Akiestar

I recently booked myself a trip to Dubai for April next year, and I'm flying LAX-PVG-DXB on MU. On the outbound, the PVG-DXB leg stops in KMG (MU 755, rather than the non-stop MU 245).

I'm fully aware of how TWOV works in this situation, so that's not what this thread is about. Rather, I wonder how the airlines themselves facilitate passengers who are on domestic-international flights and are flying international (as opposed to domestic), since the last time I did this was in 2010, back when CZ was still operating PEK-XMN-MNL. This would be especially pertinent for those who are technically flying international-international.

I remember detailing this in a thread from nine years ago (for a trip report that I ultimately never wrote). At the time, passengers whose final destination was MNL were cleared for immigration at PEK, since the flight left from the (in)famous Gate 50 (specifically meant for domestic-international flights), and once the flight landed at XMN we were handed transit cards by CZ ground staff and redirected back to the gate. Bags were checked all the way through (in the case, I was flying AMS-PEK-MNL, so my bags were tagged all the way through at AMS), and I didn't need to pick up my bags at XMN nor did I need to check in again.

Since it's been a while since I've done this, and we've seen a flowering of domestic-international flights since then (off the top of my head are XMN-TAO-LAX on MF, PVG-XIY-PRG on MU and CTU-HGH-LAX on 3U), I wonder if the experience is still the same, or if it's changed radically. Will I need to pick up my bags in KMG, as if I flew a domestic flight? Will I need to check in again? How do the airlines facilitate passengers on international transit who are flying international-domestic-international? I look forward to hearing the wisdom of those who know more than me.

moondog

Your xmn experience is par for the course IME.

LAX-PVG on the front end shouldn't affect things too much, but you might need to enter China at PVG.

My least favourite implementation of these flights was at PEK pre T3 when CA used to make international pax wait in horrible bus station style gate areas for no sensible reason.

1kBill

I flew DXB-PVG with a stop in KMG on MU a few years ago and at KMG all pax deplaned and those continuing on to PVG were ushered through passport control. I am pretty sure we went through a security check and were then sent to a secure gate in the terminal to wait until we reboarded the same aircraft to PVG. We were not allowed into terminal areas during the wait (which was maybe another 30-45 minutes), then we took a bus to the aircraft. I am guessing this phase of the flight was treated as a domestic flight as other pax got on board.

Bags were checked all the way through to PVG. We arrived at PVG as if it was a domestic flight, but pax from DXB had to go to the international arrival section of bag reclaim and exit through customs. I don't recall any other document checks upon arrival at PVG.

moondog

Segregated baggage is a somewhat interesting subtopic here, though doesn't apply to the OP. At some airports, the international bags actually do get sent to a separate belt at international arrivals, but in most of my experiences, all bags came out together, and there are signs directing international pax to a customs screening area, which are mostly ignored. I think this is a case of business interests trumping border control. Lots of these one stop flights wouldn't be commercially viable if you tacked on an extra hour to do things "properly". E.g. sane people wouldn't book a 5 hour flight PEK-DLC, and CA could find other routes to better utilize the 737.

Akiestar

I don't mind doing so, to be fair -- I did it at PEK, where they gave me a day pass. But at the same time, that was before sterile transit, hence me asking if anything has changed since then, especially since that time, all the subsequent times I've transited through China internationally were straight international-international transfers.

That said, I can make a five-hour layover work at PVG: all I'll do is quickly run to 阿大葱油饼 and run back to the airport.

I haven't seen areas like these at PVG, thank goodness.