Boddingtons

I'm flying on the QF81 Sydney to Adelaide domestic service which departs from the International terminal in Sydney.

What implications does this have, if any, for a non Australian passport holder?

Do we have to clear immigration in Sydney before departure, i.e, have our UK passports stamped?

Which terminal do we arrive in at Adelaide? Domestic or International?

Do we have to clear immigration/customs upon arrival in Adelaide?

Thanks in advance for your help.

SQ421

You won't "clear" immigration in Sydney. Your boarding bass will have a bright orange "D" sticker on it which denotes you as a Domestic Passenger. Serial Number of your ID (Passport / DL Number - Not sure if overseas DL are accepted) will be recorded on this sticker and the immigration officer will check this ID and stamp your boarding card with a "Departed" Stamp. No stamp on your passport as this is a domestic leg of an international flight and so you have not exited the country.

You will pass through the immigration counters in Sydney through the clearly marked D/Cabin Crew lane to the extreme right at outbout immigration in SYD T1.

You will arrive in International terminal at ADL.

Same process in reverse at ADL. Your boarding pass will be stamped and your ID verified. Must be the same ID you presented in SYD while checking in.

Cheers

NM

What SQ421 has stated applies if you are beginning your journey in Sydney. If you have arrived into SYD on an international flight and are connecting to QF81 to ADL, then you will be an international transit passenger at SYD International Terminal and will not clear immigration and customs until you arrive in ADL. In this case you don't get the orange D sticker.

serfty

If you are commencing this days travel in SYD, it's as posted by SQ421.

Note that you need to hang on to your BP until it gets collected as you exit the customs area in ADL.

Boddingtons

Thanks for the feedback everyone. For the record, we've got three days in Sydney before we take the domestic shuttle over to Adelaide.

In terms of baggage reclaim at ADL Int., will bags be scrutinised as if they were an international arrival or will we be filtered off through a 'domestic' lane?

serfty

You collect your bags from the same carousel as the other passengers. After collecting your bags; look for signs with the orange D indicating the exit for Domestic passengers (if any?) and head there.

I have not done this at ADL, but if there are no such signs, approach the normal exit with your BP out and the D sticker clearly visible. In most cases you will be directed straight out (sometimes they decide to x-ray your bags).

number_6

While you are not normally inspected by customs, you specifically authorize customs to inspect your bags on this domestic flight as part of the terms and conditions. So don't take this flight if your baggage happens to contain anything that you don't want customs to find. This includes items that are legal within Australia but illegal to import or export (they will be confiscated; an example would be any counterfeit products, such as a fake Rolex). The chance of an inspection as a D pax is low (well under 1%) but non-zero, and might grow exponentially if you fit a profile, including lots of expensive international flights with short stays at the destination. So it is not the same legally as a domestic flight, by any means.

Boddingtons

I'll sleep well tonight knowing that. I had 6 hours of torment at ADL customs/immigration two years ago on arrival from SIN. Not that I'd done anything wrong, but my frequent travel patterns and being in early 20's (21) made me 'fit the profile' . They were adamant that I was trafficing drugs but having arrived at 8am I was eventually released at 2.15pm. I remember telling one of the women that "I'd never taken a drug in my life" (and never will), to which she responded "Yeah, right"

I'm always worried I may get stopped again. That said, I've entered twice (Nov/Dec 06) since then without question, but it's still at the front of my mind even now, and I'm not due to arrive for another 13 days

Kiwi Flyer

As an international flight you will need your passport as ID even travelling as a domestic passenger (since other government issued ID is not accepted unless the government is Australia).

number_6

That is the downside of using the international flights for domestic sectors; you can be held for up to 24 hours and strip-searched even when you are a D pax (the concept is that you could be in cahoots with an international pax who slips you the contraband inflight). You give up a lot of rights when you choose to fly these D sectors (something most people do not realize).

icarius

without sounding bigotry or discriminatory, the advertising and openess of aussie culture and customs are not reflected in actual life. What you experienced is less than what asian customers experience. They treat asian customers worse with scorn and disrespect throwing any wild accusation such as money laundering, dishonesty and then try to degrade you and then use some kind of regulation to say that if you pay a certain amount, you are free to go with conditions.

Unlike other airlines, QF have some unreasonable charges such as fees if you miss your flight unintentionally, "GST fees if joining on aussie territory", change fees which are charged per transaction. You may try to argue your way out of those fees but they tend to listen to those arguments only from a certain group of people.

The "D" flights are usually avoided as unless you have a penchant for travelling on international QF aircraft, you actually lose time and in some circumstances forced to pay more.

thadocta

Someone has a chip on their shoulder.

Dave

NM

But you get to FLounge .

abcedaria

[QUOTE=icarius;9623546]

Unlike other airlines, QF have some unreasonable charges such as fees if you miss your flight unintentionally, "GST fees if joining on aussie territory", change fees which are charged per transaction. You may try to argue your way out of those fees but they tend to listen to those arguments only from a certain group of people.

QUOTE]

What unreasonable and unintentional? I mean if you die, thats not really go to be a concern. Just about every unintentional reason I would personally miss a flight is covered by my insurance. If you are flying on a cheap ticket, and due to poor planning dont leave enough time for the usual BS and emergencies, TS I say. If youre on a fully flexible, you call and change, sans fee. If something major happens, insurance normally covers it. As for the customs targetting certain racial groups....yes, it happens. Racial profiling is used the world over for customs violations and interceptions. It may not sound nice, and isn't a very PC concept, however it tends to be back up with statistical analysis. Some countries, some groups of people are "overrepresented" in the breaking of customs laws, and unfortunatley the people who do no harm have to suffer the consequences. I disagree with you saying it as a blanket statement that all asians are treated such.

As for the arguing of fees with QF and their only listening to certain groups, you're probably totally correct; that group being Platinums.

icarius

As this is a QF forum, i'm not sure if i can comment more than your second comment. While technically, platinums do receive fee waivers, the practicality is that between 2 people with same status and ticket and one having access to Qantas club, the distinction is obvious. Between 2 people of different nationalities(same fare class, ticket etc...), 1 receives preferential treatment at gate 1 to 13 at sydney terminal last week.

With regards to your comments on customs, if i may suggest, next time you arrive at any australian immigration, please observe carefully the makeup of travellers who are given further questioning and also observe the frequency at who gets treated friendlier and less intrusive at customs. I do agree that not all people who get the shorter end of the stick are asians but you cannot ignore the frequency and substance of the conversations. The cynical side of me cannot resist the impression this gives to overseas tourists, students who are increasingly becoming the top 5 income generators to the country. Is this the impression we want to give to visitors?


Yes, i certainly appreciate a moet and chandon with my organic eggs.
Its too bad Qantas is following SQ lounge access policy and restricting emeralds access only if they fly with qantas.