crnk

Based on my experience about a month ago, I'd say a lot depends on the time at which you arrive.
I arrived at 4am or so (an hour early from 5am scheduled) with a 4+ hr scheduled connection and I think I took a solid 3 hours to transit. The first 1.75 were waiting for the "24 hr" transit desk to open so I could get onward tickets printed (CA at IAH only printed the CA boarding pass and not the SQ ones). I probably spent a good 25 minutes at the transit desk as the first/only one being served for SQ (part of this my issue for checking x3 on a J/C ticket but not giving my *G for the proper bag allowance so I showed up as unpaid bags in PEK). From there, it was probably 30 minutes in the transit line, 20 more for security, and I was down to 2 hrs pre-departure.

cruisr

But, everything worked as it's supposed to. UA-CA connection. I was in BF on UA and I was first off the flight. The transfer desk was literally 10 feet away from where I exited the plane and there was no line at the transit immigration. Took about 10 min to go thru security again and I found myself time to go to the lounge.

If you do go to the lounge though leave plenty of time t get to your next gate. The airport is huge. I had to get a cart as I didn't realize how far it was.

presario1626

I just booked UA-CA international to domestic flight IAD-PEK-TAO in first class on both legs with 1:55 connection time in between. Do I have to reclaim the luggage in PEK? Or can UA check the bag all the way from IAD to TAO? Is 1:55 enough with MCT for international to domestic is 2 hours? Does UA provide any arrival service for first class passengers in PEK to help with the connection?

I searched other threads, but all discussions were on I-I, D-I transfer, not sure whether I-D is different.

artvandalay

The connection time should be okay, and domestic flights are usually late, especially in the late afternoon and evenings. As long as the PEK-TAO flight is via CA, your bags should check all the way.

warakorn

After you passed Chinese entry immigration, you will take a train to the main terminal.
Then you will enter the big baggage reclaim area. Do not pass the customs checkpoint. On the other side of the baggage reclaim area are domestic check in desk. Go there, they will direct you to the domestic departure floor.

RJNYC

Yes, 1:55 is enough time. And, the domestic leg will almost certainly be late.

sinoflyer

This is NOT correct. Even if UA at IAD had tagged the bag all the way to TAO, one must pick up their bag in PEK, clear customs, and then recheck in with CA. In essence, a UA bag tag to TAO will be meaningless.

In PEK, after arrival on UA, you will first clear immigration at T3-E, take the train to T3-Main, reclaim your luggage, and then follow the signs to the left to the domestic transfer area where, during the time UA flights arrive, you usually will find a crowd. After checking in and having the luggage retagged with a CA tag, you need to go through China domestic security screening process upstairs along with other domestic pax. After that, you will find yourself either in T3-C or take the train to T3-D.

moondog

You are correct wrt to iad-tao, but through checking of luggage (with an intra China segment) does happen. Examples:

Hij-dlc-pek
Dxb-ctu-pvg
Mnl-xmn-pek

sinoflyer

That's good info to know, thanks. Do you know why this is the case? Is it because the first port of entry is not PEK/PVG (or CAN too?)? Or is it because the final destination is PEK/PVG (or CAN too?)?

moondog

All of my listed examples are routes served via single flight numbers on PRC airlines, but you don't need to be booked on the same flight number for the domestic segment in order to dodge customs (I'm not trying to give you guys any nefarious ideas).

presario1626

Thanks a lot for the info. If I have to pick up my bags in PEK, will the 1:55 connection be enough? I was hoping not to take the later CA flight which is 6 hours wait.

sinoflyer

It's 5 minutes under the 120 minute MCT, so I think it will be close but still okay. I'd figure that it will be 20 minutes to get through immigration, 5-7 minutes on the train to the main hall, 10 minutes to reclaim luggage, 10 minutes to check in (there is a F counter; you might have to wade through the crowd to reach it), and 5-10 minutes to get through security. Should everything go smoothly as scheduled, that would give you about a 30 minute cushion which you can spend in the CA lounge, immediately on the second level as you enter T3-C. Hope you have a safe and good trip.

mh3265a

I've searched the thread and couldn't find much on actual transfer experiences in PEK. Need some guidance as I have an upcoming flight on Saturday from EWR-PEK and then transfer to Terminal 2 on VN to HAN.

I'm wondering if anyone has experienced having to transfer from UA to any other carriers who are in terminal 2. I saw a lot about terminal 3 to terminal 3 transfers but not terminal 3 to terminal 2.

1 - I assume that my baggage can be interlined from UA to VN so I suspect I won't have to collect the baggage and re-check it but, again, any experience with this aspect?

2 - I will try to do online check-in with VN before I head off but if I can't get a boarding pass will my printed itinerary be enough to get through immigrations and security re-check?

3 - I have exactly a 2 hour layover (assuming the UA flight is on-time) will that be enough? It's exactly the legal time permitted but just wondering about other experiences especially if I have to re-check my bag.

4 - It seems I need to take the transfer bus to terminal 2, any experiences with it?

Thanks. I've tried to avoid connecting in PEK for years but really have no choice this time. Appreciate folks input and experiences.

sincx

I'm not sure if baggage can be interlined UA to VN--I assume if it's on the same ticket, it could be.

And PEK has a flexible 72 hour transit visa on-arrival policy for many countries, including the US and most of the EU. You don't need a boarding pass--just a print out of your e-ticket or itinerary showing your connecting flight is enough to get through immigration.

Your biggest problem is going to be the 2 hour connection.

Terminal 2 is miles away from Terminal 3. The shuttle bus can take a good 20-30 minutes by itself. I wouldn't even do a domestic intra-China connection from PEK T3 to T2 in less than 3 hours, much less an international to international connection that involves clearing both inbound and outbound immigration as well as outbound security.

If you need to pick up and recheck your checked baggage, you will almost certainly miss your connection (or at least be unable to recheck your bags by the cutoff).

If you want to stick with this itinerary, pray that your UA flight arrives at least 30 minutes early. Preferably an hour.

PTahCha

A1 - if both flights are on the same itinerary, then UA will tag it to your final destination (HAN), and you won't need to reclaim the bag at PEK. If not (i.e., 2 separate tickets), UA recently changed their interline procedures, and will only interline on separate tickets if both flights are on *A airlines. However, it's up to the agent at check-in.

A2 - Yes. Always a good idea to have a printed itinerary anyways.

A3 - If you need to recheck your bag, it'll be a tight transfer, especially if the inbound flight is late.