KA+QF flight. QF boarding pass not given

[reilic]

I am travelling KA437 and QF30 from KHH-HKG-MEL.

When check-in at KHH, my boarding pass for HKG-MEL was not given.

I was asked to go check in again in HKG.

In terms of my luggage, it seems to be checked through to Melbourne....

But then I was doing online chat with Qantas, the rep says

Dragonair would not be able to print out the boarding pass for Qantas, this would need to be received at the Qantas desk when you arrive in at Hong Kong for your flight to Melbourne. When you arrive at the airport in Hong Kong, proceed to a Qantas check in desk and they would provide you with your boarding pass for your flight.

Regarding the lugguage, the rep says.
As far as I do know since there is another carrier on this booking, the baggage would be checked from Kaohsiung to Hong Kong where you'd need to collect it and check the baggage in with Qantas for your flight to Melbourne. They are OneWorld partners but the baggage would only be checked through to your destination if all the flights are Qantas flights. For your flight leaving Canberra you flew Qantas up until Hong Kong and then switched to Dragonair.

Is this right that I need to check-in again at HKG?

 

[TomVexille]

I haven't been to HKG (yet), but my guess is that if your bags have actually been tagged to MEL, you should be able to just stop by a transfer desk as HKG

 

[reilic]

I haven't been to HKG (yet), but my guess is that if your bags have actually been tagged to MEL, you should be able to just stop by a transfer desk as HKG

I hope this is the case, otherwise, it's crazy.

However, I never had to wait until I get to HK to pick up the boarding pass for QF before though.

Were there any recent changes to the KA and QF relationship?

Was it due to Cathay rebranded KA to "Cathay Dragon" in Jan 2016??

 

[Himeno]

That's odd.
Where both flights on the same ticket?
Doesn't KA use the same IT system as CX (and QF, BA, ...)?
I haven't used KA before, but I've had CX check me through and issue boarding passes to MH and QF flights before.
Last year, AY issued boarding passes for HEL-LHR-DXB-LHR-PVG (AY/QF/QF/BA) in one go, and even short checked my bag to LHR (it was going into storage at LHR for the LHR-DXB-LHR flights).
Also had JL issue passes for ITM-HND-SIN-MEL-CBR (JL/QF change in SIN).

Most times when I've had issues getting connecting passes, it's been connecting across tickets, to the same airline or across oneworld members. In those cases, the agent either outright refused and wouldn't listen to what the rules were, or didn't know how to do it.
Have had some times where a connecting pass couldn't be issued because of an issue in the system (eg, a sector was upgraded).

Once had BA outright refuse to check through to a connecting QF flight - on the same ticket.

 

[reilic]

Yeap it's on the same ticket. This is actually the return leg. Itineary is CBR-MEL-HKG-KHH-HKG-MEL.
No issues before but this one strikes as odd, and I can't figure out why this is it all the sudden.

 

[JohnK]

I have had many times from BKK going via HKG where they cannot issue boarding pass. Sometimes luggage is checked through sometimes not.

Don't worry. In HKG go to nearest transfer desk and get QF boarding pass. Show them luggage receipt even if luggage checked through as they need to log the luggage into Qantas system. Go through security yo the lounge or your gate.

 

[reilic]

I have had many times from BKK going via HKG where they cannot issue boarding pass. Sometimes luggage is checked through sometimes not.

Don't worry. In HKG go to nearest transfer desk and get QF boarding pass. Show them luggage receipt even if luggage checked through as they need to log the luggage into Qantas system. Go through security yo the lounge or your gate.

Thanks John for the advice. Will do that when I get to HKG. Cheers

 

[reilic]

I have had many times from BKK going via HKG where they cannot issue boarding pass. Sometimes luggage is checked through sometimes not.
.

In the case your luggage didn't get checked through, what did you do? Did you have to clear Customs at HKG and come back in again?

 

[Himeno]

In the case your luggage didn't get checked through, what did you do? Did you have to clear Customs at HKG and come back in again?

That is usually what would be needed, yes.

I've had to do that a few times, but every time where I've had to go through immigration and customs to do so has been planned (such as when I did HEL-LHR-DXB-LHR-HKG-NRT-SIN-PER-MEL non stop over 3 days. There was a ticket change in NRT, and given the limits on sectors able to be attached to one tag, it was easier for everyone to just plan in to enter Japan to collect and recheck.)
The times I've had to do it unplanned were on internal EU connections via MAD (BCN and FCO-MAD-LHR).

There are some airports and airlines where their customer service and/or your status would have the airline work out the bag getting redirected without your having to collect it, but you shouldn't count on that happening.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I am travelling KA437 and QF30 from KHH-HKG-MEL.

When check-in at KHH, my boarding pass for HKG-MEL was not given.

I was asked to go check in again in HKG.

In terms of my luggage, it seems to be checked through to Melbourne....

But then I was doing online chat with Qantas, the rep says

Dragonair would not be able to print out the boarding pass for Qantas, this would need to be received at the Qantas desk when you arrive in at Hong Kong for your flight to Melbourne. When you arrive at the airport in Hong Kong, proceed to a Qantas check in desk and they would provide you with your boarding pass for your flight.

Regarding the lugguage, the rep says.
As far as I do know since there is another carrier on this booking, the baggage would be checked from Kaohsiung to Hong Kong where you'd need to collect it and check the baggage in with Qantas for your flight to Melbourne. They are OneWorld partners but the baggage would only be checked through to your destination if all the flights are Qantas flights. For your flight leaving Canberra you flew Qantas up until Hong Kong and then switched to Dragonair.

