Nan needs guidance for Hong Kong in transit
Sep 11th, 2010, 11:31 PM
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2010
Posts: 2
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Nan needs guidance for Hong Kong in transit
Hi, Hoping someone could give me some advice as my Mum is flying to N.Z via Hong Kong for the first time and she's really worried about her 90 minutes in Hong Kong (while in transit). Will she just get off the plane and stay in a room close by to the plane while it refuels etc - normally Mum flies via Singapore but she's just worried what the set up would be in Hong Kong. Any help would be very much appreciated!!! Thank you in advance.
Sep 12th, 2010, 03:10 AM
#2
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 14
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
You may want to review their website: www.hongkongairport.com
HKG is very visitor friendly, with only a little seeking she will find everything she needs and much more! She will need to locate her departure gate and check for any updates. I was somewhat overwhelmed at HKG and found that I had to be near the gate to catch my flight's announcements (although I found plenty of time to eat and shop).
HKG is very visitor friendly, with only a little seeking she will find everything she needs and much more! She will need to locate her departure gate and check for any updates. I was somewhat overwhelmed at HKG and found that I had to be near the gate to catch my flight's announcements (although I found plenty of time to eat and shop).
Sep 12th, 2010, 06:42 AM
#3
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 23,073
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Are you flying Air NewZealand from London? Anyways, your mom will have 90 minutes in the departure gate area with all the shops and restaurants available. Probably best place to transit in the world.
Sep 12th, 2010, 07:43 AM
#5
Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 833
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Nothing to worry about, she'll have to get off the plane and clear security before she can enter the transit area. If flying CX they'll be ground crew to assist her. If she'll on NZ, I'm not sure what their set up is in HKG but I'm sure their ground crew will be there to assist passengers. I'll take a 90 mins conncetion in HKG anyday. HKG is very user friendly and if she's got some time to kill or wants to go for a stroll she can pass her time window shopping.
Sep 13th, 2010, 06:40 PM
#6
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 7,689
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
OK, I am assuming that your Nan is taking the same flight all the way to NZ (same flight number) but there is a stop over in Hong Kong. I assume this is Air New Zealand #38 which arrives into Hong Kong at 4:20 pm from Heathrow, and departs for Auckland at 6 pm.
Hong Kong Airport has a different procedure for stopovers than Singapore airport does, so she will have a little more walking to do. I will explain below.
1. In Hong Kong, when you get off the plane, you are directed down a ramp to the arrivals level. There are no departure lounges or gates on this level. In Singapore, you get off the plane and stay on the <i>same</i> level as the departure lounges and departure gates. Arriving and departing passengers are mixed together on the same level. That is not the case in Hong Kong. So in Hong Kong, once your Nan gets off the plane, all she has to do is get back upstairs one level to the departure area. This is very easy to do, she needs to follow signs for “transit/transfer” and her departure gate number. When she gets off the plane, there will be ground staff who can tell her what departure gate she needs (the gate is in fact directly above her, but she will not be allowed up the ramp to it, she will have to work her way back upstairs to it.) There are also electronic sign boards along the hallway with this information. Her departure gate will also most likely will show up on the TV screen at her seat about a half hour before landing in Hong Kong.
2. To make the journey upstairs to the departure level, she will at some point have to go upstairs either by escalator or lift. She will at some point also have to go through security to make the change from the arrival to departure level. She should just keep following signs for “transfer” and/or her departure gate number.
3. Assuming she is flying NZ Airlines on both sectors, they should be able to give her a boarding pass for both sectors when she checks in at Heathrow. If she is flying different airlines, or if for some reason the airline at her home airport could not give her a boarding pass, then she needs to get a boarding pass for the Hong Kong –NZ sector. This is quite easy to do, she just has to go to the correct transfer desk for her airline. Again, ground staff can give her that information, or she should find it posted on the electronic boards. She will stay on the same arrival level to get the boarding pass, then will go upstairs to the departure level to get to her gate. In either case, as your Nan has made international connections before, she knows that here baggage will be checked through all the way to NZ from Heathrow regardless of what airlines she if flying, so she does not have to worry about that.
4. As she has 90 minutes, assuming the flight is on time, she should have plenty of time to get a boarding pass (if she needs it) and get to her gate. There are plenty of shops and restaurants in the various departure level areas to amuse her should she need amusement. If the flight is late in arriving, she should speak with ground staff when she arrives, so they can expedite getting her upstairs to the departure level.
Hong Kong Airport has a different procedure for stopovers than Singapore airport does, so she will have a little more walking to do. I will explain below.
1. In Hong Kong, when you get off the plane, you are directed down a ramp to the arrivals level. There are no departure lounges or gates on this level. In Singapore, you get off the plane and stay on the <i>same</i> level as the departure lounges and departure gates. Arriving and departing passengers are mixed together on the same level. That is not the case in Hong Kong. So in Hong Kong, once your Nan gets off the plane, all she has to do is get back upstairs one level to the departure area. This is very easy to do, she needs to follow signs for “transit/transfer” and her departure gate number. When she gets off the plane, there will be ground staff who can tell her what departure gate she needs (the gate is in fact directly above her, but she will not be allowed up the ramp to it, she will have to work her way back upstairs to it.) There are also electronic sign boards along the hallway with this information. Her departure gate will also most likely will show up on the TV screen at her seat about a half hour before landing in Hong Kong.
2. To make the journey upstairs to the departure level, she will at some point have to go upstairs either by escalator or lift. She will at some point also have to go through security to make the change from the arrival to departure level. She should just keep following signs for “transfer” and/or her departure gate number.
3. Assuming she is flying NZ Airlines on both sectors, they should be able to give her a boarding pass for both sectors when she checks in at Heathrow. If she is flying different airlines, or if for some reason the airline at her home airport could not give her a boarding pass, then she needs to get a boarding pass for the Hong Kong –NZ sector. This is quite easy to do, she just has to go to the correct transfer desk for her airline. Again, ground staff can give her that information, or she should find it posted on the electronic boards. She will stay on the same arrival level to get the boarding pass, then will go upstairs to the departure level to get to her gate. In either case, as your Nan has made international connections before, she knows that here baggage will be checked through all the way to NZ from Heathrow regardless of what airlines she if flying, so she does not have to worry about that.
4. As she has 90 minutes, assuming the flight is on time, she should have plenty of time to get a boarding pass (if she needs it) and get to her gate. There are plenty of shops and restaurants in the various departure level areas to amuse her should she need amusement. If the flight is late in arriving, she should speak with ground staff when she arrives, so they can expedite getting her upstairs to the departure level.
Sep 13th, 2010, 07:37 PM
#7
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 23,073
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
If the first leg is significantly late getting into HKG, the outbound will be delayed as well. They need to refuel, clean and cater the aircraft. For a 747-400 between two longhauls, that's at least an hour. No need to hurry back to the gate.
