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Connection time in Bangkok on separate tickets

Connection time in Bangkok on separate tickets

Old Jul 19th, 2017, 09:15 PM
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Connection time in Bangkok on separate tickets

I have a flight arriving in Bangkok at 16:00 hrs with a connection to Siem Reap at 18:25. on two separate tickets. I am arriving on business class with JAL but connecting to THAI SMile. Will I have enough time to make this connection collecting luggage and clearing customs and immigration.

I have noticed some people have managed to get tickets linked so that they may have bags checked all the way thru saving some time, as well as not having to clear immigration in Bangkok. Any advice? We are not traveling until Feb 11, 2018. The Siem REap tickets are non refundable and the tokyo tickets are award travel and virtually unchangeable.
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Old Jul 19th, 2017, 09:38 PM
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Have you asked on the Trip Advisor Air Forum?

If you do have to collect your bags and check in again, then the time it takes for your bags to appear on the carousel will probably be the determining factor time wise.....last time we arrived at BKK in February we breezed through Immigration, but retrieving our bags took ages.

The Departure check-in Hall at BKK is massive and very busy, it'll take a few minutes to get in the swing of it.
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Old Jul 20th, 2017, 03:57 AM
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Bangkok has 2 airports. You may be changing airports too.
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Old Jul 20th, 2017, 06:27 AM
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Check with your airlines, but I doubt you will get your tickets linked and be able to check you luggage through. If you can and you can go through transit rather than immigration in BKK then you should be ok.

If not, then think it is optimistic to think you have enough time. You may be lucky, but IME queues in BKK immigration can be horrendous, 30-60 mins is not unusual. If you can check in online for your SR flight, that would help as would travelling with carry on only.

If it were me, I would just buy another ticket to SR. it shouldn't be that expensive if you do it now rather than later.
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Old Jul 20th, 2017, 12:32 PM
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That's cutting it really close. I just flew on Smile Airlines in Jan 2017, but to Penang and the lines were long. But, I had already been in Bangkok for 3 weeks and was leaving, not changing planes. This was in the main airport.

If you have to collect luggage and then go through immigration and then stand in the Smile Airline line to get a boarding pass and recheck luggage and then go back through security, then good luck.

Happy Travels!
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Old Jul 20th, 2017, 12:37 PM
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Is your connection time the landing time, not the getting into the terminal? From touchdown to exiting can take 15 minutes or more. Our last flight into BKK had a delay on the armac waiting to get to the gate. Further BKK airport is HUGE.
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Old Jul 21st, 2017, 05:08 AM
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Very true, yestravel. Those tarmac situations can be a mess, whether it's touch down or take off.

Speaking of tarmac situations, when I flew on Smile Airline, we all were put on a bus and then driven out to the plane sitting out in no-man's land. It was quite a long ride to even get to the plane. Then, when we all boarded, the plane didn't leave until about 45 minutes after the scheduled departure time. Had anyone been late to the gate, then they would have been out of luck as one had to be on that bus to get to the plane. My flight had a departure time of 7:45PM. It was pitch black outside when the bus was driving us all to our plane.

Also with Smile airline, make sure that your luggage is within their weight limits and their economy weight limit is lower than some other airlines that I have flown. My luggage was overweight, which I knew it would be, as I'm gone for 6 weeks and have clothes made. But, I arrived to the airport really early to take care of whatever needed to be taken care of. I'm used to paying for overweight luggage.

If baggage is overweight, by even a little, then one will be sent upstairs, to the Smile Airline office, with a payment slip, and be required to pay the overweight amount and then return downstairs to the Smile check-in line, to show proof of payment, and to then retrieve one's boarding pass. One can not pay at the Smile check-in counter.

So, if one is getting off of an international flight, with one set of baggage- allowance rules, as usually in 2 suitcases each up to 23 kilos, and then one is transferring to Smile, there will be a problem as in Economy Class, they only allow 20 kilos total and in their Premium Economy, 30 kilos total. They only have two classes. I will need to fly them again, to Penang, but this time will buy Premium Economy class if it's not sold out. And I will buy it on Thai Air's website as Expedia didn't show Premium Economy when I bought my ticket last year.

Happy Travels!
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Old Jul 21st, 2017, 04:37 PM
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When I start to panic over similar issues, to calm myself I think "what's the worst that can happen" and find it's generally less onerous than the nebulous feeling of panic. In this case, it appears that a ticket on Smile bought at short notice is about $80. Maybe more in winter but even at double that, it wouldn't be the end of the world for most of us. Annoying, yes, but probably not catastrophic.

The truth is you may very well make the connection. If you don't, depending on when the next flight is, a new ticket and maybe a hotel for 1 night is the worst. I wouldn't let it ruin my happy planning time.
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Old Jul 21st, 2017, 08:59 PM
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Mme P.....there can be knock on effects if you're travelling around quickly.
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Old Jul 22nd, 2017, 06:51 AM
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A new ticket and a hotel could prove very expensive!
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Old Jul 22nd, 2017, 07:11 AM
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"...very expensive!"

I travel on a shoestring myself but usually with the luxury of a bit more time than average. However, regarding money, it isn't as if its a long-haul flight or a hotel in Manhattan. Both ticket and hotel, if necessary and I suspect neither will be necessary, are inexpensive, all things relative.

No one likes to waste money, to be sure, but my point was just to try to put it into perspective and hopefully allow chauffeurboy to relax a bit and not continue to fret if, in fact, the worst happens.
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Old Jul 24th, 2017, 11:26 PM
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Thank you all for the replies. I will not sweat it if we end up missing our connection. As one said, what is the worst that could happen, 1 night in the hotel and another airline ticket that shouldnt break the bank. I am looking at potential back up plans in case we should miss the flight. This is part of a 5 week tour/cruise that my dear sweetie and I are taking to celebrate 30 years of marriage. It will all be part of the adventure and make for great story telling at our 50th.
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