Will I make this connecting flight at Hong Kong International Airport? [Archive]

Blake S

September 17th, 2003, 05:24 AM

"Jim Louis" > wrote in message
m...
> Planning a trip to Asia. Will this work: Arriving on Cathay CX 829
> to Hong Kong at 8:00AM and need to make a connecting Cathay flight CX
> 717 for Singapore leaving at 8:55AM. I'll be arriving in Hong Kong
> from Toronto. I've never flown to Hong Kong before, so I don't know
> if 55 minutes will be enough to catch my connecting flight to
> Singapore.
>
> Do I have to worry about customs, distance between terminals or
> checking in?
>
> Many thanks,
> Jim

I wouldn't try it if I were you, especially if you're buying 2 separate
tickets. Cathay uses gates all over this huge airport and there's no way to
know far in advance which gate the Cathay flight will use. Also, you still
have to transfer upstairs and sometimes wait in a line to do so.

I did something similar last year and Cathay was about an hour late. I
missed my UA connection and Cathay treated me like sh*t. First, they made
me wait almost 6 hours for another CX flight, when they could've booked me
on a number of other carriers. Then, they exchanged my business class UA
ticket and gave me an economy seat on an 11 hour flight to YVR. They told
me to get a refund from UA after I got back. Then, they didn't want to let
me use their business class lounge during the layover, since, after all
Cathay had already downgraded me to economy class. I did get some recourse
later on but not enough to get that bad taste of terrible Cathay service out
of my system.

Dick Locke

September 17th, 2003, 06:24 AM

On Wed, 17 Sep 2003 04:24:57 GMT, "Blake S"
> wrote:

> Also, you still
>have to transfer upstairs and sometimes wait in a line to do so.

I assume this is the same security rescreening between floors that
they used to have at Kai Tak.. for the OP, no customs, no immigration
when just transiting an airport between international flights almost
anywhere except in the US. I'd be surprised if you couldn't do it in
an hour. It's online, and assuming it's on one ticket, CX sold it and
thinks it's OK.

Dick Locke

September 17th, 2003, 06:24 AM

On Wed, 17 Sep 2003 04:24:57 GMT, "Blake S"
> wrote:

> Also, you still
>have to transfer upstairs and sometimes wait in a line to do so.

Miguel Cruz

September 17th, 2003, 07:11 AM

Jim Louis > wrote:
> Planning a trip to Asia. Will this work: Arriving on Cathay CX 829
> to Hong Kong at 8:00AM and need to make a connecting Cathay flight CX
> 717 for Singapore leaving at 8:55AM. I'll be arriving in Hong Kong
> from Toronto. I've never flown to Hong Kong before, so I don't know
> if 55 minutes will be enough to catch my connecting flight to
> Singapore.

It's one ticket, and they sold it to you that way? I'd guess it's fine. It's
a pretty efficient airport.

miguel
--
Hit The Road! Photos and tales from around the world: http://travel.u.nu
Site remodeled 10-Sept-2003: Hundreds of new photos, easier navigation.

September 17th, 2003, 08:33 AM

"Jim Louis" > wrote in message
m...
> Planning a trip to Asia. Will this work: Arriving on Cathay CX 829
> to Hong Kong at 8:00AM and need to make a connecting Cathay flight CX
> 717 for Singapore leaving at 8:55AM. I'll be arriving in Hong Kong
> from Toronto. I've never flown to Hong Kong before, so I don't know
> if 55 minutes will be enough to catch my connecting flight to
> Singapore.
>
> Do I have to worry about customs, distance between terminals or
> checking in?
>
> Many thanks,
> Jim

Hong Kong is a very efficient (usually hassle-free) airport. On one
occasion I was booked on the 21:35 Qantas flight to Sydney. My late running
China Southern flight arrived at 21:20. I had not checked in for my 21:35
Qantas flight to Sydney because through check-in to Qantas flights ex-HKG is
not available in China. However, Qantas knew I was coming because I had
checked my luggage through to Sydney and this information had obviously been
relayed to Qantas by China Southern's computer system. A Qantas person was
waiting for me at the arrivals gate and checked my ticket, and relayed the
info to the staff at the gate, as we ran to the departure gate. I just made
the flight. My luggage didn't make it (the ground staff at HKG had told me
it wouldn't make it), but was delivered to my office in Sydney a few hours
after I arrived (it must have come on the later Cathay flight).

Of course, you can't always rely on that level of service, but Hong Kong is
an efficient airport and I have always found the ground staff to be helpful.
I've connected through Hong Kong about 12 times in the last two years, often
on tight connections without a boarding pass for the onward flight, and I've
always made the connection.

