Is it possible to change from an Air New Zealand flight to a BA flight in Beijing without going through customs?

2/29/2012 9:12:43 PM

He’ll be fine. Even switching airlines you can usually get the bag checked through.

As for changing flights, this should be possible in transit, and even if he has to leave, assuming he’s on a NZ passport:

Chinese Transit Visa(G):

  • Visas are not required of aliens, who hold final destination tickets and have booked seats on international airliners flying directly
    through China, and will stay in a transit city for less than 24 hours
    without leaving the airport.
  • Visas are not required of Citizens of the following countries, who transit through Pudong Airport or Hongqiao Airport of Shanghai,
    provided they hold valid passports, visas for the onward countries,
    final destination tickets and have booked seats, and stay in Shanghai
    for less than 48 hours: Republic of Korea, United States, Canada,
    Australia, New Zealand, Germany, France, Netherlands, Belgium,
    Luxemburg, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Austria, Greece, Sweden, Denmark,
    Norway, Finland, Iceland.

(note their spelling mistake for “Luxembourg” is their one, not mine)

3/1/2012 12:21:27 PM

I took the novel step of calling Air New Zealand, and they said the flight was booked directly through them even though he used webjet.co.nz (which was why I was reluctant to call them in the first place) the flight is connecting and he will be issued tickets and have his bag checked through from his point of departure.

2/29/2012 5:16:43 PM

I assume that since AirNZ and BA don’t code share, your trip is on two separate tickets.
This might be a problem. The best bet is to ring AirNZ and ask them about the luggage being checked through. If it’s not, you’re going to have to clear immigration (with a visa) pick up his bag, check in to his second flight, and go through security again. This can take a long time.

What’s your connection time in Beijing? Risky with anything less than four hours. These kind of trips with legs on seperate tickets can be quite risky, as if the first flight is late and you miss your connection, you now have an argument about who’s liable, and it’ll probably be you.

Air NZ’s website has this to say:

Connecting with Other Airlines

If you have a connecting flight with another airline, your baggage may
be through-checked if Air New Zealand has an interline agreement with
the other airline. Your flights must also all be on the same ticket.
If your flights are ticketed separately, baggage may only be
through-checked if your tickets are issued in conjunction with each
other. Please contact your booking agent if you are unsure whether
your baggage may be through-checked.

Credit:stackoverflow.com‘

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Hello,My name is Aparna Patel,I’m a Travel Blogger and Photographer who travel the world full-time with my hubby.I like to share my travel experience.

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