Strategy to get "Early" JQ check-in for International

[fall502]

re: Strategy to get "Early" JQ check-in for International

Had my first JQ36 cancelled. So if I am travelling in the next week or so and using Jetstar's Price Beat Guarantee I ask how full the flight is so at least I have an idea if the flight will be cancelled due to poor sales. Also takes 3 business days for the itinerary to be emailed and no credit card fee for booking.

 

[legroom]

re: Strategy to get "Early" JQ check-in for International

I assume you mean JQ36. Have you checked if there is still an international tag flight on that day for the route? If there is you could try asking to be moved to the other flight. A reason could be having to meet someone transiting in the international area for work.

Good eyes, medhead !

Typo there; should have been SYD MEL (JQ35)

There is no other T1 departure on that day!

 

[greenfish]

re: Strategy to get "Early" JQ check-in for International

With the demise of OLCI for JQ35, are there any options for staying airside if arriving in SYD on QF8? Can the transfer desk provide a BP for JQ35 if I haven't already checked in?

I'll be travelling on two separate PNRs...

Thanks

 

[ozbeachbabe]

re: Strategy to get "Early" JQ check-in for International

With the demise of OLCI for JQ35, are there any options for staying airside if arriving in SYD on QF8? Can the transfer desk provide a BP for JQ35 if I haven't already checked in?

I'll be travelling on two separate PNRs...

Thanks

That gets a bit messy.

If you OLCI for the QF8 flight BNE/SYD & you intend to transit in SYD as you have a connection to an international flight JQ35 (albeit only to MEL) you technically don't need the orange 'D' sticker on your QF boarding pass, however it would be up to Customs in BNE as to whether they would treat you as a transit pax if you couldn't provide your connecting boarding pass SYD/MEL as it's the 2nd boarding pass that needs the 'D' sticker.

Your scenario is a bit different to somebody doing BNE/SYD on QF8 connecting to UA to LAX when they obtain the UA boarding pass airside at the transfer desk in SYD is that is a true international to international connection.

I can only comment on what I did the one time I've done a QF8 to JQ35 connection & as both flights were booked on the QF website in the same pnr I received both boarding passes at the time of OLCI so the 'D' sticker was affixed to the SYD/MEL boarding pass only & therefore Customs in BNE counted me as a transit pax in SYD so I wasn't included in the pax numbers who were disembarking in SYD.

As you wouldn't have the SYD/MEL boarding pass when you clear Customs in BNE I think it's going to be difficult to get them to count you as a transit pax so I'm sure they'll send you back upstairs to checkin to obtain the orange 'D' sticker for the QF8 boarding pass & tell you you'll have to clear Customs in SYD.

When you get to SYD you could always approach the transfer desk & see if you're able to get a JQ35 boarding pass, however if they can do that you would still need to clear Customs in SYD as they will be expecting you to disembark & they'll be wondering where the hell you are if you stay airside.

You would then go back through Customs as a departing pax but of course you would need an orange 'D' sticker put on your JQ35 boarding pass first & if you ask them for this airside they would assume you're an international connecting pax & would not need one. As JQ checkin won't be open at the time you may be able to get an orange 'D' sticker from QF as it's not like you're asking them to issue the boarding pass itself.

As you scenario is a bit 'out there' there will be a lot of airline & Customs people who may not have encountered your int to int connection for travel wholly within Australian so it will cause confusion.

 

[JessicaTam]

re: Strategy to get "Early" JQ check-in for International

With the demise of OLCI for JQ35, are there any options for staying airside if arriving in SYD on QF8? Can the transfer desk provide a BP for JQ35 if I haven't already checked in?

I'll be travelling on two separate PNRs...

Thanks

With respect to ozbeachbabe, it is actually not as tricky as that. I have done this before when doing a JQ36 to JQ35 day out.