Martin

Whytoi

September 17th, 2003, 09:03 AM

In article >, MS
> wrote:

> "Jim Louis" > wrote in message
> m...
> > Planning a trip to Asia. Will this work: Arriving on Cathay CX 829
> > to Hong Kong at 8:00AM and need to make a connecting Cathay flight CX
> > 717 for Singapore leaving at 8:55AM. I'll be arriving in Hong Kong
> > from Toronto. I've never flown to Hong Kong before, so I don't know
> > if 55 minutes will be enough to catch my connecting flight to
> > Singapore.
> >
> > Do I have to worry about customs, distance between terminals or
> > checking in?

> Hong Kong is a very efficient (usually hassle-free) airport...

I concur. Major Asian airports are very efficient and security checks
are far more sensible and better staffed than N American airport
procedures. And for passenger with tight connections, airline staffs
(especially at their home hub airport) typically would wait at the
arriving gate and escort/direct you to the departure gate.

Given that CX is selling you both the inbound and outbound flights on
the same ticket, you are almost guaranteed to be safe. And trust me,
you won't be the only passenger on that itinerary. Even if there's
irregular operations, CX would take care of any further arrangements
before you can open your mouth.

Whytoi

September 17th, 2003, 09:14 AM

In article et>,
Blake S > wrote:

> I wouldn't try it if I were you, especially if you're buying 2 separate
> tickets. Cathay uses gates all over this huge airport and there's no way to
> know far in advance which gate the Cathay flight will use. Also, you still
> have to transfer upstairs and sometimes wait in a line to do so.
>
> I did something similar last year and Cathay was about an hour late. I
> missed my UA connection and Cathay treated me like sh*t. First, they made
> me wait almost 6 hours for another CX flight, when they could've booked me
> on a number of other carriers. Then, they exchanged my business class UA
> ticket and gave me an economy seat on an 11 hour flight to YVR. They told
> me to get a refund from UA after I got back. Then, they didn't want to let
> me use their business class lounge during the layover, since, after all
> Cathay had already downgraded me to economy class. I did get some recourse
> later on but not enough to get that bad taste of terrible Cathay service out
> of my system.

You can't really blame CX for that. CX has no alliance with UA and you
can't expect CX to bump a scheduled passenger just for you on what
sounded like a sold-out business class. There's nowhere in the contract
with the airline to say that they have to replace a business class seat
with another on another airline. Well, that's where a) your travel
insurance comes in, and b) you should have booked all your sectors on
the same airline so they can take more ownership of you. As a minimum,
stay with two airlines that has a good alliance.

Jim Louis

September 17th, 2003, 01:12 PM

Thanks for all the replies so far. It's not one ticket; it's actually
part of the All Asia Pass that we're working on. My travel agent did
contact Cathay with our preliminary flight itinerary and Cathay
approved it so that's why I'm assuming an hour is enough time.

Since it's my first stop I don't mind so much if my inbound Hong Kong
flight is late and Cathay has to put me on another Singapore flight.
As long as they'll cover the costs and not shirk the responsibility
I'll be fine. There are a couple of flights later in the day to
Singapore and those are what I guess they'll put me on if the inbound
Hong Kong flight makes me miss my original Singapore flight.

Thanks again,
Jim L.

Bob Connolly

September 17th, 2003, 03:31 PM

What you will have is a normal CX connection in HKG. I have flown CX quite a
few times through HKG, and have even had one extensive trip using the All
Asia Pass. Some of the connections that I had in HKG were on the order of 45
min to 1 hr. There was only the security screening to get upstairs to the
departures level to go through, and it really doesn't take that long to get
to any gate from that point (if you don't dawdle...). Almost all of my
trans-Pacific crossing flights were early (from LAX). So, you should be OK.
Enjoy your trip.
Cheers,
Bob

"Jim Louis" > wrote in message
m...
> Thanks for all the replies so far. It's not one ticket; it's actually
> part of the All Asia Pass that we're working on. My travel agent did
> contact Cathay with our preliminary flight itinerary and Cathay
> approved it so that's why I'm assuming an hour is enough time.
>
> Since it's my first stop I don't mind so much if my inbound Hong Kong
> flight is late and Cathay has to put me on another Singapore flight.
> As long as they'll cover the costs and not shirk the responsibility
> I'll be fine. There are a couple of flights later in the day to
> Singapore and those are what I guess they'll put me on if the inbound
> Hong Kong flight makes me miss my original Singapore flight.
>
>
> Thanks again,
> Jim L.

Miguel Cruz

September 17th, 2003, 04:31 PM

Jim Louis > wrote:
> Thanks for all the replies so far. It's not one ticket; it's actually
> part of the All Asia Pass that we're working on.

That's one ticket.

> My travel agent did contact Cathay with our preliminary flight itinerary
> and Cathay approved it so that's why I'm assuming an hour is enough time.

