I need help with a flight to Asia pls

[BrennieGirl]

I've haven't booked a flight to Asia for over 20 years so I need some advice please.

I'm planning on travelling to Hong Kong to see a friend of mine in February. There are KLM and Air France flights with business class seats for about 2k available at the moment which seems very good value.

The only catch is that the layover for the outbound flight is only for 1 hour. I was planning on checking in a large suitcase but I'm worried that an hour won't be enough time with checked in luggage.

Can anyone who flies regularly advise me please?

Usually of if it’s all one booking with a short lay-over they label your checked bag to be sent all the way to your final destination and you don’t have to pick it up and recheck it at the layover airport. This can vary by airport and by airline though.

^^ that. If both flights are with the same airline they’ll be checked all the way through.

Even if the luggage is checked through to the final destination is an hour long enough for the airline to take it off one flight and put it on the next one?

It'd be either Schipol or Paris.

I regularly fly NZ to UK and often have a connection time of 40 mins in Zurich, Frankfurt or Munich. Never had a problem. You absolutely MUST be ticketed straight through. You will never do a tight connection if you have to collect your luggage.

If they sell it as a possible itinerary then are agreeing to get your luggage to your destination too. I’d say that yes, your luggage is more likely to get delayed with a really short layover compared to with a longer layover, but it isn’t a certainty that your luggage will be late. They do try to keep the luggage with the passengers because it’s a pain for the airline if they have to send it to your hotel in a taxi if it arrives late.

Would depend on your outbound flight leaving on time, every time I've flown post Covid my flight has never left on time, maybe just my bad luck and maybe just my airport (Dublin). Would only work if your luggage is ticketed all the way through, absolute no go if I have to check in again. Worst case scenario planning you could put some outfits in your carry on and airline should deliver delayed luggage in a day or so.

So if I book a return flight on either the KLM or Air France website that means I'm ticketed all the way through to HK even if it says the two parts of the itinerary are operated by different airlines?

Schipol will probably manage. Paris will lose your suitcase and you'll probably miss the flight as well.
Yes you are ticketed all the way through and the luggage is also sent directly.

Yes, I flew Auckland to Singapore on Singapore Airlines, then Sing to Manchester via Zurich on Swiss Air. I am on a Lufthansa fare. My suitcase was one of the first out. Going home I do Manchester Frankfurt Hong-Kong on Lufthansa then Hong-Kong Auckland on Cathey Pacific! I will be very surprised if my bag is not out very quickly.

This! Fly KLM via AMS and avoid Air France as Paris CDG is notorious for connection issues.

Airline worker here- bags move quicker than passengers!

make sure you book a through ticket is it’s all in one booking as then if any disruption the airline will rebook you single tickets and they don’t have any responsibility!

Second (or is it third at this stage) to avoid Charles de Gaulle. I've flown Europe to Asia twice a year for 6 years or so and Air France/CDG have been the one ones to mess up my luggage.

Just book an option with a longer connection, its not worth the stress as it is very short for time and if your first flight is delayed at all, you will miss the second one (and probably have to wait a day to be put on the next one)

Also seconding avoid CDG at all costs

I also agree with this.

I would also look for a longer connection and avoid CDG. If you look on the KLM website you may be able to pick your own outbound flight and give yourself a longer layover? Is the long haul leg with Air France rather than KLM? I feel like I might have seen poor reviews of KLM business class, have a look on YouTube.

I would be tempted to put an Air tag or Tile into your luggage so at least you will know if it isn't on the second plane with you! Doesn't stop the annoyance (and you'd want to pack at least a change of clothes in hand luggage anyway) but it saves the stress of not knowing whilst on the flight.

As others have said if it's one ticket it should be ok. Def do Schiphol not CDG. Put an AirTag in it. Pop one change of clothes into your handluggage. Will be fine!

You definitely need a longer connection time. Also, if you are booked on two different airlines neither has responsibility for you. However, if your connection is with the same airline and the first plane is late, then the airline has to find you another flight. I also agree that it is worth buying an AirTag so that if your case is put on the wrong flight (this has never happened to me) you will know where it is.

Your bag won't be the problem. You will. Try for a longer connection. I've done Schipol in 1hr 05 before but I wouldn't choose to. I've also missed two connections in Doha thanks to taking off late from Heathrow for no apparent reason, with 90min+ connection times. Same with Emirates. My connections were easily rebooked as my onward travel was within the Middle East with plenty of daily flights. If you miss the Hong Kong leg, when is the next flight?

Can you go the night before and stay over at either airport?

Have you not heard of code sharing?
OP, as long as the whole trip is booked with one airline as one trip, they will sort you out if the connection goes wrong.
Airlines join up in ´alliances’ to help manage routes and fill aeroplanes efficiently. When you book a long haul trip with a connecting flight it is extremely common for one flight to be staffed by one airline and the next flight by another. So, for example, Air France and KLM are both part of the Sky Team alliance, and it’s perfectly possible to book a flight through Air France where one leg will be flown by KLM. That flight will have a KLM flight number but also a Air France flight number. If something goes wrong with the connection, Air France will sort you out another flight.
I’ve even booked flights like this where the first leg was actually a high speed train. Because the whole thing was booked through the same airline, if the train was cancelled then the airline would have put us on another flight.
This is not the same thing at all as booking two separate flights with two separate companies - that would make it your responsibility to get to the airport on time and if something went wrong the airline would not have to pay for your onward flight.

This is incorrect if it’s a through ticket the airline who brings you in late assumes responsibility.

Problems occur if on separate tickets……

One hour transit time is fine.

Personally 1hr would be too tight for me to feel comfortable booking. And that’s even without your first flight being delayed in any way (and sooo many flights delayed these days). And yes unless your connection time is hours, make sure you’re bags are ticketed whole way through.

also, Paris CDG is a nightmare, bus transfers everywhere and takes about 3 days to get around.
I lost a bag and nearly missed a connecting flight there with a too short connection time.

I also missed a connecting flight in the US because my flight from Heathrow was delayed departing (although US customs also played a role there).

persoannly I’d give myself a bit longear connection to be more comfortable.

One hour connection time is usually offered for domestic flights. You need a longer connection time, preferably 2 or 3 hours.

avoid CDG airport.

One hour international connection times are fine. I travel with Qatar Airways frequently. If the airline wasn't able to guarantee the connection they wouldn't let you book.