Is this right that I need to check-in again at HKG?

Having to collect QF boarding pass in HKG = quite common. I used to do this most of the time connecting out of China on CX/KA

Bag tags - they will be checked through to MEL. Just look at your bag tag. If it says 'MEL' you're good to go.

As I've said in other threads... call centre staff are excellent... for fares and ticketing. Anything else... bags, seats, visas (you name it) come to AFF

The QF chat rep erred in their information... OW interlining of baggage is almost universal... even QF's policy is that it will through tag bags onto other OW partners, even on separate tickets. (it is vary rare for itineraries on a single ticket to not allow through-check of bags, although there are some exceptions.)

In fact many airlines in the world actually value our business and will through tag bags even if transferring alliances on separate tickets. QF isn't so keen.

Bottom line - check your KA bag tag (in your possession) - it should say MEL.

 

[reilic]

Good news in the end @ HKG. The reason that we didn't get the QF boarding pass is because that I requested a last minute seat change. Hence need to get it from the transit desk at HKG. All good in the end and the lovely lady at the desk checked all luggage were checked through to MEL.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Good news in the end @ HKG. The reason that we didn't get the QF boarding pass is because that I requested a last minute seat change.

ummmm. Ok

CX/KA not issuing QF boarding passes is (was) fairly common. Nothing to do with seat changes.

 

[reilic]

ummmm. Ok

CX/KA not issuing QF boarding passes is (was) fairly common. Nothing to do with seat changes.

Were there any precedent that KA/CX did issue QF boarding pass though?

 

[JohnK]

In the case your luggage didn't get checked through, what did you do? Did you have to clear Customs at HKG and come back in again?

No need to clear customs. Transfer desk handles the luggage.

I have a UL -> QF connection BKK-HKG-SYD in 2 weeks on separate tickets and the same thing will happen. Never had an issue.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Were there any precedent that KA/CX did issue QF boarding pass though?

I admit the last time I did that connection was a couple years ago, but I can't remember a time when I got a QF connecting boarding pass ex China. I always had to go wait by the QF transfer desk in HKG until it opened three hours before departure. Dunno if it changed since then (I have swapped to CX/CX so no problem).

Most recently KA was unable to issue me a QF domestic connector BP (all same ticket, connecting ex China).

 

[madrooster]

That's odd.
Where both flights on the same ticket?
Doesn't KA use the same IT system as CX (and QF, BA, ...)?
I haven't used KA before, but I've had CX check me through and issue boarding passes to MH and QF flights before.
Last year, AY issued boarding passes for HEL-LHR-DXB-LHR-PVG (AY/QF/QF/BA) in one go, and even short checked my bag to LHR (it was going into storage at LHR for the LHR-DXB-LHR flights).
Also had JL issue passes for ITM-HND-SIN-MEL-CBR (JL/QF change in SIN).

Most times when I've had issues getting connecting passes, it's been connecting across tickets, to the same airline or across oneworld members. In those cases, the agent either outright refused and wouldn't listen to what the rules were, or didn't know how to do it.
Have had some times where a connecting pass couldn't be issued because of an issue in the system (eg, a sector was upgraded).

Once had BA outright refuse to check through to a connecting QF flight - on the same ticket.

KA/CX/QF all use Amadeus Altea for departure control.

The reason behind why CX/KA can't issue a QF boarding pass is because CX/KA goes to airport control at T-48. This means the PNR sync from reservations to departure control for KA/CX happens much earlier than for QF.

Altea's behaviour is it will grab only the CX/KA flights and not the QF flights due to the QF flights not having gone to airport control. Closer to T-24, Altea syncs the QF sectors and because it was not done at the same time as the CX/KA ones, it creates a new departure control record for the QF sectors.

The end result is even if you're connecting KA->QF or CX->QF, Altea errors on the fact that the QF record wasn't there when the CX/KA record was initially created.

This doesn't occur for QF->CX or QF->KA as CX/KA would already be under airport control when QF goes under airport control, so it manages to find the CX/KA record just fine as it already exists.

 

[Isochronous]

The only reason bags wouldn't be checked all the way through would be due to the ignorance of the check-in agent at KHH.

For boarding passes, they may not be able to issue at KHH but you resolve that by going to the QF transfer desk airside at HKG. No need to clear immigration and go to the main QF check in desks in the departure hall.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

KA/CX/QF all use Amadeus Altea for departure control.

The reason behind why CX/KA can't issue a QF boarding pass is because CX/KA goes to airport control at T-48. This means the PNR sync from reservations to departure control for KA/CX happens much earlier than for QF.

Altea's behaviour is it will grab only the CX/KA flights and not the QF flights due to the QF flights not having gone to airport control. Closer to T-24, Altea syncs the QF sectors and because it was not done at the same time as the CX/KA ones, it creates a new departure control record for the QF sectors.

The end result is even if you're connecting KA->QF or CX->QF, Altea errors on the fact that the QF record wasn't there when the CX/KA record was initially created.

This doesn't occur for QF->CX or QF->KA as CX/KA would already be under airport control when QF goes under airport control, so it manages to find the CX/KA record just fine as it already exists.

Thanks mr!

Is there any work-around? A work-around would save waiting for the QF transfer desk to open.

 

[madrooster]

Thanks mr!

Is there any work-around? A work-around would save waiting for the QF transfer desk to open.

There is a workaround that would allow you to get your QF OLCI boarding pass in cases like this. PM me if you would like more details.