If they approved it, they approved it.

> Since it's my first stop I don't mind so much if my inbound Hong Kong
> flight is late and Cathay has to put me on another Singapore flight.
> As long as they'll cover the costs and not shirk the responsibility
> I'll be fine.

They will get you there. This is Cathay Pacific we're talking about, not
RyanAir.

miguel
--
Hit The Road! Photos and tales from around the world: http://travel.u.nu
Site remodeled 10-Sept-2003: Hundreds of new photos, easier navigation.

Peter L

September 17th, 2003, 05:28 PM

Blake S

September 17th, 2003, 05:54 PM

"Whytoi" > wrote in message
...
> In article et>,
> Blake S > wrote:
>
> > I wouldn't try it if I were you, especially if you're buying 2 separate
> > tickets. Cathay uses gates all over this huge airport and there's no
way to
> > know far in advance which gate the Cathay flight will use. Also, you
still
> > have to transfer upstairs and sometimes wait in a line to do so.
> >
> > I did something similar last year and Cathay was about an hour late. I
> > missed my UA connection and Cathay treated me like sh*t. First, they
made
> > me wait almost 6 hours for another CX flight, when they could've booked
me
> > on a number of other carriers. Then, they exchanged my business class
UA
> > ticket and gave me an economy seat on an 11 hour flight to YVR. They
told
> > me to get a refund from UA after I got back. Then, they didn't want to
let
> > me use their business class lounge during the layover, since, after all
> > Cathay had already downgraded me to economy class. I did get some
recourse
> > later on but not enough to get that bad taste of terrible Cathay service
out
> > of my system.
>
> You can't really blame CX for that. CX has no alliance with UA and you
> can't expect CX to bump a scheduled passenger just for you on what
> sounded like a sold-out business class. There's nowhere in the contract
> with the airline to say that they have to replace a business class seat
> with another on another airline. Well, that's where a) your travel
> insurance comes in, and b) you should have booked all your sectors on
> the same airline so they can take more ownership of you. As a minimum,
> stay with two airlines that has a good alliance.

Actually, that was the condensed version of the story. That trip started
from Taipei, and I confirmed with the Cathay respresentative at check-in
that I would make my connection. They cancelled my connection anyway.
Basically, they lied to me. They could've re-routed me from Taipei if they
knew I was going to miss my connection. Business class on the connecting
flight wasn't sold-out.

I still wouldn't try it. Last time I tried this kind of thing with EVA and
I missed my connection (though the arriving flight was delayed by weather).

Blake S

September 17th, 2003, 08:10 PM

"Whytoi" > wrote in message
...
> In article >, MS
> > wrote:
>
> > "Jim Louis" > wrote in message
> > m...
> > > Planning a trip to Asia. Will this work: Arriving on Cathay CX 829
> > > to Hong Kong at 8:00AM and need to make a connecting Cathay flight CX
> > > 717 for Singapore leaving at 8:55AM. I'll be arriving in Hong Kong
> > > from Toronto. I've never flown to Hong Kong before, so I don't know
> > > if 55 minutes will be enough to catch my connecting flight to
> > > Singapore.
> > >
> > > Do I have to worry about customs, distance between terminals or
> > > checking in?
>
> > Hong Kong is a very efficient (usually hassle-free) airport...
>
> I concur. Major Asian airports are very efficient and security checks
> are far more sensible and better staffed than N American airport
> procedures. And for passenger with tight connections, airline staffs
> (especially at their home hub airport) typically would wait at the
> arriving gate and escort/direct you to the departure gate.

CX escorted me to the ticket counter and cancelled my flight.

>
> Given that CX is selling you both the inbound and outbound flights on
> the same ticket, you are almost guaranteed to be safe. And trust me,
> you won't be the only passenger on that itinerary. Even if there's
> irregular operations, CX would take care of any further arrangements
> before you can open your mouth.

You would think so. My experiences have been mixed.

Blake S

September 17th, 2003, 08:13 PM

"AJC" > wrote in message
...
> On Wed, 17 Sep 2003 09:28:41 -0700, "Peter L" >
> wrote:
>
> >
> >"Jim Louis" > wrote in message
> m...
> >> Planning a trip to Asia. Will this work: Arriving on Cathay CX 829
> >> to Hong Kong at 8:00AM and need to make a connecting Cathay flight CX
> >> 717 for Singapore leaving at 8:55AM. I'll be arriving in Hong Kong
> >> from Toronto. I've never flown to Hong Kong before, so I don't know
> >> if 55 minutes will be enough to catch my connecting flight to
> >> Singapore.
> >>
> >> Do I have to worry about customs, distance between terminals or
> >> checking in?
> >>
> >
> >It'll be really tight. HKG is where all the 747's of the world get
together
> >for their daily coffee club meetings. The immigration line may be very
> >long. You'll have to take a short shuttle to and from your terminal.
But
> >since you'll be connecting to another CX flight, you may want to check
with
> >the airline just to make sure.
> >
> >
>
> Sigh. What immigration line? The passenger will be in international
> transit arriving from somewhere (Toronto?) and departing to Singapore,
> he never enters Hong Kong. Furthermore Hong Kong only has one
> terminal, so he can't take a shuttle to and from his terminal. There
> is a shuttle running the length of the main spine of the terminal
> which he may or may not use in one or other direction depending on
> which gates he has to transfer between. 55 minutes is enough to
> transfer between two CX flights at HKG.
> --==++AJC++==--