When you get to SYD, walk throught the transit security area. You do not need a BP. Make sure you have your print out of your JQ booking though. The JQ transit desk is appalling and there may be no-one there. Head to whichever lounge you choose, clutching booking printout in hand. The reception is used to this and will let you in. Before your flight is called, head to the departure gate and ask the CSA setting up for boarding to print your BP.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

re: Strategy to get "Early" JQ check-in for International

With respect to ozbeachbabe, it is actually not as tricky as that. I have done this before when doing a JQ36 to JQ35 day out.

When you get to SYD, walk throught the transit security area. You do not need a BP. Make sure you have your print out of your JQ booking though. The JQ transit desk is appalling and there may be no-one there.

Head to whichever lounge you choose, clutching booking printout in hand. The reception is used to this and will let you in. Before your flight is called, head to the departure gate and ask the CSA setting up for boarding to print your BP.

Can't JQ in MEL issue both boarding passes for a same day return?

Also, do Customs in MEL treat you as a international transit pax in SYD ie don't insist on the orange 'D' sticker on the MEL/SYD boarding pass despite not yet holding the return SYD/MEL one?

 

[kpc]

re: Strategy to get "Early" JQ check-in for International

Head to whichever lounge you choose, clutching booking printout in hand. The reception is used to this and will let you in. Before your flight is called, head to the departure gate and ask the CSA setting up for boarding to print your BP.

Does JQ checkin not close 1 hour before departure? ....so you need to approach the J* desk prior to this time (assuming there is someone there!)

 

[JessicaTam]

re: Strategy to get "Early" JQ check-in for International

Can't JQ in MEL issue both boarding passes for a same day return?

Only if they are in a good mood. Only happened to me once.

Also, do Customs in MEL treat you as a international transit pax in SYD ie don't insist on the orange 'D' sticker on the MEL/SYD boarding pass despite not yet holding the return SYD/MEL one?

I have always had a D sticker for my MEL-SYD leg, so I can't answer that.

Does JQ checkin not close 1 hour before departure? ....so you need to approach the J* desk prior to this time (assuming there is someone there!)

I have never seen a JQ staff member at the JQ transit desk. I am not sure if transit pax would have the same time limits.

 

[greenfish]

re: Strategy to get "Early" JQ check-in for International

Thanks everyone, I'll try JessicaTam's approach and report back sometime in October, unless the kids are in tow (too long in the F-lounge for those guys)

 

[ozbeachbabe]

re: Strategy to get "Early" JQ check-in for International

Only if they are in a good mood. Only happened to me once.

I have always had a D sticker for my MEL-SYD leg, so I can't answer that.

If you have a D sticker on your MEL/SYD b/pass then Customs would be expecting you to clear in SYD & if you stay airside the pax count would be out.

Isn't that the exact scenario that happened to LiamR when Customs had a chat to him re his whereabouts?

 

[dfcatch]

re: Strategy to get "Early" JQ check-in for International

If you have a D sticker on your MEL/SYD b/pass then Customs would be expecting you to clear in SYD & if you stay airside the pax count would be out.

Isn't that the exact scenario that happened to LiamR when Customs had a chat to him re his whereabouts?

I'm still curious about this.....

When you enter airside with a D sticker - they inspect your ID against the BP, but they don't check anything against the computer nor appear to record anything.

When you depart landside - again they perform a perfunctory inspection of ID against BP but again no "record checking".

Other than a check of numbers passed through (assuming they have a check-sheet) or a fail to board against a manifest - I'm curious as to how they are expecting "Mr Jones" to show up and go looking for him??

They only actually collect the BP with D sticker at Quarantine exit, and I'm sure it takes some time to then check those off against a list..??

 

[JessicaTam]

re: Strategy to get "Early" JQ check-in for International

If you have a D sticker on your MEL/SYD b/pass then Customs would be expecting you to clear in SYD & if you stay airside the pax count would be out.

Isn't that the exact scenario that happened to LiamR when Customs had a chat to him re his whereabouts?

