International-to-international Connection tips at SFO from SK935
Jan 10, 23, 12:09 am
#16
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: AGH
Posts: 5,876
My last couple of arrivals in SFO with both SK and LH have been veeeeery smooth sailing. Out of the jetbridge, down the corridor to immigration and (given I use GlobalEntry, but even the normal immigration queue was well managed, almost all booths open and moved quite fast) passed immigration in a few minutes. And to my own surprise, 4 out of 5 times the bags already arrived at the carousel.
But well, yeah… before GlobalEntry, I also spend HOURS at SFO to clear immigration.
Unpredictable…
But well, yeah… before GlobalEntry, I also spend HOURS at SFO to clear immigration.
Unpredictable…
Jan 10, 23, 12:24 am
#18
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Join Date: Jul 2011
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Originally Posted by SK2751
Is there a cabin bag-only border lane on arrival at SFO?
Jan 10, 23, 11:36 am
#20
Join Date: Oct 2011
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Odds of making it are very good. You are on a single ticket so if you misconnect they'll need to rebook you. I fly into SFO all the time with Euros without Global Entry and their immigration is about 20 minutes on average, you do not have to change terminals so you go straight to security after immigration which takes about 15 minutes to clear so you should be fine. There is a UA flight that leaves 3 hours after the NZ one if you don't make your connection.
If you leave CPH late, I'd start working on a rebooking right away.
If you leave CPH late, I'd start working on a rebooking right away.
Jan 10, 23, 2:22 pm
#22
Join Date: Sep 2005
Posts: 1,616
Originally Posted by jamesbrownontheroad
On a side note, I’d be super annoyed missing an NZ flight and getting rebooked on UA. The wine list alone would make me want to overnight in SFO just to continue with NZ.
Jan 11, 23, 3:42 am
#23
Join Date: Oct 2011
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Originally Posted by view
I would not mind, because Air New Zealand has a terribly outdated business class at the moment with zero privacy, the first generation herringbone seats that Virgin introduced some 25 years ago. Agreed UA wine and food is very sub-par, but the Polaris seat is pretty decent all around for sleeping and privacy. For this kind of trip I would stay up on the SK flight and go to sleep in the connecting flight to AKL, so I´d value seat and sleeping comfort more.
Jan 11, 23, 7:23 am
#24
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Originally Posted by SK2751
Too bad. I have seen used it somewhere lately (ORD?) and the border line for cabin luggage only was super short when arriving on a long haul 
.
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Jan 11, 23, 2:09 pm
#25
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: Stockholm
Programs: EuroBonus Diamond
Posts: 171
I have flown SK into SFO several times as a destination, most recently this past November as a connection, but nearly always with carry-on luggage only. I wouldn't hesitate to attempt the connection that you have booked under those circumstances, but one never knows how long the wait will be for collecting your luggage or for re-checking it at the NZ counter after clearing customs.
Originally Posted by futuramadramallama
As others have stated, this seems to be a legal connection, but you'll have to hope you land early and queues are short. 
You seem to understand you'll need to pass through C&I, recheck your bag, and go back through security. Helpful it's a single ticket and you expect to have all BPs. And how lucky it is that UA has a non-stop departing a few hours later, though hopefully it doesn't come to that (assuming SAS can even book you onto that if it comes to it).
My only addition is: can you somehow do cabin-luggage only? As we all probably know, even when everything is flowing smoothly, having hold luggage rather slows things down. There may be a wait for luggage to come out of the carousel, and there may be a long queue to check it back in. Much less when things aren't flowing smoothly. I could imagine a scenario where that process slows you down 10-20 minutes, and just enough to cause you to miss the flight.
If you absolutely need the hold luggage, that's fine, but if you can somehow make do with just cabin bags, that might assist in what seems like your primary goal of simply making the onwards flight.
You seem to understand you'll need to pass through C&I, recheck your bag, and go back through security. Helpful it's a single ticket and you expect to have all BPs. And how lucky it is that UA has a non-stop departing a few hours later, though hopefully it doesn't come to that (assuming SAS can even book you onto that if it comes to it).My only addition is: can you somehow do cabin-luggage only? As we all probably know, even when everything is flowing smoothly, having hold luggage rather slows things down. There may be a wait for luggage to come out of the carousel, and there may be a long queue to check it back in. Much less when things aren't flowing smoothly. I could imagine a scenario where that process slows you down 10-20 minutes, and just enough to cause you to miss the flight.
If you absolutely need the hold luggage, that's fine, but if you can somehow make do with just cabin bags, that might assist in what seems like your primary goal of simply making the onwards flight.
Jan 12, 23, 4:14 am
#26
Join Date: Oct 2011
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Posts: 2,466
Originally Posted by GUWonder
ORD's "one-stop" border control line for cabin-baggage-only pax/crew is history as far as I know. I haven't noticed it operating for any of my CPH-ORD flights since at least March 2020.
Jan 13, 23, 10:36 am
#27
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: SFO
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Posts: 1,234
Originally Posted by CPH-Flyer
But most airlines hand out express/short connection passes which does help. Be sure to ask for one of those as you exit the aircraft. And hope you are landing early.
Jan 13, 23, 9:35 pm
#28
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Originally Posted by GoSh4rks
I've never seen or heard of this being offered at SFO, but then again I'm usually on United.
Jan 18, 23, 7:31 pm
#29
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Koala Lemur
Programs: SK EBD LTG (*G)
Posts: 2,333
So our connection was quite terrible.
- Arriving on SK935 to SFO on Saturday evening, we landed in the longest immigration line I have ever seen in US. It extended way beyond the immigration hall. It did not help we arrived 10 minutes ahead of time.
- There was no provision, path, or any willingness from the staff to help short connections, neither from the airlines nor from the immigration hall folks. We had to cut an enormous line, which was very stressful; squeezing through a very crowded hall.
- There was no arrival hall bag drop for NZ. The connecting flights bag drop only accepted UA bags, despite a general sign "connecting flights", clearly misleading.
- There was no bag drop in the departure hall for NZ. The check-in counters have been already closed, despite about 10 persons connecting between SK935 and NZ7. In general, I found this miserable on behalf of NZ.
- After quite some stress, and a lot of running through terminals with bags, we took our hold luggage through security (luckily this worked) and delivered it ourselves to the aircraft, like in a developing country airport.
Last edited by SK2751; Jan 19, 23 at 10:33 am
