QF/EK connection time at HKG on separate PNRs

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mitti

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Looking for some advice on this situation...
I have booked an F award on EK through QF starting with EK381 HKG-DXB leaving at 00:35. I am now looking at booking my positioning flight to HKG from SYD on QF, this will be a revenue Y flight.

Is it too much of a risk to book QF117 which lands in to HKG at 22:00 (155 mins connection), or would I be best going for QF127 which lands at 18:00?

My preference would be for QF117 as this is currently $200 cheaper and I'd rather not have a 6 1/2 hour connection at the start of the trip.

I understand from other posts that QF in SYD should be able to check bags through to my final destination with EK, and issue tickets, but am concerned about what happens if QF117 is delayed by more than 1 1/2 hours.
 
Looking for some advice on this situation...
I have booked an F award on EK through QF starting with EK381 HKG-DXB leaving at 00:35. I am now looking at booking my positioning flight to HKG from SYD on QF, this will be a revenue Y flight.

Is it too much of a risk to book QF117 which lands in to HKG at 22:00 (155 mins connection), or would I be best going for QF127 which lands at 18:00?

My preference would be for QF117 as this is currently $200 cheaper and I'd rather not have a 6 1/2 hour connection at the start of the trip.

I understand from other posts that QF in SYD should be able to check bags through to my final destination with EK, and issue tickets, but am concerned about what happens if QF117 is delayed by more than 1 1/2 hours.

In my opinion a 155 minute connection is more than enough at that time (10pm) in Hong Kong. However, if you are that worried remember that if you took the 6.5 hour option (QF127), you could use some of the 6.5 hours to go into town via the Airport Express.
 
I'd take the earlier flight in case the 117 runs late, and yes you could easily catch the airport express into town to break up the wait. EK offer a chauffeur in F at HK so you could even get a Mercedes to take you back to HKG, though they may want to pick you up 3 hours before the flight which would limit your city time. EK don't have a dedicated F lounge in HKG.
 
The later departure should be fine.

I'm usually quite happy with ~3 hour connections in HKG and if luggage not checked through you can always use airside transfer desk.
 
Thanks all. I think I will go with the later flight. It is a slight risk, but judging by QF117's performance over the past couple of months according to expertflyer it looks like it should be fine...
 
Thanks all. I think I will go with the later flight. It is a slight risk, but judging by QF117's performance over the past couple of months according to expertflyer it looks like it should be fine...

Make sure you have a plan 'B'.
If QF117 is running late, you'll likely know before leaving SYD if you're going to miss your EK flight.
In which case it's not too late to cancel the QF award.
 
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Make sure you have a plan 'B'.
If QF117 is running late, you'll likely know before leaving SYD if you're going to miss your EK flight.
In which case it's not too late to cancel the QF award.

What would be an appropriate plan 'B', do you think? Obviously cancelling and rebooking is one, though I would be concerned about losing later segments which are more hard to come by.

If there was a significant delay leaving SYD that I was aware of, would it be possible to call up QF the same day and change the award booking (5k QF points fee, please) to a later flight, provided award availability? Or is cancelling my only option at that late stage?
 
If there was a significant delay leaving SYD that I was aware of, would it be possible to call up QF the same day and change the award booking (5k QF points fee, please) to a later flight, provided award availability? Or is cancelling my only option at that late stage?
That seems to depend on whether or not EK would have to reissue the ticket.:
  • Changes to combined bookings are only permitted by contacting Qantas Contact Centres and Service Fees may apply.
  • If your booking contains only Classic Flight Reward, then the following conditions apply:
  • Up to 24 hours before departure of the first flight:
  • The following changes are permitted up to 24 hours before departure of the first flight in your booking:
      • change to name (only for flights with a Qantas (QF) flight number on the ticket that are operated by Qantas)
      • change to class of travel
      • change to any segment routing (including departure, stopover or destination cities) or airline
  • Up to the commencement of travel for each flight:
  • The following changes are permitted up to the commencement of travel ofeachflight in your booking*:
      • change of flight number
      • change to date of travel
  • provided that a change to name, class of travel or segment routing or airline is not required.
  • *Exception: If the change is requested for an airline that requires ticket reissue for changes to flight number or date of travel, changes are only permitted up to 24 hours before departure of the first flight in your booking. For further information call your local Qantas office.
Edit: QF ticket, so maybe not applicable.
 