I think the problem we had was we went to the F lounge on arrival (as we had printouts of bookings) and only later decided to go landside to check-in and get BPs. As we had been Flounging for some time LiamR was the lucky one who got stopped to be asked where we had been for so long. There were 4(?) of us passing through customs, and I think it took a while for them to twig that our flight (JQ36) had landed ages ago.

 

[greenfish]

re: Strategy to get "Early" JQ check-in for International

Does raise the question - can the transit desk provide an orange sticker? And what would happen if I "transferred" my orange sticker to the SYD->MEL boarding pass?

 

[JessicaTam]

re: Strategy to get "Early" JQ check-in for International

Does raise the question - can the transit desk provide an orange sticker? And what would happen if I "transferred" my orange sticker to the SYD->MEL boarding pass?

I have never tried to peel one off and wouldn't advise it. "Just in cases".

 

[ozbeachbabe]

re: Strategy to get "Early" JQ check-in for International

I think the problem we had was we went to the F lounge on arrival (as we had printouts of bookings) and only later decided to go landside to check-in and get BPs.

As we had been Flounging for some time LiamR was the lucky one who got stopped to be asked where we had been for so long. There were 4(?) of us passing through customs, and I think it took a while for them to twig that our flight (JQ36) had landed ages ago.

So it wasn't so much a case if Customs actively looking for LiamR, just that the Customs Officer who processed LiamR cottoned on to the fact that the flight got in a few hours prior to that.

Does raise the question - can the transit desk provide an orange sticker? And what would happen if I "transferred" my orange sticker to the SYD->MEL boarding pass?

You can't just peel the sticker off because when you go through Customs they stamp "departed Australia" over the D sticker & the boarding pass so it would be obvious your b/pass had been tampered with.

Even if the transfer desk could provide the D sticker you would still have to go landside in order to clear Customs to have your boarding pass stamped because it would look suss if you presented the boarding pass at your destination minus the stamp.

 

[LiamR]

re: Strategy to get "Early" JQ check-in for International

So it wasn't so much a case if Customs actively looking for LiamR, just that the Customs Officer who processed LiamR cottoned on to the fact that the flight got in a few hours prior to that.



You can't just peel the sticker off because when you go through Customs they stamp "departed Australia" over the D sticker & the boarding pass so it would be obvious your b/pass had been tampered with.

Even if the transfer desk could provide the D sticker you would still have to go landside in order to clear Customs to have your boarding pass stamped because it would look suss if you presented the boarding pass at your destination minus the stamp.

\

Because I had both BPs (MELSYD and SYDMEL) I did use the airside transfer in SYD, what made immi pull me aside when I returned to MEL was that I had a SYD MEL Bp that had a D sticker, but had not been stamped by immi in SYD. So they were confused as to why I didn't clear immi in SYD.

Turns out airlines give a list of everybody on the aircraft to immi, so after looking into it immigration were confused as to what I had done, but eventually put two and two together.

I was advised in the future, if I have two boarding passes for domestic travel not to use the airside transfer, or show both BPs to the immigration team in Melbourne so they can note it and stamp both.

Long story short just explain what you are doing to everybody you come across and you won't have an issue.

 

[LiamR]

re: Strategy to get "Early" JQ check-in for International

Does raise the question - can the transit desk provide an orange sticker? And what would happen if I "transferred" my orange sticker to the SYD->MEL boarding pass?

No. They cannot. Frankly I've never seen anybody from JQ (Or QF that could access JQ's systems) at the transfer desk. I believe we went looking for them once at T-60 and they weren't there... which is why Jess and Mal + others had to go back landslide and get BPs?

 

[ozbeachbabe]

re: Strategy to get "Early" JQ check-in for International

Because I had both BPs (MELSYD and SYDMEL) I did use the airside transfer in SYD, what made immi pull me aside when I returned to MEL was that I had a SYD MEL Bp that had a D sticker, but had not been stamped by immi in SYD. So they were confused as to why I didn't clear immi in SYD.

