EK Interlinking baggage on two PNR's

[mushez]

Thought I would post about my latest experience as one might have the question or concern.

I have just done two back to back PNR's. They were able in MEL to check me in on all flights, issue boarding passes for all flights, and tagged the two bags through to PEK.

My first PNR was:
EK405 _ MEL-SIN _ 18:00- 23:50 22nd
EK349 _ SIN-CMB _ 00:50-01:55 23rd

Second PNR was:
EK349 _ CMB-DXB _ 03:15-06:00 23rd
EK306 _ DXB_PEK _ 04:05-15:25 24th

So arrived at PEK, and just before they let anyone off, PA announcement made asking for me to make direct contact with ground baggage service agents as soon as I had passed through customs.

Penny dropped that what I had hoped might happen, had happened. Having a laugh to myself hoping like anything they had mis directed my bags, as I had been debating the cost to courier them down to Shanghai myself, I saw it as an opportunity and win. I had only flown to PEK as to PVG seats were available plus had a mate in PEK I had been promising to visit for 2 years since he moved here, so booked to PEK and would figure out the rest. So I had already been debating where to send them, and set about getting that address ready to be 5 minutes giving them the address and out the door with my bags being send to Shanghai.


Got to baggage services, to be informed that one of my bags is on the flight and one is on EK308, arriving 6 hours later. So after a brief conversation - went out to wait for my bag, and after ages, finally it was the bulk/oversized item that transpired and back to office to do the paperwork.

Now if one bag was delayed to be couriered to me, I wanted it to be the bulk/oversized piece - but alias not.

So did paperwork, asking if they could courier my bulk one that arrived with my one coming, was told no.

They asked for my Beijing hotel address, and when I said I was going directly down to Shanghai and they would have to send there, which we had to repeat a few times cause they were not buying it the first time, and it kinda also wasn't true, but hey, I would prefer not to lug it with me. So they then said that they would deliver it to any address in Beijing or if to Shanghai, only to the airport and would have to arrange to go to the Airport to pick up, which is fine and what was agreed.

Was paid 320RMB compensation, in cash, and thrust upon me - didn't ask, expect, want or need - I just wanted it couriered down to Shanghai.

That was all good, and probably wouldn't post as much here if that was it, but....... the one item I did get, had "expedite luggage" tags on it, saying "found in CMB" and tagged it to fly EK651 CMB-DXB 10:05-12:55 on 23rd, and EK308 11:00-22:20 on 24th.

So it seems, it was taken off in CMB as tagged, but was never put back on in CMB as tagged to continue on EK349 in the 80 minute turn around we had in CMB - my guess was in the CMB off load ULD's and baggage crew didn't read tags and put all on belt and only a few hours later when they were going around still they looked and found issue.

But what has me scratching my head is why tag on EK308, when even on EK651, it had 15 hours between it and EK306 which is the flight I was actually on and the bag was originally tagged to be on and normal security issues around that, and EK308 is 22 hours.

I have the same deal going back in 2 weeks time, so I am not sure if to test them again to see if it was a one off by not doing anything, or if I should make an effort to point out to the lounge angel in CMB to have a quick confirmation that my bags were loaded through to SIN this time....

 

[Mark3000]

I love this forum. Every so often you read a post that makes you realise how complicated things can get and how much more some people know about it all than you.
Slightly off topic, I'm sorry musher, but do you mind me asking how you came to such a complicated itinerary? Was it all booked as a status run of sorts and that's why the multiple segments? I'm curious to learn the best way to go about this sort of thing - did you book those both on the EK website and does the cost per SC work out well enough to make it worth doing compared to just MEL - China direct with QF?

 

[mushez]

I love this forum. Every so often you read a post that makes you realise how complicated things can get and how much more some people know about it all than you.
Slightly off topic, I'm sorry musher, but do you mind me asking how you came to such a complicated itinerary? Was it all booked as a status run of sorts and that's why the multiple segments? I'm curious to learn the best way to go about this sort of thing - did you book those both on the EK website and does the cost per SC work out well enough to make it worth doing compared to just MEL - China direct with QF?

Hi Mark,

Why such a complicated route - well the answer is more complicated than the route itself and mixed with contradictions.

For starters I am accustom to fly to Shanghai - as my first and most frequented destination is Suzhou/Changhsu in China - and Shanghai is the closest airport to fly to - Wuxi put aside, and now there isn't a SIN-WUX MU option anymore. Hongqaio is mostly for domestic with only a handful of international - and most international is regional and not long haul - so that really leaves Pudong as the location of choice.

