Xiamen Air seat selection?

Old Apr 5, 2019, 9:06 pm
  #31  
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Originally Posted by moondog
Since you have that 2.5 hour drive, I suggest you call them about this (I know it requires a bit of patience to simply get through). In my experience, same day service is available to everyone about half the time, and in urgent cases like yours, 75% of the time, as long as you show up in the morning with all of your ducks in order. Odds are lower on Mondays and Fridays.
Yea, I'm going to try and give them a call on Monday. One of the guys get his passport delivered then. Talk about close timing. I'm going to get everyone's docs and applications in order and I'm going to head out Tuesday morning and try to be one of the first ones. They mentioned on their website that, it needs to be processed by 1200pm if we want same day service. This was a lesson to be learned.
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Old Apr 5, 2019, 9:13 pm
  #32  
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Originally Posted by ehuang03
Yea, I'm going to try and give them a call on Monday. One of the guys get his passport delivered then. Talk about close timing. I'm going to get everyone's docs and applications in order and I'm going to head out Tuesday morning and try to be one of the first ones. They mentioned on their website that, it needs to be processed by 1200pm if we want same day service. This was a lesson to be learned.
This requirement is 100% certain, but when they are busy, they might not offer same day service at all. As such, I strongly suggest the phone call (which, you are already planning on); be patient about this; it's not easy to reach an actual person via phone, but it is definitely possible.
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Old Apr 7, 2019, 2:06 am
  #33  
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Originally Posted by moondog
This requirement is 100% certain, but when they are busy, they might not offer same day service at all. As such, I strongly suggest the phone call (which, you are already planning on); be patient about this; it's not easy to reach an actual person via phone, but it is definitely possible.
I hope the odds are in my favor. I'm planning on getting there around 7am and be one of the first ones at 9am, if not the first when the doors open. Worst case, i hope they could get it done the next day. It'll just suck for me. I'd stay overnight, get home to pick up my bags and then another 4.5 hours to lax.

Do you happen to know if the same day rush service fee is added on top of the express service, or is it one or the other? It doesn't really say on their website. I have express serviced checked on the application. The website just mentions an additional fee.

​​​http://www.chinaconsulatesf.org/eng/...qz/t751633.htm
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Old Apr 7, 2019, 2:51 am
  #34  
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Originally Posted by ehuang03
I hope the odds are in my favor. I'm planning on getting there around 7am and be one of the first ones at 9am, if not the first when the doors open. Worst case, i hope they could get it done the next day. It'll just suck for me. I'd stay overnight, get home to pick up my bags and then another 4.5 hours to lax.

Do you happen to know if the same day rush service fee is added on top of the express service, or is it one or the other? It doesn't really say on their website. I have express serviced checked on the application. The website just mentions an additional fee.

​​​Visa for China (mainland only)
1. Call them the previous day, and explain your situation
-be forewarned that the phone call drill can be really annoying, but since you have that 2.5 hour drive, it's worth it
-no matter how rude they are to you, be polite because your fate is in their hands

2. 7a seems excessively early to me; whenever I've done the same day drill (always in DC), I've shown up at 855a, picked up a number, and hung out at Starbucks for ~30 minutes

3. The rush charge is only around $25 IIRC, and this is obviously a good deal for you (living 2.5 hours away)
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Old Apr 7, 2019, 3:39 pm
  #35  
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Originally Posted by moondog
1. Call them the previous day, and explain your situation
-be forewarned that the phone call drill can be really annoying, but since you have that 2.5 hour drive, it's worth it
-no matter how rude they are to you, be polite because your fate is in their hands

2. 7a seems excessively early to me; whenever I've done the same day drill (always in DC), I've shown up at 855a, picked up a number, and hung out at Starbucks for ~30 minutes

3. The rush charge is only around $25 IIRC, and this is obviously a good deal for you (living 2.5 hours away)
I'm assuming 7am because I'm thinking it might be busy and people are already waiting in line early. The earlier I get in, the more leeway I get. 7am is super early though. Dreading the thought of it. How long does it usually take to submit an application? I'm doing four in total.

Yep, $25 for the express and $37 for the same day rush. So I'm thinking it's $140 + $37 for $177, and not $140 + $25 + $37 for $202.

My buddy's major family member's last name is super long. Could we just put "see attachment" on the application? I know it says we could put it on another sheet, I'm unsure of what to put on the application if we do that. It seems like they're super picky, so I want to make sure we have everything covered.

Sorry for all these questions. I really appreciate you taking the time to answer them. It helps put me at ease also. I'll still be a little timid, until I have all the visas in my hand.
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Old Apr 7, 2019, 4:51 pm
  #36  
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Originally Posted by ehuang03
I'm assuming 7am because I'm thinking it might be busy and people are already waiting in line early. The earlier I get in, the more leeway I get. 7am is super early though. Dreading the thought of it. How long does it usually take to submit an application? I'm doing four in total.

Yep, $25 for the express and $37 for the same day rush. So I'm thinking it's $140 + $37 for $177, and not $140 + $25 + $37 for $202.

My buddy's major family member's last name is super long. Could we just put "see attachment" on the application? I know it says we could put it on another sheet, I'm unsure of what to put on the application if we do that. It seems like they're super picky, so I want to make sure we have everything covered.