CX flights arrive at gates scatted throughout the airport. I would agree
that 55 minutes is probably enough time to connect if you know where to go
and do it quickly. My late arriving flight left only 45 minutes left for
the connection and Cathay cancelled my flight.

devil

September 18th, 2003, 01:23 AM

On Wed, 17 Sep 2003 19:10:49 +0000, Blake S wrote:

> CX escorted me to the ticket counter and cancelled my flight.
>
>>
>> Given that CX is selling you both the inbound and outbound flights on
>> the same ticket, you are almost guaranteed to be safe. And trust me,
>> you won't be the only passenger on that itinerary. Even if there's
>> irregular operations, CX would take care of any further arrangements
>> before you can open your mouth.
>
> You would think so. My experiences have been mixed.

Strange story. Are you saying you got a single ticket, business class,
TPE-Hong Kong-YVR on CX. With a short but apparently legal connection,
which *they, CX* had sold you, but that, enroute, they canceled your
reservation?

(I assume it's not the flight that was canceled?)

Sounds like they had oversold their business class and that they needed a
scapegoat, and they picked you as the victim? Using the short connection
as an excuse?

I would say this was a case to stand firm and not go along with them. If
you had a reservation, you had a reservation after all.

If they really needed to bump someone, at the very least they should have
accomodated you in business class on another flight/airline.

Whytoi

September 18th, 2003, 01:56 AM

In article t>, Blake
S > wrote:

> > In article et>,
> > Blake S > wrote:

> > > I did something similar last year and Cathay was about an hour late. I
> > > missed my UA connection and Cathay treated me like sh*t. First, they

> Actually, that was the condensed version of the story. That trip started
> from Taipei, and I confirmed with the Cathay respresentative at check-in
> that I would make my connection. They cancelled my connection anyway.
> Basically, they lied to me. They could've re-routed me from Taipei if they
> knew I was going to miss my connection. Business class on the connecting
> flight wasn't sold-out.
>
> I still wouldn't try it. Last time I tried this kind of thing with EVA and
> I missed my connection (though the arriving flight was delayed by weather).

I don't get it. Did you "miss" your UA connector or did they "cancel"
your connector? For some of the reasons, check-in reps may not be aware
of any late evolving factors that might delay your flight. Was there
already a delayed flag on your flight at check-in? Given the short hop
b/n TPE and HKG, did you know there's a major delay before you boarded
the plane? Did you try to contact UA or CX once you are aware of the
delay? Or did you wait until you got to HK?

In my experience, airline would rebook connecting flight passengers in
the order of their own FF program tiers, then passengers flying with
them, and finally passengers who are going with another carrier.

And what was the reason for the 1 hour delay in CX's inbound flight?
Weather, late flight crew, equipment delay, airport congestion,
security scare?

Whytoi

September 18th, 2003, 01:59 AM

In article >, Jim Louis
> wrote:

> Thanks for all the replies so far. It's not one ticket; it's actually
> part of the All Asia Pass that we're working on. My travel agent did
> contact Cathay with our preliminary flight itinerary and Cathay
> approved it so that's why I'm assuming an hour is enough time.
>
> Since it's my first stop I don't mind so much if my inbound Hong Kong
> flight is late and Cathay has to put me on another Singapore flight.
> As long as they'll cover the costs and not shirk the responsibility
> I'll be fine. There are a couple of flights later in the day to
> Singapore and those are what I guess they'll put me on if the inbound
> Hong Kong flight makes me miss my original Singapore flight.

it's no problem to have on two tickets. The key is to be on the same
reservation locator or you can ask CX to have the two tickets linked.

Whether CX would put you on a SQ flight, that's up to them. But there
are also enough CX flights b/n HKG and SIN. I don't think a few hours
of lay-over in HKG is such a bad thing.

Whytoi

September 18th, 2003, 02:07 AM

In article >, Peter L
> wrote:

> It'll be really tight. HKG is where all the 747's of the world get together
> for their daily coffee club meetings. The immigration line may be very
> long. You'll have to take a short shuttle to and from your terminal. But
> since you'll be connecting to another CX flight, you may want to check with
> the airline just to make sure.