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Is it an option to have a one night stopover in Honkers?
Yeah, I was thinking that too.
Or, if there's availability and they have the points, book another HKG-DXB award for the following day and cancel that if not needed.
 
Thanks for your replies guys. It seems there is not really a benefit in sticking to QF for the SYD-HKG route in terms of protecting the later PNR, correct? Virgin have a flight which lands at 6pm so I might book that which will give a comfortable 6 hour transfer in HKG, which should give enough time to collect bags, check in and clear security, even if it is delayed by a few hours.
 
I’m hoping to do this at some stage so how does travel insurance cope with a missed connection
 
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I’m hoping to do this at some stage so how does travel insurance cope with a missed connection

In my experience, travel insurance will not be of assistance with the missed onward flight costs. On a single ticket, travel insurance will only cover the cost of being stuck where you are until the airline can provide the next flight. Obviously, On seperate tickets the airline will not be obligated to provide an onward flight.

Separately, travel insurance can provide an amount for a delay. For example, 1cover will pay up to $1,000 for a 6 hr delay.

With seperate tickets, I always plan on spending a night or 2 at the connection point.
 
Virgin have a flight which lands at 6pm so I might book that which will give a comfortable 6 hour transfer in HKG, which should give enough time to collect bags, check in and clear security, even if it is delayed by a few hours.
You can still use airside transfer desks where they re-tag bags manually.
 
Recently booked QF-AA at LAX and allowed 5+hrs (revenue tix, linked of course, but separate tix).

Was happy I’d done so when QF were over an hour late ex-Mel. Still tons of time, waitlisted for the earlier AA flight (unsuccessfully).

IMO definitely go the earlier Flight. At least if it goes seriously wrong and you miss you can at least argue you were “reasonable” about how much margin for error you allowed and hopefully this puts you in a better position with EK if you miss the flight and are negotiating options. This means you’re also better on QF than VA.


Have also booked VA to HKG and VS to LHR with an overnight connection in June. On return AY into HKG then overnight then VA home. But given the HK-EU-HK flights are points redemptions and the VA fares were super cheap, and I have family in tow, wasnt prepared to risk an 1900 arrival and 2300 or 1400 arrival 1900 departure on non-connected tickets. Travelling on my own, with only “consequence” an unexpected overnight in HKG and/or having to purchase last-minute fare/fare upgrade, i’d probably have risked it (but not risked a 2hr connection).

So given your circumstance, i’d go for a medium length connection (5-6hrs).

If all goes well, you kill some time in HKG. If all goes to custard, you are in a position to negotiate an outcome, including ex-Aus if there is a massive delay on the HKG flight.
 
At least if it goes seriously wrong and you miss you can at least argue you were “reasonable” about how much margin for error you allowed and hopefully this puts you in a better position with EK if you miss the flight and are negotiating options. This means you’re also better on QF than VA.

This is a good point. I think it might be worth the extra couple of hundred dollars so I can link the PNRs and then hopefully have EK take pity on me if the earlier QF flight is cancelled or seriously delayed.
 
Side note, last time I travelled to Europe via HKG I also had a 6 hour connection (same ticket though), so I went in to town for a few hours. In SYD, the check in desk insisted I had to collect my luggage at HKG if I was leaving the airport, which was a real pain.

Is this the case? Can’t I just check bags through all the way and head in to town? Or will they somehow be notified that I had left the airport and pull them or something?
 
Or will they somehow be notified that I had left the airport and pull them or something?
There will be no notification.

You should have no issue doing this - just be discrete about it; I have done exactly this a few times.
 
There will be no notification.

You should have no issue doing this - just be discrete about it; I have done exactly this a few times.

Great, I will be sure to be discrete.

Have booked the earlier QF127 flight thanks to everyone's advice. I will let you know how I go!

Perhaps this will be the first trip I do a trip report for... stay tuned.
 
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