Sorry for all these questions. I really appreciate you taking the time to answer them. It helps put me at ease also. I'll still be a little timid, until I have all the visas in my hand.
1. The phone call drill sucks, but is really important in your case
-tell them about your situation, request same day service, and ask them when you need to show up

2. I believe $177 will be the total price, but even if it was $202, that's still worth it
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Old Apr 8, 2019, 10:28 am
  #37  
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Originally Posted by moondog
1. The phone call drill sucks, but is really important in your case
-tell them about your situation, request same day service, and ask them when you need to show up

2. I believe $177 will be the total price, but even if it was $202, that's still worth it
I've been trying to call the last 30 minutes, and it seems like they're not connecting calls to their Visa office. Once I click 1 for visa, it just says wrong selection. I'll try again later and see how that goes.They only take walk ins and don't require any appointments, so either way, I'm going to have to make the trip there tomorrow morning. Will report back tomorrow afternoon, with good news hopefully.

PS - I usually only browse the mile and points portion of this forum. I just ran into the Destination/China forum on here. Good info there. I should of posted there asking about the itinerary and visas. I wish I would of seen it earlier.
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Old Apr 8, 2019, 10:33 am
  #38  
 
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In your defence, it's really not immediately obvious that you need to enter the country to fly between TAO and XMN as you might assume you can stay on the plane during a technical stop. But that is not how things work in China. But the key thing is that you did manage to find out, just in time, and hopefully you can sort your Visa out today. Good luck!
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Old Apr 9, 2019, 3:27 pm
  #39  
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Well, I got to sf around 7am and I was around number 12 or so in line. By around 8am, the line was already going around the corner. Luckily I got there early. Yesterday while getting everything ready, I, re-read the requirements and noticed that they wanted a different sized photo for their visa. I called everywhere but no one here does the Chinese visa photo. I just stuck with the regular 2x2 for everyone. I was so worried after reading about them getting rejected, when they went to turn in their application because of the photo. Luckily the officer accepted it. It seems like she barely even looked at the photo. They seemed more focus on the details and making sure the apps were filled out correctly. I also noticed everyone around me with a 2x2 also.

I asked for the same day processing, but was told that they didn't have it. So I have to go back up there tomorrow to pick it up. It sucks, but I'm happy everything went so smooth and fast. The suggestion that I should book a hotel and take the confirmation with me was brilliant. I think I would of had issues if I just put Xiamen Transit Hotel.

I appreciate all the help and suggestions on here from everyone!

Last edited by s0ju; Apr 9, 2019 at 5:56 pm Reason: Spelling
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Old Apr 9, 2019, 3:47 pm
  #40  
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Thanks for the update! Peace of mind you now have a visa
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Old Apr 9, 2019, 7:04 pm
  #41  
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Originally Posted by plunet
In your defence, it's really not immediately obvious that you need to enter the country to fly between TAO and XMN as you might assume you can stay on the plane during a technical stop. But that is not how things work in China. But the key thing is that you did manage to find out, just in time, and hopefully you can sort your Visa out today. Good luck!
There is nothing "technical" about the TAO stop; TAO-XMN is a domestic flight.
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Old Apr 10, 2019, 2:21 pm
  #42  
 
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Originally Posted by moondog
There is nothing "technical" about the TAO stop; TAO-XMN is a domestic flight.
I completely agree. But that is what ends up being stated by some websites when showing these itineraries.

At least the OP seems to be on the right road now to getting his visa.
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Old Apr 10, 2019, 10:52 pm
  #43  
 
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Hi, can anyone confirm that I will be able to select seats when checking in online for a NUE-AMS (KLM) and AMS-XMN (MF) route? More specificially, will I be able to check-in online for NUE-AMS and during that OLCI be able to select seats for AMS-XMN? I was finding contradictory information here and on tripadvisor. Thanks.
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Old Apr 11, 2019, 8:52 pm
  #44  
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Originally Posted by endet
I have no idea how someone like you can be a Flyertalk representative aka Evangelist. It is beyond my comprehension.
You are not replying to questions ask and you are spreading wrong information.

But maybe you want to convince Xiamenair that you are right and that they are wrong?

As per the below link only travellers from 53 countries can transit without a visa. And it is also not in every airport but in a few selected ones (Xiamen being one of them).

https://www.xiamenair.com/en-us/pass...e/ground8.html
Sorry, Moondog is right on this one. What you listed there is only the 72 hour/144 hour policy that covers certain cities/regions.

But China has always offered visa free transit to almost all nationalities (except handful of countries like Syria, Afghanistan, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Pakistan), with allowance for multiple transit stops within China if their total time spent in China is less than 24 hours. See below for official sources in Chinese, including the government run Visa Center.

https://www.visaforchina.org/TYO_ZH/...q/280735.shtml
http://www.mps.gov.cn/n2254996/n2254...6/content.html

"外国人持联程且已定妥联程座位的机票,在24小时内乘坐民航飞机过境中国2个以上城市,可以免办过境签证 ,但须向出入境边防检查机关申请办理临时入境许可。"
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Old Apr 12, 2019, 11:10 am
  #45  
 
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So did the OP get to ICN, get the visa, and were the seat reservations ok?
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