What are you on about? Not thinking of some weird European airport eg.
FRA or LHR, are you?

There's no immigration for connecting passengers in HKG and no shuttles
unless the airport is packed to the brim (hardly ever). And there's
only one terminal building for passenger traffic.

Don't scare the poor guy.

Whytoi

September 18th, 2003, 02:09 AM

In article >, AJC
> wrote:

> Sigh. What immigration line? The passenger will be in international
> transit arriving from somewhere (Toronto?) and departing to Singapore,
> he never enters Hong Kong. Furthermore Hong Kong only has one
> terminal, so he can't take a shuttle to and from his terminal. There
> is a shuttle running the length of the main spine of the terminal
> which he may or may not use in one or other direction depending on
> which gates he has to transfer between. 55 minutes is enough to
> transfer between two CX flights at HKG.

Further, CX hardly uses any gates at the top end of the Y.

Citronella

September 18th, 2003, 04:08 AM

55 min is plenty of time to trasit in Hong Kong. You are connecting
Cathay-Cathay so will already have your boarding pass. The only thing
you have to do is go through security (takes about 2 minutes unless
there is a big lineup. I fly through Hong Kong about 3x / year and
have never seen long lines at trasit security) there are no
immigration/customs issues for you. Assuming your plane is on time,
you'll have tons of time. Even if it's a bit late you should be ok.
The airport is very efficient and easy to get around in.
Have a fun trip.
C.

On 16 Sep 2003 19:59:05 -0700, (Jim Louis) wrote:

>Planning a trip to Asia. Will this work: Arriving on Cathay CX 829
>to Hong Kong at 8:00AM and need to make a connecting Cathay flight CX
>717 for Singapore leaving at 8:55AM. I'll be arriving in Hong Kong
>from Toronto. I've never flown to Hong Kong before, so I don't know
>if 55 minutes will be enough to catch my connecting flight to
>Singapore.
>
>Do I have to worry about customs, distance between terminals or
>checking in?
>
>Many thanks,
>Jim

Blake S

September 18th, 2003, 06:46 AM

"Whytoi" > wrote in message
...
> In article t>, Blake
> S > wrote:
>
> > > In article et>,
> > > Blake S > wrote:
>
> > > > I did something similar last year and Cathay was about an hour late.
I
> > > > missed my UA connection and Cathay treated me like sh*t. First,
they
>
> > Actually, that was the condensed version of the story. That trip
started
> > from Taipei, and I confirmed with the Cathay respresentative at check-in
> > that I would make my connection. They cancelled my connection anyway.
> > Basically, they lied to me. They could've re-routed me from Taipei if
they
> > knew I was going to miss my connection. Business class on the
connecting
> > flight wasn't sold-out.
> >
> > I still wouldn't try it. Last time I tried this kind of thing with EVA
and
> > I missed my connection (though the arriving flight was delayed by
weather).
>
> I don't get it. Did you "miss" your UA connector or did they "cancel"
> your connector? For some of the reasons, check-in reps may not be aware
> of any late evolving factors that might delay your flight. Was there
> already a delayed flag on your flight at check-in? Given the short hop
> b/n TPE and HKG, did you know there's a major delay before you boarded
> the plane? Did you try to contact UA or CX once you are aware of the
> delay? Or did you wait until you got to HK?
>
> In my experience, airline would rebook connecting flight passengers in
> the order of their own FF program tiers, then passengers flying with
> them, and finally passengers who are going with another carrier.
>
> And what was the reason for the 1 hour delay in CX's inbound flight?
> Weather, late flight crew, equipment delay, airport congestion,
> security scare?

CX claimed there was a weather delay. It was a little foggy, but my guess
is that they had 2 planes lightly booked and they could easily fit everyone
on one plane. You are right, something should've been done at check-in. I
made it clear my itinerary and they confirmed that I would make my
connection. CX was fully aware of the situation and they either lied to me
or just didn't communicate very well with UA or the CX people in HK. The
first flight to HK was cancelled so they booked me on the second flight
leaving 45 minutes later.

My luggage made it to the UA flight. I didn't. Next time I am going to get
the names of the staff ahead of time.

