarding passes?

fudgelie

We would need to be able to check-in online for this to work so we would have our boarding passes. There's probably a 50/50 chance of being able to check-in online. Finnair have a flight from from KIX, so I was thinking that we could stop by there before taking our KIX-ICN flight to see if they can issue our boarding passes (in the event that we cannot check-in online). It's possible that the timings may not align though as the check-in desk may not be open before we leave KIX.

miamiflyer8

For $430 savings I’d simply book ex-KIX instead of going via ICN. How long is your layover? If anything goes wrong and you miss ICN-HEL you’ll be on the hook for new tickets as there’s no guarantee AY will rebook. If you do go with your ICN plan and you’re not able to OLCI, you can try to find a transfer desk at ICN to see if there’s somebody handling AY. This way, your partner and son can go via transit security while you exit via immigration to take care of the bag.

fudgelie

There are multiple KIX-ICN flights so we can ensure we have a comfortable layover time. To be honest, you're probably right, we should just pay the extra and go direct from KIX. If we were travelling without an infant, we would definetly take the savings and book from ICN, but I should probably just forget about the potential cost savings and focus on the more seamless experience we will have with our infant.

miamiflyer8

Sounds good.

One thing I thought of was that spend a night or two in Seoul if you have time, while it will wipe out the savings at least you're spending the money on something more useful than taxes and fees.

fudgelie

Yes that would be a great idea, however we spent 2 weeks in Korea last year and a good few nights in Seoul, plus we're already kind of tight on the number of days that we have to spend in Japan.

mikesaidyes

LCC absolutely won't check your bag through, correct. As you said, if the other two don't have any bags AND THEY HAVE THEIR BOARDING PASS - they can go on - and you can pass immigration, get bags, customs, go up to check in desk and drop it again and re-clear security. Of course, FINN AIR is a full-service carrier, and they should also have staff at the transit desk at ICN to print your boarding pass as well - ask them to double check.

ElaineWChatman

Understood! If you've already explored Seoul and you're looking to make the most of your time in Japan without additional stops, then sticking to your direct flight plan from Kansai International Airport (KIX) to Dublin (DUB) makes perfect sense.