What Customs should've done in MEL is only stamp your SYD/MEL boarding pass as there is no requirenent to clear immigration in SYD as you're transiting from one intl flight to another intl flight (JQ36 to JQ35) which is no different to QF8 to JQ35.

Turns out airlines give a list of everybody on the aircraft to immi, so after looking into it immigration were confused as to what I had done, but eventually put two and two together.

I was advised in the future, if I have two boarding passes for domestic travel not to use the airside transfer, or show both BPs to the immigration team in Melbourne so they can note it and stamp both.

Long story short just explain what you are doing to everybody you come across and you won't have an issue.

I would say that if you do get both boarding passes in the future just get D stickers on both b/passes then clear Customs in both SYD & MEL to avoid any potential dramas with Customs.

 

[LiamR]

re: Strategy to get "Early" JQ check-in for International

What Customs should've done in MEL is only stamp your SYD/MEL boarding pass as there is no requirenent to clear immigration in SYD as you're transiting from one intl flight to another intl flight (JQ36 to JQ35) which is no different to QF8 to JQ35.

Yes this is what should've happened.

I would say that if you do get both boarding passes in the future just get D stickers on both b/passes then clear Customs in both SYD & MEL to avoid any potential dramas with Customs.

I agree.

 

[ChrisFlyer]

re: Strategy to get "Early" JQ check-in for International

I've done QF8 a number of times, and these are a few of my experiences.

QF8 to JQ1 (SYD-MEL), booked on one PNR:

OLCI wouldn't work for the JQ flight, and the QF staff in BNE weren't able to access the system or print a BP. They issued only the QF8 BP, with the orange D sticker.

In SYD, we went through transit security, and straight to the F lounge (with a print-out of the res, showing the onward flight). No problems getting past the bouncer, though the reception staff also couldn't access the JQ system. As the JQ transit desk was closed, we were still invited in.

Closer to the flight time, we headed to a JQ gate, where it looked like a flight would be called for boarding within the next few minutes (not our gate).

I waited until the gate agents no longer looked busy (they'd been printing the manifests and dealing with wheelchairs until that point), and politely asked if they could check us in and issue BPs (mentioning that the lounge staff couldn't access their system, and that we had no checked luggage). No problems issuing the BPs (no D sticker of course).

On arrival in MEL, I just handed the Customs officer both BPs, and he handed me back the JQ SYD-MEL BP – retaining only the QF8 BP with the D sticker... he didn't seem concerned by it at all, and let me pass without question.

I had expected a few questions (as their systems *may* have shown that I should have arrived in SYD), but QF may have also noted my 'I-I' (D) connection when disclosing the passenger lists.

I don't know if I'd 'bother' again (if I return to WP) – there was just too much hassle (as I had left the lounge every ~30 mins or so to see if there was anyone at the JQ transfer desk, before giving up and hunting down a JQ gate), so I didn't find my time there as relaxing as I usually would. I became rather acquainted with the F lounge bouncer though!

QF8 to LA800 (SYD-AKL), booked on two PNRs

I presented both itineraries on check-in. The staff weren't able to issue my LAN BP, but did note the connection in my res, and issued my QF8 BP sans D sticker (as I was connecting to an int'l flight).

Customs in BNE didn't ask me for my other BP (I also presented my outgoing passenger card with the LA800 flight number), and let me pass without question.

The plan was to obtain a LAN BP at the transfer desk in SYD, though the QF8 a/c went unserviceable, so one of the QF lounge staff escorted me out of the terminal (I was HLO).

As I had technically 'left the country', it did take a moment for the Customs staff to process my re-entry (they had to take my passport away and spend a couple of minutes on the phone – I could still see them), but they returned and let me proceed.

No issues, questions or weird looks when again 'leaving the country' in SYD (for the second time that day), albeit on a different flight number with a new outgoing passenger card (I didn't make my original connection).

QF8 to QF127 to KA906 (SYD-HKG-PEK), booked on the one PNR

I received all BPs in BNE (no D sticker obviously), and had no issues with being on QF8 before departing on an int'l flight.