Blake S

September 18th, 2003, 06:50 AM

"devil" > wrote in message
. ..
> On Wed, 17 Sep 2003 19:10:49 +0000, Blake S wrote:
>
>
> > CX escorted me to the ticket counter and cancelled my flight.
> >
> >>
> >> Given that CX is selling you both the inbound and outbound flights on
> >> the same ticket, you are almost guaranteed to be safe. And trust me,
> >> you won't be the only passenger on that itinerary. Even if there's
> >> irregular operations, CX would take care of any further arrangements
> >> before you can open your mouth.
> >
> > You would think so. My experiences have been mixed.
>
> Strange story. Are you saying you got a single ticket, business class,
> TPE-Hong Kong-YVR on CX. With a short but apparently legal connection,
> which *they, CX* had sold you, but that, enroute, they canceled your
> reservation?
>
> (I assume it's not the flight that was canceled?)
>
> Sounds like they had oversold their business class and that they needed a
> scapegoat, and they picked you as the victim? Using the short connection
> as an excuse?
>
> I would say this was a case to stand firm and not go along with them. If
> you had a reservation, you had a reservation after all.
>
> If they really needed to bump someone, at the very least they should have
> accomodated you in business class on another flight/airline.
>
>

Original itinerary was TPE-HKG-NRT-SEA, changed to TPE-HKG-YVR-SEA. Problem
was Cathay assured me that I would make to connection in HKG to UA. Once I
arrive in HKG there was a different story altogether.

It was strange to me too. I pretty much know what to do in a situation like
this, but when the CX staff in TPE confirms that I will make the connection,
and tagged my luggage all the way through, I believed them.

Blake S

September 18th, 2003, 06:54 AM

"Whytoi" > wrote in message
...
> In article >, AJC
> > wrote:
>
> > Sigh. What immigration line? The passenger will be in international
> > transit arriving from somewhere (Toronto?) and departing to Singapore,
> > he never enters Hong Kong. Furthermore Hong Kong only has one
> > terminal, so he can't take a shuttle to and from his terminal. There
> > is a shuttle running the length of the main spine of the terminal
> > which he may or may not use in one or other direction depending on
> > which gates he has to transfer between. 55 minutes is enough to
> > transfer between two CX flights at HKG.
>
> Further, CX hardly uses any gates at the top end of the Y.

Hardly meaning not as much as the lower numbered gates, but they still use
some of the gates at the top of the Y some of the time. I usually see a
couple of CX planes at the top of the Y in the mornings.

Whytoi

September 18th, 2003, 09:21 AM

In article et>,
Blake S > wrote:

> CX claimed there was a weather delay. It was a little foggy, but my guess
> is that they had 2 planes lightly booked and they could easily fit everyone
> on one plane. You are right, something should've been done at check-in. I
> made it clear my itinerary and they confirmed that I would make my
> connection. CX was fully aware of the situation and they either lied to me
> or just didn't communicate very well with UA or the CX people in HK. The
> first flight to HK was cancelled so they booked me on the second flight
> leaving 45 minutes later.
>
> My luggage made it to the UA flight. I didn't. Next time I am going to get
> the names of the staff ahead of time.

Hey, guessing whether it was weather or load related cancellation? Was
it CX who didn't communicate well or did UA not listen very well?
That's not fair. You can't just blame someone without knowing the full
set of circumstances. The check-in agent probably did all the right
things but the system (CX or UA) failed on you both. In any case, given
that your onward connection is on a different airline, you should have
contacted UA (local TPE) the moment you became aware of the problem and
confirmed your seat on the next sector.

Given that CX cancelled the earlier flight and you are going on a
different non-aligned airline, it could very well be possible it was UA
who gave your seat away. I've encountered similar situations where UA
oversold their flights, they would just tick off any "late" arriving
passenger to permit standbys to get on. Or just close the passenger
list for that flight to ensure an on-time departure. And in my
experience, HKG's UA staffs are rather green and tend to be a little
inconsistent. I suspect that you were in that busket.

Get the name of the staff? What the point? Get him or her to bow to you
100 times for something unintentional? You are better to take your fate
in your own hands and confirm everything yourself in future.

Whytoi

September 18th, 2003, 09:25 AM

In article et>,
Blake S > wrote:

> Original itinerary was TPE-HKG-NRT-SEA, changed to TPE-HKG-YVR-SEA. Problem
> was Cathay assured me that I would make to connection in HKG to UA. Once I
> arrive in HKG there was a different story altogether.
>
> It was strange to me too. I pretty much know what to do in a situation like
> this, but when the CX staff in TPE confirms that I will make the connection,
> and tagged my luggage all the way through, I believed them.

C'mon, CX was truthful wasn't they? Your checked luggage did make it to
the UA flight! It's so rare that ones' luggage can make the flight but
not the passenger. It only happens if there's significant delay due to
security or some other irregular things, especially for a business
cabin passenger who would have exited the arriving flight at the head
of the queue.

As I suggested, it could very well be that it was UA who cancelled your
seat on that flight.

Whytoi

September 18th, 2003, 09:27 AM

In article et>,
Blake S > wrote:

> "Whytoi" > wrote in message
> ...

