2 Hr Gap Between Flight Arriving At Bkk And Next Flight Departure

[stament]

I've just booked a flight from LHR (Jet Airways) via India to BKK and there is a 2hr gap between my arrival and the time I need to get a domestic flight.

My question is - will this be enought time to get me through customs with bag, etc and into domestic check-in desk? Is there anything I can do to speed up the process? A friend said they could transfer my bag but the two airlines aren't part of the same alliance so that's the problem. So I'm guessing I'll have to go through customs, etc everything only to go back on a domestic plane?

Has anybody else had any experience with this kind of problem before?

Thanks

[mallyrd]

I think that if your internaional flight arrives on time then 2 hours should be enough time for you to move to the domestic side including your baggage.

[tartempion]

Took me just 30 minutes a few weeks ago.

Plane arrived at gate 07.00 am, only a few people in line at immigration (3 before me, many counters open)

My luggage arrived 5 minutes later, walked to 3d elevator (first does not stop arrivals level left side of terminal, what a stupid idea from AOT - To make touts life difficult including passenger's life?)

Checked in Thai domestic economy, also empty lines.

Went down one level to have a coffee and called my wife at 7.30 from there.

No guarantee though it will be that easy for you, my Thai flight was leaving 9.45, thus had a comfortable 2.45h.

Had 3 similar experiences this year so far, and a 4th upcoming late October.

[rodcourt49]

I think that if your internaional flight arrives on time then 2 hours should be enough time for you to move to the domestic side including your baggage.

..The OP will also have to do Immigration..Customs is a breeze seeing as you do not need to fill in any card and select the Green or Red Exit.

[lomatopo]

Most airlines recommend a 3 hour connection (MCT: Minimum Connection Time) window at BKK for any type of connection. I think TG will ticket with an MCT of 120 min. at BKK as in most cases they have later flights which they cna put you on if you miss the tighter connection.

Can you share:

your domestic destination

carrier (domestic)

single ticket? separate ticket

time(s) of day? arrival and departure

Airlines have interline agreements (which allows for the through checking of bags to the final destination) outside of "Alliances". Jet Airlines has interline agreements with 140 airlines. Even with separate tickets it is possible to check bags through; just show your connecting flight info at check in.

So based on your domestic carrier and domestic destination you may be able to check bags through, allowing you to use the mid-field Immigration facility.

Finally, many airlines close check-in 45 - 60 min prior to departure so a 2 hour gap can easily become a 1 hour gap. Factor in a late arrival and longer Immigration queues and making the flight might be challenging.

p.s. You will have to re-clear security land-side, or mid-field. Sometimes these lines can be quite long.

[hkt83100]

Fill out your arrival card before touchdown, that will be a tremendous help. If everyone would do it properly, the queues at immigration would be much shorter.

[shaunoro]

Jet don't usually give out arrival cards.

But 2 hours is enough to get through customa and immigration.

Usually 30 minutes tops.

You will even have time for a beer/coffee at domestic terminal.

[Lakegeneve]

I think 2 hrs is fine. I personally even think 90mins in BKK and some other airports is ok if I am familiar with the specific airlines/flights concerned. It all depends on a range of specific factors.

However, the main issue I foresee with taking an airline which has a stopover en route to BKK, especially in india and given it is Jet. Thus you have a slightly greater chance that your flight may arrive late than with a direct flight. Thought it has to be said anything out of LHR is always a risk of a delayed dep!

(A family friend flew Jet June last year - BKK to Dehli - and the inbound to BKK was late, the flight was overbooked and thus the outbound departed late. However, it was good for her as she was put on a TG flight and this is only one flight example as others ,ay say they are always on time).

With some airlines, eg. SG, CX, EK I never worry about stopovers delaying my flight but with some airlines the risk remains.

You don't state where your flying too domestically but if your concerned enough to post here then why book a domestic flight so close? Just change your domestic flight to another flight an hour or two later? There is nothing worse than taking a long haul being slightly anxious the whole flight that you may miss a connecting flight.

