purchase transfer facilites for Changi?
Dec 10, 2017, 5:58 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2012
Programs: UA 1K, Hyatt GLOB
Posts: 42
purchase transfer facilites for Changi?
I am traveling tomorrow to BLR connecting in SIN but on two different airlines and separate tickets. This is the scenario:
1) UA ticket SFO-SIN
2) Jet ticket SIN-BLR
3) I have a checked bag. Since UA and Jet don't have an interairline agreement and I have separate tickets, I assume they would not be able to check the bag through to BLR.
I am trying to avoid going through immigration in SIN as I would rather check into the transit hotel airside, shower and sleep. According to the Changi website, if I had "purchased transfer facilities" I could go to a transfer counter and ask for my bag to be checked to BLR and never have to go outside of security. So the question is how to purchase those transfer facilities if the ticket(s) don't include them already. The only info I could find is
"To be able to transfer flights without clearing immigration, you would have to have purchased transfer facilities as part of your flights. Most connecting flights purchased together would already have transfer facilities included. Do check with your purchasing agent if you are unsure" per Changi web site http://www.changiairport.com/en/pass...e/transit.html.
Does anyone have any idea if/how I can attain my goal of getting the bag redirected in SIN without leaving the airside?
1) UA ticket SFO-SIN
2) Jet ticket SIN-BLR
3) I have a checked bag. Since UA and Jet don't have an interairline agreement and I have separate tickets, I assume they would not be able to check the bag through to BLR.
I am trying to avoid going through immigration in SIN as I would rather check into the transit hotel airside, shower and sleep. According to the Changi website, if I had "purchased transfer facilities" I could go to a transfer counter and ask for my bag to be checked to BLR and never have to go outside of security. So the question is how to purchase those transfer facilities if the ticket(s) don't include them already. The only info I could find is
"To be able to transfer flights without clearing immigration, you would have to have purchased transfer facilities as part of your flights. Most connecting flights purchased together would already have transfer facilities included. Do check with your purchasing agent if you are unsure" per Changi web site http://www.changiairport.com/en/pass...e/transit.html.
Does anyone have any idea if/how I can attain my goal of getting the bag redirected in SIN without leaving the airside?
Dec 11, 2017, 3:57 am
#2
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: sometimes SIN, sometimes JFK/LGA
Programs: UA 1K, 1.6MM bis
Posts: 767
I think you're okay. Note link below for what I wrote another poster regarding how to make use of the baggage transfer facility once you arrive at SIN (read full thread).
Transfer in Changi, 2 different airlines, immigration
The question is whether or not there will be Jet Airways staff at the transfer desk to facilitate the transfer. Having said that, I assume you are flying in on UA1 which arrives at 8am? If so you should be arriving at a time when there's someone at the transfer desk or arriving soon after as there are 9W flights at 11:15am and 12:05pm.
On the disclaimer from Changi Airport (the link you attached), I think (am not certain but feel some confidence making this claim) why they make this statement is because many Asian low cost carriers (eg Air Asia, Jetstar, Scoot etc) fly here. The LCC's typically require their customers to check in at the counter, thus passengers flying into Changi will have to go ground side in order to check in for their flight. It seems that 9W is full service so this shouldn't be an issue. Even if it is, many travelers transiting in SIN have flown in at a late hour to sleep at the Transit Hotel, then after a few hours retrieved their luggage to check in on groundside to a morning flight. (Use search to locate the thread that discusses this - it's in this Singapore forum.)
Please come back once you have made your flights and let us know what happened. The data points are useful for future travelers - TIA.
Transfer in Changi, 2 different airlines, immigration
The question is whether or not there will be Jet Airways staff at the transfer desk to facilitate the transfer. Having said that, I assume you are flying in on UA1 which arrives at 8am? If so you should be arriving at a time when there's someone at the transfer desk or arriving soon after as there are 9W flights at 11:15am and 12:05pm.
On the disclaimer from Changi Airport (the link you attached), I think (am not certain but feel some confidence making this claim) why they make this statement is because many Asian low cost carriers (eg Air Asia, Jetstar, Scoot etc) fly here. The LCC's typically require their customers to check in at the counter, thus passengers flying into Changi will have to go ground side in order to check in for their flight. It seems that 9W is full service so this shouldn't be an issue. Even if it is, many travelers transiting in SIN have flown in at a late hour to sleep at the Transit Hotel, then after a few hours retrieved their luggage to check in on groundside to a morning flight. (Use search to locate the thread that discusses this - it's in this Singapore forum.)
Please come back once you have made your flights and let us know what happened. The data points are useful for future travelers - TIA.
Dec 13, 2017, 9:46 pm
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2012
Programs: UA 1K, Hyatt GLOB
Posts: 42
In a word: SUCCESS!
Here's a more detailed report so others can replicate it.
UA checkin agents in San Diego managed to check the bag through to BLR, despite 3 separate tickets (SAN-SFO and SFO-SIN on UA and SIN-BLR on 9W). It took 2 agents and they had to do it through SHARES and to override the system manually a few times, but they managed. They even had the correct dates for the flights: Dec 11 for SAN-SFO and SFO-SIN and Dec 13 for SIN-BLR. It was essential of course that UA and 9W have an inter-airline agreement. The most amazing thing was that they managed to do all this and not split the reservation as we were two passengers on all these reservations.
When we arrived in SIN, we first went to the transfer counter (turns out we had to use Transfer B as they handle Jet Airways; any transfer counter should be able to tell you where to go) and they were able to issue our manual boarding passes. They looked at the bag tag and said it looked right, but it was too early to check if it really made it and suggested we came back a few hours before the flight to check about the bag (we had an 11 hour layover). They also told us that if we needed to check additional luggage (e.g. the carry-on allowance is much less generous on Jet than United) we need to go outside security to the checkin counter. We did come back about 2.5 hours before our Jet flight and the agent was able to call someone and check that our bag was waiting to be loaded onto the plane.
It turns out everything worked perfectly. We found the bag on the luggage belt in BLR and never had to leave the transit area in SIN. We even made it with our overweight carryons onto the Jet plane.
Here's a more detailed report so others can replicate it.
UA checkin agents in San Diego managed to check the bag through to BLR, despite 3 separate tickets (SAN-SFO and SFO-SIN on UA and SIN-BLR on 9W). It took 2 agents and they had to do it through SHARES and to override the system manually a few times, but they managed. They even had the correct dates for the flights: Dec 11 for SAN-SFO and SFO-SIN and Dec 13 for SIN-BLR. It was essential of course that UA and 9W have an inter-airline agreement. The most amazing thing was that they managed to do all this and not split the reservation as we were two passengers on all these reservations.
When we arrived in SIN, we first went to the transfer counter (turns out we had to use Transfer B as they handle Jet Airways; any transfer counter should be able to tell you where to go) and they were able to issue our manual boarding passes. They looked at the bag tag and said it looked right, but it was too early to check if it really made it and suggested we came back a few hours before the flight to check about the bag (we had an 11 hour layover). They also told us that if we needed to check additional luggage (e.g. the carry-on allowance is much less generous on Jet than United) we need to go outside security to the checkin counter. We did come back about 2.5 hours before our Jet flight and the agent was able to call someone and check that our bag was waiting to be loaded onto the plane.
It turns out everything worked perfectly. We found the bag on the luggage belt in BLR and never had to leave the transit area in SIN. We even made it with our overweight carryons onto the Jet plane.
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