> Hardly meaning not as much as the lower numbered gates, but they still use
> some of the gates at the top of the Y some of the time. I usually see a
> couple of CX planes at the top of the Y in the mornings.

Still, the consensus is that 50mins is decent for any kind of
connection in HKG. Of course, unless one gets held up at security for
carrying funny stuff.

Blake S

September 18th, 2003, 07:29 PM

"Whytoi" > wrote in message
...
> In article et>,
> Blake S > wrote:
>
> > Original itinerary was TPE-HKG-NRT-SEA, changed to TPE-HKG-YVR-SEA.
Problem
> > was Cathay assured me that I would make to connection in HKG to UA.
Once I
> > arrive in HKG there was a different story altogether.
> >
> > It was strange to me too. I pretty much know what to do in a situation
like
> > this, but when the CX staff in TPE confirms that I will make the
connection,
> > and tagged my luggage all the way through, I believed them.
>
> C'mon, CX was truthful wasn't they? Your checked luggage did make it to
> the UA flight! It's so rare that ones' luggage can make the flight but
> not the passenger. It only happens if there's significant delay due to
> security or some other irregular things, especially for a business
> cabin passenger who would have exited the arriving flight at the head
> of the queue.
>
> As I suggested, it could very well be that it was UA who cancelled your
> seat on that flight.

Could be UA. Could be a longer than expected transit line. I did spend
over 3 hours at the CX transit desk trying to negotiate something. Finally
they gave me a pass to the Business Class lounge. Big deal.

Blake S

September 18th, 2003, 07:34 PM

"Whytoi" > wrote in message
...
> In article et>,
> Blake S > wrote:
>
> > CX claimed there was a weather delay. It was a little foggy, but my
guess
> > is that they had 2 planes lightly booked and they could easily fit
everyone
> > on one plane. You are right, something should've been done at check-in.
I
> > made it clear my itinerary and they confirmed that I would make my
> > connection. CX was fully aware of the situation and they either lied to
me
> > or just didn't communicate very well with UA or the CX people in HK.
The
> > first flight to HK was cancelled so they booked me on the second flight
> > leaving 45 minutes later.
> >
> > My luggage made it to the UA flight. I didn't. Next time I am going to
get
> > the names of the staff ahead of time.
>
> Hey, guessing whether it was weather or load related cancellation? Was
> it CX who didn't communicate well or did UA not listen very well?
> That's not fair. You can't just blame someone without knowing the full
> set of circumstances. The check-in agent probably did all the right
> things but the system (CX or UA) failed on you both. In any case, given
> that your onward connection is on a different airline, you should have
> contacted UA (local TPE) the moment you became aware of the problem and
> confirmed your seat on the next sector.

Next time I will contact the connecting airline. Last time I put too much
faith in what CX told me.

>
> Given that CX cancelled the earlier flight and you are going on a
> different non-aligned airline, it could very well be possible it was UA
> who gave your seat away. I've encountered similar situations where UA
> oversold their flights, they would just tick off any "late" arriving
> passenger to permit standbys to get on. Or just close the passenger
> list for that flight to ensure an on-time departure. And in my
> experience, HKG's UA staffs are rather green and tend to be a little
> inconsistent. I suspect that you were in that busket.
>
> Get the name of the staff? What the point? Get him or her to bow to you
> 100 times for something unintentional? You are better to take your fate
> in your own hands and confirm everything yourself in future.

I could use the name of the staff at TPE that confirmed my connection. That
way the transit desk people at HKG will know I'm telling the truth instead
of some BS story. Might strengthen my case for compensation.

I'm sure the CX staff hear BS stories from pax every day as an excuse for an
upgrade. I don't want to be one of those pax.

Whytoi

September 19th, 2003, 01:01 AM

In article et>,
Blake S > wrote:

> I could use the name of the staff at TPE that confirmed my connection. That
> way the transit desk people at HKG will know I'm telling the truth instead
> of some BS story. Might strengthen my case for compensation.

Did you meet UA staff or CX staff at the transit desk? In my
experience, when you connect to a different airline, it's always the
connecting airline's agent you deal with. And UA does have staffs
stationed at the transfer desk. And in my recollection, they are often
some junior with limited experience.

I can see how you can get delayed if you stood in line to re-check-in.
A few times the queue can be slow due to flight irregularities. That's
another reason why you should go with airlines with alliances and ones
that can issue boarding passes for your full itinerary at the first
point of contact. If CX was able to give you a boarding pass at TPE for
your HKG outbound flight, then I'd say that you would have been able to
go directly through security and be able to get on the flight at the
same time as your luggage.

> I'm sure the CX staff hear BS stories from pax every day as an excuse for an
> upgrade. I don't want to be one of those pax.

No. It's self degradation if one also gets into a BS slinging match
with airline staffs.