[stament]

Most airlines recommend a 3 hour connection (MCT: Minimum Connection Time) window at BKK for any type of connection. I think TG will ticket with an MCT of 120 min. at BKK as in most cases they have later flights which they cna put you on if you miss the tighter connection.

Can you share:

your domestic destination

carrier (domestic)

single ticket? separate ticket

time(s) of day? arrival and departure

Airlines have interline agreements (which allows for the through checking of bags to the final destination) outside of "Alliances". Jet Airlines has interline agreements with 140 airlines. Even with separate tickets it is possible to check bags through; just show your connecting flight info at check in.

So based on your domestic carrier and domestic destination you may be able to check bags through, allowing you to use the mid-field Immigration facility.

Finally, many airlines close check-in 45 - 60 min prior to departure so a 2 hour gap can easily become a 1 hour gap. Factor in a late arrival and longer Immigration queues and making the flight might be challenging.

p.s. You will have to re-clear security land-side, or mid-field. Sometimes these lines can be quite long.

Firstly thanks everyone for the replies. I will give some more info as per the above questions.

I'm flying out of LHR this Thurs 23rd Sept at 2125 via Bombay I believe and getting into BKK at 1855 on Fri 24th Sept (if it arrives on time). The Air Asia flight leaves for Chiang Mai at 2100. This is the latest one with them although Thai do have one at 2130 so I could try to grab that if I miss the Air Asia flight. After this there are no more flights. If I can't get either of these I guess I'll have to get a room close to the airport and fly out the next morning.

The Jet ticket and Air Asia ticket were booked independently as not possible to book all the way through.

Guess it's a case of just getting lucky. I can't face a 9hr bus journey to BKK so I guess if I miss evening flights I'll have to stay in hotel.

Just wondered if there was anything I could do that could speed up the process. Should I tell Jet on check-in that I have a short connection - will they do anything? Transfer bags? Rush me off? I've often seen signs when getting off the plane for people and guess it's because they've got short connections but I didn't book one ticket all the way through as this wasn't possible so each flight is independant.

Thanks again for all the comments

Stam

[elliss]

i have used jet airlines a few times .

when you come off the plane in mumbai ,

staff from jet , are waitng for tranfer passengers ,

they will take you to the security check point ,

this is a bit of a petty ordeal .

once thru , you go to your boarding gate .

two hours is plenty of time .

even if your flight arrives late in mumbai ,

the on going flight to bkk, will be a wating you . :jap:

[stament]

i have used jet airlines a few times .

when you come off the plane in mumbai ,

staff from jet , are waitng for tranfer passengers ,

they will take you to the security check point ,

this is a bit of a petty ordeal .

once thru , you go to your boarding gate .

two hours is plenty of time .

even if your flight arrives late in mumbai ,

the on going flight to bkk, will be a wating you . :jap:

Hi Ellis,

Thanks for your reply but I'm not talking about the Jet to Jet change/transfer. I'm talking about arriving in BKK and then getting a domestic (Air Asia) flight to Chiang Mai.

Perhaps I didn't make it clear, apologies for the confusion

[theoldgit]

The only thing I can think of to try and speed up the process would be to check-in on line for your Air Asia flight, you can do that seven days in advance and print your boarding pass. Once you are land-side in Bangkok you just need to go to the bag drop, which is normally a tad quicker than joining the check-in line. You couldn't have checked your luggage through in any case as Air Asia is a point to point carrier. You could ask that your bags are marked as priority, ie last on and first off, though this service is normally reserved for passengers flying in premium cabins.

As others have pointed out your connection relies on a number of variables, probably the two most important is the time your Jet flight arrives and the queue at Immigration, bear in mind that the Air Asia check-in/bag drop closes 45 mins before the scheduled take off.

I suspect you will be fretting throughout your flight - good luck.

[lomatopo]

FD (Thai Air Asia) do not have interline agreements with anyone so you'll have to claim your bags then head up to level 4 to check in with FD. The FD website is a bit confusing regarding the closing of check-in; in one place they say 45 minutes and in another they say 60 minutes so YMMV.