However with Pudong - working back - you need to arrive at either Hongqaio or Shanghai South Bus Station before 6pm on any given day to get a bus or train to Changshu/Suzhou - or find a hotel in Shanghai and sleep the night to get up and travel the following day which wastes that day. To get to Hongqaio or Shanghai South Bus Station from Pudong, will take 1-2 hours depending if you blow 300 RMB on a taxi to get it done in 50 minutes, 30 RMB to bus it in a little over an hour, or 12 RMB to do so in the subway and take 2 hours - so ideally plan for 1.5 hours, which takes you to 4:30pm, which has arrival of 3:30pm or earlier being my preferred arrival times. (while on point, EK302, DXB-PVG lands at 15:30 in PVG)

Then I don't like to travel during the night, because I don't sleep on flights - and throws my body clock out and I need to take days off on arrival to get over it, so if I break things up and overnight transit on the way up - I enjoy everything on so many levels. Arriving at midnight/1am is fine, but no later, and not getting started the next day until 8am - and allowing opportunity of minimum of 6 hours in the bed time overnight.

Normally I fly QF51 (EK purchased code share) to SIN to arrive at 18:00 - or EK405 is this year an option as it is A380 and high option of operational upgrades which arrives SIN at 23:50. Then I will book separate PNR with MU the following day - flying MU546 which is 10:10-15:40, which allows my 6 hours plus sleep time in SIN - and arrives around the 3:30pm no later point I am for into PVG - and allows me 46kg with EK + Gold, with MU being 2 x 23kg = 46kg baggage allowance.

EK405 came onto my radar this year also with EK432/433 moving to being direct and not VIA SIN due to BNE runway works in a few days time, and my return via EK432 would be preference ex SIN - but it isn't an option when I come back on the 9th, as it is a direct service for 3 months due to BNE runway works.

With me still?............ good

So baggage allowance features big time in my flying. Every kg of baggage allowance I have, is valued at $10 per kg in both directions - and is even more valuable now than it was a year or two ago with Chinese Customs cracking down on Milk Powder being posted/couriered into China on que the past 12 months, where it never use to be an issue. So my bags are always at max allowance going up full of milk power along with a range of SWISE, Blackmores - half of the Chemist Warehouse products off the shelf, as not only is the price to buy retail 3-4 times more in China than off the shelf in Australia - tons of people are flying to and from Australia and filling their bags to sell it via the many Chinese avenues to trade things for 2-3 times the value off the shelf in Australia. And with that - there is those who will get genuine packaging of NZ and AU products and put another not NZ or AU brand product in it - to sell it at the premium price - in Baby Formula - the packaging tins in near new condition empty will sell for more in China than what it is to buy them full of genuine product in NZ or AU off the supermarket shelf. Soooooo - the fear of AU or NZ product being genuine is high in anyones minds when they come to buy it, and they will never buy the cheapest option and go into great lengths to try to get product they think is genuine - and they don't trust supermarkets either. So someone like myself, who is flying, buying genuine product in AU to bring over to directly give them - has a higher value to them. Even so, that last year I offered to bring my son to China to one person if they paid $800 towards his $1,000 airfare to get his full 37kg baggage allowance of goods to come (30kg checked and 7kg carry on) - to which they jumped at the chance - and my son came for a Singapore & China tiki tour.

And this flight had the unique aspect that I needed to bring a big roll of fabric back to China with me, and I couldn't carry that with MU without re-working it down to be within the baggage restrictions of MU - but didn't have to do anything with it to fly with EK the whole way.

Combined with I like to fly - and the game of operational upgrades is fun - and doing a lounge bender the whole way up and back seemed to be worth the punt.

But I guess what it boiled down to was it was $400 more because of MU prices SIN-PVG blowing out from the normal $400-500 to just shy of $1,000 for some reason that made that option more expensive, so all factors considered - stumping up $400 more to fly and run the Op up gamble, lounge crawl, and not re-work my baggage just seemed logical. Plus to finally fill a promise to catch up with my mate in PEK - not to mention skyward and tier miles rather than 1,000 QF miles with MU that I have no clue what I will do with the 20,000 QF miles I have. (CMB-PVG/PEK is around $1,300 AUD)

Then yes miles comes into it. You can fly on the cheapest EK fare of $800-$1,000 AUD BNE-CMB if you want to, but for $1,400 for a flexi, you get 23,000 status miles - so two of them for $2,800 and you are at 46,000 status miles and a Tasman flight off EK Gold. When I fly to China I will do either AKL-SIN for $1,500 NZD flexi for 22,000 status miles - but that is harder to book with the stop over in BNE in both directions and have it price out at Flexi now that it use to - or do a BNE-CMB flexi for $1,400 AUD and get 23,000 tier miles. Currently I am sitting at 80,000 miles, with 100,000 to renew Gold in July - so miles was not really a major feature, but is a feature in my overall flying needs. Miles on CMB-PVG/PEK are piss all - like 5,000-10,000 return or something like that.

So the contradiction of flying EK349 during the night......... well to fly to CMB with EK it is either an overnight to DXB and then back - or to SIN and on EK349. And having done EK349 to CMB and then gone out to get a hotel to then get a flight later in the day, I found by the time you arrive in CMB, pass through customs, get a taxi to hotel and check in - you have two hours till the sun gets up and I just never get any sleep. So I thought I would push through to DXB and have the 22 hour stop over to get a hotel and see if that worked - and it did.

