mikalee

I am travelling on QF168 CNS-BNE and transferring onto QF51 BNE-SIN.

I want to exit the airside area in BNE. Last time I did these exact segments I was unable to check my luggage through CNS-BNE-SIN and get the "D" sticker on my boarding pass due to regulations (presumably immigration). This is understandable. So I had to checkin at CNS as a DOM pax pick up my luggage and recheck in BNE as an INT pax.

To get around this if I simply checkin for both sectors in CNS and obviously have my luggage tagged through, does anyone think I will have a problem passing through immigration to the landside area. I obviously will have exited the country in CNS, re-enter in BNE (fill out the form) and exit again in BNE (fill out the form) to go to SIN. I know this may raise questions from immigration but I presume I have the legal right being an Australian passport holder.

Has anyone had any experience with this? or offer any suggestions.

NM

I don't know how the immigration agents will view this, but I would like to know what you write in the box that asks in which country you spent most time while away from Australia.

I don't see why they would want to stop you doing it, but the "system" may not allow for it. Might be best to ask Qantas as I am sure someone has wanted to do this in the past.

QF WP

mikalee, you won't be required to complete any documentation on the QF168 CNS/BNE sector as you are travelling Domestic. You don't leave Australia flying CNS/BNE (although those North Qld successionists would probably disagree).

I agree that you can't check your bags through to SIN - you'll have to pick them up after Immigration and exit under the "D" sticker, then walk upstairs and check-in. I think they'll be able to tag them through to SIN, but they'll make sure you are aware you have to pick them up in BNE and take them upstairs.

Makes sense to do this all with Intl flights, rather than the painful transfer Dom to Intl in BNE.

Guy Betsy

Are you guys sure that you can't check your bags through to Singapore????

Doesn't BNE have 2 terminals anyway??? As far as I'm concerned, baggage may be through checked without you having to lug your bags here and there.

Dave Noble

"Are you guys sure that you can't check your bags through to Singapore????"

You can check the baggage through quite happily. Also, if he was travelling on a domestic flight from CNS to BNE the question wouldn't arise.

Since the departure out of CNS is on an international flight (albeit a domestic sector), if they check him through to SIN, they will classify him as an international passenger for the CNS-BNE sector which will may cause problems going groundside. If they only check him through to BNE he will have a big D sticker on the BP and will stroll easily through immigration with no issues on the return to airside.

The ideal situation would perhaps be if they can tag the bags through to SIN but only check him in as far as BNE

"Doesn't BNE have 2 terminals anyway??? "

It does but the arriving flight and the departing flight both go from the International termina

"As far as I'm concerned, baggage may be through checked without you having to lug your bags here and there."

They can. I can see how there could be an issue trying to go groundside at BNE if checked through.

Dave

Globaliser

I doubt that the fact that the bags are through-checked will cause any problems. I've escaped from the airport at SYD when doing an international-international connection, without saying anything to QF. (Previous experience suggested that they'd get huffy if they knew because of airport tax considerations.) I quietly took an arrivals card from the cabin crew, left the inbound aircraft and went through immigration and customs with just my cabin baggage. Later, after a very nice dinner, I came back to the airport, picked up a departures card at a check-in desk and went back through immigration. Nobody said anything or challenged me about what I was doing.

mikalee

Gloabiliser that is the answer I want to hear.

I hope in the worst case it will raise suspicions of immigrations and in the best case I will have an experience such as yours. When you previously did this was this since the passports were scanned or was it back in the old stamping days?

I don't want to muck about getting luggage and rechecking as to do all that I might as well come down to BNE on the purely domestic flight that leaves CNS 15 minutes later and have QF do it all for me.

Now before you all think I am crazy, the reason I want to use QF168 is that to upgrade to U is usually easily done on this sector and I get a dreamtime rather than a domestic J seat. Domestic J is becoming scarce on sectors ex CNS let alone U seats on the aircraft.

Globaliser

It was April this year, not long ago at all!