Whytoi

September 19th, 2003, 01:03 AM

In article et>,
Blake S > wrote:

> Could be UA. Could be a longer than expected transit line. I did spend
> over 3 hours at the CX transit desk trying to negotiate something. Finally
> they gave me a pass to the Business Class lounge. Big deal.

Thank you.

You definitely win the prize on stamina alone. ;)

Better luck next time.

Blake S

September 19th, 2003, 03:37 AM

"Whytoi" > wrote in message
...
> In article et>,
> Blake S > wrote:
>
> > I could use the name of the staff at TPE that confirmed my connection.
That
> > way the transit desk people at HKG will know I'm telling the truth
instead
> > of some BS story. Might strengthen my case for compensation.
>
> Did you meet UA staff or CX staff at the transit desk? In my
> experience, when you connect to a different airline, it's always the
> connecting airline's agent you deal with. And UA does have staffs
> stationed at the transfer desk. And in my recollection, they are often
> some junior with limited experience.
>
> I can see how you can get delayed if you stood in line to re-check-in.
> A few times the queue can be slow due to flight irregularities. That's
> another reason why you should go with airlines with alliances and ones
> that can issue boarding passes for your full itinerary at the first
> point of contact. If CX was able to give you a boarding pass at TPE for
> your HKG outbound flight, then I'd say that you would have been able to
> go directly through security and be able to get on the flight at the
> same time as your luggage.
>

UA's alliance on the TPE-HKG flight was TG, which at that time had only 2
inconvenient flights that would've caused me to spend an extra night in HKG.

I met the CX staff after I deplaned. They told me that me connection has
been rescheduled and that it is Cathay's responsibility to make sure I get
home since Cathay was the first leg of the flight. I politely told them
that I didn't want them to be responsible and I will be taking the UA
connecting flight. Of course that didn't work. The CX junior staff person
that I met could not answer any of my questions and told me to wait until we
got to the transit desk. At that time someone would answer my questions.
Well, to make a long story short, they made me wait for 3 hours and kept
passing me off to other staff members. Basically, they wanted me to be
quiet and wait 5 hours, get moved to economy class, and be happy about it.

I was ****ed but I didn't raise my voice. I was conscience about not being
an ugly American.

devil

September 19th, 2003, 05:53 AM

On Fri, 19 Sep 2003 02:37:40 +0000, Blake S wrote:
>
> UA's alliance on the TPE-HKG flight was TG, which at that time had only 2
> inconvenient flights that would've caused me to spend an extra night in HKG.

SG used to have lots of flights on that route.

Whytoi

September 19th, 2003, 05:58 AM

In article >, devil
> wrote:

> On Fri, 19 Sep 2003 02:37:40 +0000, Blake S wrote:
> >
> > UA's alliance on the TPE-HKG flight was TG, which at that time had only 2
> > inconvenient flights that would've caused me to spend an extra night in HKG.
>
> SG used to have lots of flights on that route.

There's still CI. ;)

Not the Karl Orff

September 21st, 2003, 12:58 PM

In article >,
(Jim Louis) wrote:

> Planning a trip to Asia. Will this work: Arriving on Cathay CX 829
> to Hong Kong at 8:00AM and need to make a connecting Cathay flight CX
> 717 for Singapore leaving at 8:55AM. I'll be arriving in Hong Kong
> from Toronto. I've never flown to Hong Kong before, so I don't know
> if 55 minutes will be enough to catch my connecting flight to
> Singapore.

555 minutes *could* be marginal. Several reasons:

1. Your flight from YYZ could be late leaving YYZ and or YVR tech stop
(headwinds stronger in winter and the A340-300 is slow).

2. Seated in the back - take 10 or so minutes to get out of the a/c

3. Inconvenient gate - have to go through connection security at awkward
points (especially if you have to take the rather-inefficient train
shuttle)

However, if the itinerary is on one ticket, go for it. CX's problem,
not yours.

Not the Karl Orff

September 21st, 2003, 12:59 PM

In article >,
Whytoi > wrote:

> In article >, AJC
> > wrote:
>
> > Sigh. What immigration line? The passenger will be in international
> > transit arriving from somewhere (Toronto?) and departing to Singapore,
> > he never enters Hong Kong. Furthermore Hong Kong only has one
> > terminal, so he can't take a shuttle to and from his terminal. There
> > is a shuttle running the length of the main spine of the terminal
> > which he may or may not use in one or other direction depending on
> > which gates he has to transfer between. 55 minutes is enough to
> > transfer between two CX flights at HKG.
>
> Further, CX hardly uses any gates at the top end of the Y.

maybe now but back in 2001 all flights to/from BKK and KUL seemed to use
it. CX didn;t open the Pier lounge there for no reason, you know.