I did a couple of CMB runs two years ago to get to Platinum in flying to China. I did two CMB runs last year to get to go via DXB to use the First Lounge while I was Platinum as well as I was seriously looking at setting up a office/factory in CMB - but as it turned out their investment rules ruled out that idea and put me back to the drawing board. And this run now - was more for kicks and giggles with all the above factors swaying my mind towards it.


MEL-PVG with QF vrs EK etc....

Well I am EK by status. I am also BNE not MEL based - didn't add the QF code share flight from BNE-MEL in as it isn't overly relevant to the post.

Because I have an office in NZ as well as one in BNE - I fly BNE-AKL return 6 times a year. On this route EK has been very competitive on price, baggage allowance was part of ticket and 30kg vrs everyone elses 23kg going back 5 years ago if they gave it to you, or you had to pay - and then flying wide bodies and arriving into NZ at 2pm allowing me 3 hours to drive down to Tauranga to arrive in more realistic times of day. Then with the EK-QF tie up, I can fly EK to SIN ex BNE - and with EK405 going A380 this year, is only $8 more for me to book a EK code share flight down to MEL to catch EK405 up and have that fun of flying more with more lounges.

I also don't rate QF - I find their IFE very substandard to EK, and flying QF - any lounges go out the window as my status is with EK and don't have any status with QF. It is a personally thing, but I would pay more to fly EK over QF. And when I do fly QF51, I do bite my lip in how I am treated as an EK Gold on QF metal (or when I was Platinum) and it doesn't impress me much. The only thing going for QF is their lounge policy of allowing +1 + kids - so I can get wife and 3 kids into QF lounge when traveling vrs with EK I cannot but I don't have to fly QF metal for that.

I have contemplated flying QF in J to try to build up status to go double gold (EK & QF) - but at $6k return to PVG from BNE, is just too much out there for me to consider. And then it is night flying, 11 hour flights - something I avoid if I can. Just rather fly Y during the day with my overnight transit stop in SIN than night flight - trying to clear customs in SYD - to then catch a domestic flight back to BNE.

I am contemplating flying MU when they have a regular BNE-PVG direct service later this year - and plan to look further into loyalty programs that will get me status with them somehow - as well rather interested in their J offering, especially if $3,000 R/T fares in J is part of that offering. Doing a 10 hour flight, even overnight might be workable being a direct offering if in J - but that isn't an offering until later in the year.

 

[mushez]

This is what had me sway towards EK, roll of fabric, 21kg, 160x40x40cm. I needed to have 20kg back in China, so is either fly 20kg back, or manufacture $20,000 of it now which I need no more for another 12 months:

 

[Mark3000]

Fascinating stuff, thanks for explaining it to us. I wish I could fly that much !

 

[mushez]

Fascinating stuff, thanks for explaining it to us. I wish I could fly that much !

Would offer for you to tag with if you wanted to fly to China - and see what contribution I could get from suppliers/friends to use your baggage allowance to bring in Milk Powder etc. But my guess is even with a near free flight on the cards, work commitments along with the wife and kids, it would be as you put it, a wish more than something you could turn into reality.

And also, this current trip is my last one for the year to China. Most of my trips to China are in the March-June period as we condense our production runs with suppliers to a once a year exercise, so sync our needs with all, to all be on the same time line for production and delivery. And I cannot see my wife getting too excited if I make a trip to China for the kicks of it, just cause one of my Chinese friends are subsidizing the flight for my baggage allowance - but that doesn't mean I am not going to be looking with interest at what MU roll out in offerings later in the year from BNE direct to PVG.

So maybe next year - if the idea grows on you and you hit me up....

 

[Mark3000]

Very kind, would love to visit China but our kids are still young. Maybe in a couple of years we will go. I should let you know when we do, we would have 4 x J baggage allowances to help you out

 

[mushez]

Arrived down in Shanghai (well Ningbo but used Shanghai as it is only a spit away for those who are not China geographically savy) to find my bag was waiting for me this morning and was flown down yesterday for me.

It had a total of 7 tags on here, 5 more than the original 2 put on her at check in on MEL on Friday.

 

[mushez]

Well I will update this on two fronts:

1st - upon checking my delayed bag, it had reduced in weight 2kg, and had had 2 x 1kg of milk powder permanently borrowed out of it. EK are happy to pay me the $18 for these, but that is it, not willing to entertain baggage allowance to allow me to fly replacement in any way back with me next time I fly.

2nd - Just did the return. Upon walking out of the lounge in CMB to board, I thought I best check with Lounge Staff to confirm if my bags were onboard - or if they were at the baggage claim area going around and around. Upon them scratching their head about my routing etc for a few minutes, looked into where my bags actually were - and after about 10 minutes, confirmed the DXB had loaded them into a box of baggage to go to SIN, so my bags remained at all times on the flight in CMB on the return - and upon arrival this morning in MEL - out they popped - the 4th and 9th bag out the shoot - and oh to the envy of all the Y PAX fighting to stand in front of me at the claim belt.