Its nearly impossible to get accurate flight stats on FD but hopefully this late flight to CNX will be delayed allowing you to make the connection.

9W 68 was 18 minutes early yesterday, and is scheduled to be 14 minutes late today.

9W and TG do interline bags so you could have purchased a single ticket, or two separate tickets and checked your bags through to CNX, and used the mid-filed Immigration and security points for a potentially easier connection.

FD have many remote check in capabilities, including via the web up to 48 hours prior to your departure. http://www.airasia.com/th/en/myflights/webcheckin.html

[chuang]

Two hours transit is rather tight...i usually give myself 3 hours.....just hope that your flight is on time, no long Q at

CIQ..and check-in counters usually close at least half an nour before departure...hope for the best...

[tombkk]

Jet don't usually give out arrival cards.

But 2 hours is enough to get through customa and immigration.

Usually 30 minutes tops.

You will even have time for a beer/coffee at domestic terminal.

LOL! I've never made it in 30 minutes from touch-down to immigration and collecting luggage in the past 20 years.... Let alone checking in at the domestic terminal in time for the connecting flight.

Two hours is a best-case scenario, the likelihood of which is miniscule. Incoming flight may be delayed, there may be long queues at immigration (have waitied in line for an hour on occasions), luggage may take an hour or more to show up. Walk to the domestic terminal is at least 20 minutes with luggage - and you need to check in an hour before departure. No, I don't think 2 hours is enough.

In fact, if I arrived in the evening, I would plan a night in a hotel in Bangkok, just to make sure.

[NanLaew]

^^^ It is irrelevant if AirAsia usually depart late on that flight/sector as their check-in (like every other airline) closes a set interval before the SCHEDULED departure time. Even early flight arrivals do not guarantee more transit time as there may be a gate change to accommodate the early flight or worse, the plane may stand several minutes waiting for a gate.

IMHO, the 2 hours is just do-able but early Friday evening arrivals and bag check can be a 'rush-hour'.

Just noticed that the OP is 'in the air' as I type so... hope he makes it OK.

[stament]

^^^ It is irrelevant if AirAsia usually depart late on that flight/sector as their check-in (like every other airline) closes a set interval before the SCHEDULED departure time. Even early flight arrivals do not guarantee more transit time as there may be a gate change to accommodate the early flight or worse, the plane may stand several minutes waiting for a gate.

IMHO, the 2 hours is just do-able but early Friday evening arrivals and bag check can be a 'rush-hour'.

Just noticed that the OP is 'in the air' as I type so... hope he makes it OK.

Hi all, quick update. Plane arrived into BKK on time and I had about 30 mins spare so would have had more than enough time to collect bag if I put in hold. Still was lucky this time and wouldn't want to do it again.

Cheers

[Xircal]

i have used jet airlines a few times .

when you come off the plane in mumbai ,

staff from jet , are waitng for tranfer passengers ,

they will take you to the security check point ,

this is a bit of a petty ordeal .

once thru , you go to your boarding gate .

two hours is plenty of time .

even if your flight arrives late in mumbai ,

the on going flight to bkk, will be a wating you . :jap:

That's not what the OP is asking. His question relates to his arrival at BKK and the departure time of his Air Aisa flight to Chiang Mai. He only has a 2 hour window.

In my opinion, he's pushing it a bit. It depends on the aircraft he'll be travelling on to BKK i.e. is it an A380 which with a full load can accommodate 555 passengers, a 747 can accommodate 416 passengers, a 777 which can carry 300 passengers, etc., etc. It's getting off the aircraft which takes up the most amount of time.

Then there's the luggage to be collected. On my last flight via BKK, the luggage carousel broke down and it took maintenance almost an hour to fix it.

Air Asia states you have to be at the gate a maximum 45 mins prior to departure. You can speed things up a little by checking in either with your mobile phone, or online. You can do that up to 7 days prior to your flight departure. More details at: Air Asia self service check-in