Joerch

Hi everyone,

has anybody made the experience transiting at Chengdu airport from international to domestic flight, both 3U flight. Incoming is CPH-HEL-CTU and onward is CTU-PVG.

Will luggage be checked through? If I have to pick it up, do I have to line up at common check-in again, or will it be a separate transfer counter in the luggage halls? Will 2h30 be enough time?

Also, did anyone ever had experienced on international long haul 3U eco flights? Ben from OMAAT reviewed the 3U business not very pleasing, so what will eco look like. Domestic I made the experience, they are ok - similar to HO, SC, MF, ZH, but bit behind CA, CZ, HU or MU.

StopThisTrain

I'm flying 3U this Friday transferring at CTU, I'm wondering about the same thing. I usually ask the agent at Check-in, and then ask the flight attendants during the flight to double check, as they would be more familiar with the ground at CTU.

Joerch

Would be nice of you, if you could share experience.

Well, I had it with HU, where the information were inconsistent. Often you get luggage tags to your final destination, in my case for instance first PEK and then CAN, and the check-in agent relies on that, and says it is checked through. But then I still had to pick it up in PEK, go through customs, and check-in again. But also China has now transfer connections from INT to DOM, where you don't have to recheck-in luggage. I just don't seems to understand the logic behind it yet, where it works, and where it doesn't. A few years later it worked to CAN, but not to SHA. Not sure whether it is about final destination airport or connection time or whatever.

moondog

In theory (though often not in practice), you are required to go through customs at your final destination. This is not possible at SHA because your domestic flight arrived at the domestic terminal.

Joerch

I could go to T1 and say "Hi" to customs there. Actually I thought so already, it might be similar like in Turkey, where you have customs airports and non-customs airports. But then again, there is also no way for customs to check luggage for domestic or international arrival if they want to do spot checks on the domestic side, like they do in EU with the green strip and non-green strip luggage tags.

So in theory to add to your theory, the CPH-CTU-PVG should be possible to check through, since PVG has customs.

moondog

I've never tried this drill at PVG. I know that it works at CAN and PEK. But, even if it works at PVG, I'd much rather do customs at CTU in order to fly to SHA instead.

Joerch

For my itinerary 3U is not flying to SHA, except once day a stopover with a ARJ21 !!! So have to go through PVG.

Also, how should this practically work? There is no way from domestic luggage belt to the international customs area, at least I haven't seen anything...

uanj

All international flights into CTU land at T1 and there are connecting domestic flight check-in counters immediately to the right after you leave the secured Customs area. I have always had to pick up my luggage, go through Customs and re-check it but my domestic connections have always been on CA. I kind of doubt 3U will check your luggage through based on the large crowds of people with luggage I have seen at their re-check counters. When you first check in Europe I would think they will tell you if you have to clear Customs in Chengdu with your bags.

Next to the domestic re-check counters are escalators going up to departures. Only 3U has domestic flights out of T1, all other domestic flights are out of T2 which is a 1 km walk or shuttle bus ride away. But for you being on 3U it is simple, just go up to departures.

uanj

I've actually not heard of this. Are you saying that you can arrive into China on an international flight, take a domestic connection and then somehow get to the destination airport's international arrivals bag claim to get your bags?

moondog

This policy mostly applies to single flight numbers (e.g. CA 154 HIJ-DLC-PEK), but some connections also work.

Joerch

Here some connections where it works for HU ... link

and some information from CA ... link

uanj

Thanks for the link, that is interesting. It looks like HU will clear Customs at the first arrival airport in China on your behalf and then send on to the next airport. The wording is peculiar, in the majority of the cases they show the service is only on the outbound flights from China and not that many inbound. If it is written correctly. Personally, I like to travel with my checked luggage and doubt I would trust them!

StopThisTrain

When I flew MU 2 years ago YVR-PVG-PEK, I did not have to claim my baggage until I arrived PEK. Check-in at YVR gave me BP's for both legs. Upon arrival at PVC, I cleared immigration, then entered the domestic terminal with my BP from YVR without claiming any bags. My bags then promptly showed up on the conveyor belt at PEK after landing.

Phil Jacuzi

You will have to pick up your bags, go through immigration and customs, go to a different terminal and then recheck your bags for the domestic flight.

3u and CTU are both very behind the more international airlines and airports in China, let alone the rest of the world. It would appear that, in China, the through-check arrangement will depend on the agreement between the airline, the customs and the airport. The best case scenario, I flew MEL-PVG-PEK with MU and the airline lets you sign your luggage sticker to authorise MU to be a customs agent for you in PVG. The bags were thereby through checked. I doubt 3U and CTU would have this kind of arrangement.

uanj

OP is arriving and departing on 3U so this is not correct. He will stay in the same terminal. As I posted above in CTU when you leave Customs there are airline counters on the right where you can drop your bags off and collect boarding passes. I have done personally this with both 3U and CA and CA is in the other terminal. Saved me the trouble of dragging my luggage over.