Connecting flights query

AshleyC

AshleyC

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Ok ive always taken direct flights but im off to China in feb and the price difference with direct flight compared to 1 connecting flight is too much to ignore. How does it work. Do you go get your bags then leave and come back in through departures or is there a way through the arrival gate to the departure lounge with your bags being moved in the background. Also, the connecting flight is only an hour after the first stage lands, is that enough time. This would be heathrow to zurich, then zurich to hong kong.
 
Have done these in USA. Assume its same for China but you stay 'airside's do not claim baggage or do passports etc.

You simply leg it to where you are. Assuming it's booked as one trip (i.e. you don't book Ryanair to Berlin then BA from Berlin to JFK) on the booking (normally with same airline / partner) they will put you onto next flight if you miss. When I did this we had a small window so when we landed, the staff said only people transferring to another flight could get off, once we had got off, the rest of the flight could get off
 
Done it many times. Your baggage is passed through for you and you pick it up at the other end.

Time between flights is always an issue though I'm not as sure about flights outside Europe. Within EU us UK travellers are 2nd class citizens now and have to go through customs at the connecting airport so don't dawdle even if you think you have time.
Something you can do is check youtube for Airport walkthroughs (yes really) once you know which arrival/departure gates you will be using search gate X to gate Y at Zurich airport, there is a good chance somebody will have recorded the route.
 
On our recent return from Botswana we specifically requested a connected flight.

The airport at Kasane did that for us and part of the process they label the bags with the final destination i.e. Heathrow. They also printed out our British Airways Boarding Passes.

However, of note at Johannesburg Airport though it was a connection flight they still operated passport control and X-ray security checks. I don't know if that is common now as the last time we had a connection flight we did not have to go through the additional aforementioned passport & security stages.

Oh, it was oh so less stress at Jo'burg not have collect the cases 'enter South Africa' and checkin again for the BA flight...................arrived at Heathrow and the cases were there onm the carousel as expected :)
 
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Every long distance flight I've taken has involved a connecting flight but my luggage hasn't always automatically been transferred so I always ask at check in.

The one time my luggage wasn't automatically transferred to the connecting flight included a longer than usual stop over in Egypt either on the way to or the way back from Kazakhstan, I can't remember which. That's the only time it's happened to me and the longer than usual stop over was possibly the reason.

I assume you'll get off the first flight, hang around and then go to the gate and get on the next flight and your luggage will be on board but in your place and just to be sure I'd ask at check in. They'll know.

PS.
Have a good time :D
 
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With the same airline the bags are passed along and you collect them at the end. With different airlines the flights don't connect to the same degree, and we've had to recover bags, then re-check them.
 
I’ve done connecting flights a few times but given the choice I would fly direct
If the first flight is delayed you could end up missing the second one, not familiar with Zurich but I think 1 hour doesn’t leave much margin for error
Last time I connected through Heathrow Terminal 5 it was really busy and even though I had allowed an hour and a half, I would have missed the second flight if it wasn’t delayed
 
It depends on the country, airport and airlines- there is no absolute. Confirm before you book. Sorry but I have never connected thru Switzerland.
Enjoy your trip
 
I failed to read your comment about time between flights. 1 hour could be very tight, and I have memories of running through the airport at fort worth to catch a connection (same airline) that was sent off early to prevent people from our late arriving flight boarding and delaying it.
 
Not long distance, but in June on our way to Svalbard we flew KLM from Newcastle to Oslo via Amsterdam. We checked our luggage through to Oslo as we only had one hour between flights. Our flight departure from Newcastle was delayed by 20 minutes which meant we had to scramble to get across Schipol in time to catch our Oslo flight which was a few minutes late in leaving.

We arrived on time in Oslo, sadly our luggage didn't. KLM Customer service said our cases were on the next Oslo flight which was due in a couple of hours, and to give credit to KLM they were right.

We had a couple of hours between flights for our return journey, we arrived home with our luggage on the way back.
 
Don't assume that your luggage will be on your flight. With onward travel your luggage will travel on the 'first available system' not that you will notice as it will still be on your flight number carousel at your final destination.
 
The price of flying from the UK, Heathrow in particular, is influenced on the charges such as fuel duty, APD, airport fees etc etc. which make LHR an expensive airport to start a journey. If on a connecting flight your first portion is short haul then the costs reduce dramatically, When I lived in Holland I discovered that a) if you travel via London it was cheaper than flying directly from Amsterdam and b) when using KLM starting from anywhere else other than Amsterdam, even thought travelling through Amsterdam, was cheaper than starting from AMS, when I travelled to Ecudaor on a photo tour starting from London it was made clear to me that I should join the club even though the long haul flight originated from AMS, I lived 20 miles south of Schiphol at the time. Imagine the confusion when I checked in my luggage, but you are joining the flight in London Mr Jones? The £29 bmi flight to LHR was much less than the premium I would've had to pay if I didn't fly to London... And you think rail fares are confusing.

Business wise, flying to the US, it was cheaper for me to use BA than fly direct with UNTIED. really enjoyed my Club World journeys, did get bumped up to 1st once.

Still I met my other half at Wetherspoons in LHR T4 when meeting the group, 18 years ago! Everyone thought it was strange I'd flown from Amsterdam that afternoon, only to go back that evening.

The flight was on a lovely MD-11, to Bonaire, Guayaquil and then Quito. Luggage was waiting for me (as were my 120 films).

As for B-word, I travel quite a fair bit and the only difference about not being able to use the EU E-gates is the potential to land just after a long-haul 777 or A380. Munich it is bad but not so bad in Venice or Hamburg.
 
Steep said:
Done it many times. Your baggage is passed through for you and you pick it up at the other end.
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Does that not depend on the country you are visiting? Admittedly it was about 20 years ago, but when we flew to Hawaii from Heathrow via Los Angeles we had to collect our luggage in LA and go through immigration and Customs there.
 
Depends on the airport I’ve found. Joberg sent our bags straight through on the way to Namibia, on the return leg through Cape Town they were offload and then we had to speak to someone to have them forwarded them onto our next flight.

Transferring through Miami and Atalanta meant I had to pick my bags up and then check in again. That was a decade now though, so may have changed
 
kt53 said:
Does that not depend on the country you are visiting? Admittedly it was about 20 years ago, but when we flew to Hawaii from Heathrow via Los Angeles we had to collect our luggage in LA and go through immigration and Customs there.
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It does - if for example you are flying to the US, the first place you land will have you collect your bags, go through customs and then recheck them at a specific baggage recheck area, all within the secure area (so you wouldn't have to go through passenger security again).

Some countries where you are "passing through" without collecting your bag will not do this, but if your final destination is in the same country as your connection you will likely have to go through customs at your first stop.

Best bet to ask the gate agent when you check in.
 
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