bcworld

It all depends on any delays on the first sector. Last Xmas I booked my parents to come over. They were flying Edinburgh - Frankfurt - Singapore - Brisbane with 1hr connection in FRA. Their plane left EDI 60mins late - by some miracle the actually made it onto the FRA-SIN flight but had to run the entire length of 2 piers of FRA airport. Of course their bags never made it to Brisbane until 24hrs after they did.

On the way back they had 50min connection in FRA and missed it - ended up spending the night in the airport Sheraton courtesy of Singapore Airlines - they were actually happy about it as they were shattered and just couldn't face the last leg onto Edinburgh.

So basically, if the flights are booked all on one ticket and you miss a connection the airlines will sort you out - assuming you can afford to be stranded for anything upto 24hrs.

Should also say it really depends on the airport.....I haven't transited at HKG so dont know how efficient it is....if its anything like Singapore then 60mins is more than enough. Heathrow on the other hand you'd be looking for something like 3 hours!

renth

The OP is flying LHR-HK which is direct, here's the early evening flights

CX250 LHR 18:20 HKG 13:10+1 0 11:50 744 eTicket Full Full
CX256 LHR 20:20 HKG 15:40+1 0 12:20 343 eTicket Full Full
CX254 LHR 22:35 HKG 17:50+1 0 12:15 343 eTicket Full Full

It arrives at 17:50 HK time so the OP has about 6 hours at the airport, not the original 1 hour they mentioned in their first post.

(Unless they are not flying to Perth direct which will be a pain for them as the flight will end up being longer than LHR-HK.)

Pollyana

Yep, yours look like correct times to me - hopefully the OP will be back to clarify.......

bcworld

The OP said they are flying in a few weeks....this is from CX website for travel on 6th November:

Flight Departure Arrival Stops Duration Aircraft Remarks Select Your Flight

Economy Lowest Econ
CX250 LHR 18:05 HKG 14:05+1 0 20:40 744 eTicket
CX171 HKG 15:05+1 PER 23:45+1 0 330 eTicket

CX171 flies 5 days a week (exc Tue and Thu)

renth

Well b*gger me. I'm confused now. It certainly does say departs 15:05. Maybe it's the same plane that refuels in HK. I don't believe it though, unless it's a new service.

bcworld

Confusion would appear to be that the timing of CX171 changes dramatically at the end of October I think......prior to then it departs close to midnight.

renth

Hahaha, I thought I was going mad. Indeed, I concur. It looks like Cathay are changing the time of the flight to Perth as the end of Oct.

Well I never. I ought to get back to my work now...

Back to the OP's post. Yes, you may well be *****ed and end up spending a day or two in HK, still, it's a nice place and the airline will pay.

Pollyana

AS long as it was booked as a connecting flight by either the airline of the agent then they certainly ought to pay if the connection gets missed.

One little tip - about an hour or so before reaching Hong Kong, but before they start the descent, ask the crew to try and check which gate the Perth flight will depart from. They should be able to get the answer from the ground staff. Just tell them it's a very tight connection, and hopefully they'll help you out. Just don't leave it till the last minute or the flight crew will be too busy to radio down and ask

marvinc

Yep, 6.05pm from Heathrow landing at HK at 2.05pm taking off for Perth at 3.05pm arriving at Perth at 11.45pm.

Pollyana

Check your itinerary for the arrival/departure terminals in Hong Kong.

marvinc

From: HONG KONG, HONG KONG S A R (HKG) Departs: 3:05pm
To: PERTH, AUSTRALIA (PER) Arrives: 11:45pm
Departure Terminal: TERMINAL 1
Arrival Terminal: TERMINAL 1 INTERNATIONAL

Hi Pollyanna

Is that good LOL, not sure if to panic like mad or not after reading replies

bcworld

Well its good if your London - Hong Kong flight also arrives at Terminal 1....then your connection should be very straight forward. I'd be surprised if all Cathay flights didnt use the same terminal but I could be wrong.

Besides mate, there really is no point panicing about it....absolutely the worst thing that can happen is that you end up spending a bit of extra time in Hong Kong with the airline picking up the tab for everything. You possibly also wouldn't have to stay overnight as there is a later Qantas flight some days that Cathay would probably put you on (if available) as they are airline partners.

Pollyana

Yep, what you really need to check is your arrival IN HKG terminal, to see if you need to change terminals, then at least you are ready to do that. I'm serious about asking the cabin crew to check the gate number for you as well - many crews will help you if they know you have a tight connection, even calling ahead sometimes to the gate to advise you are en route once you land.
Just plan beforehand, and then hope for the best, I'd say you have a reasonable chance of making it even if you're last on. If you miss it, then you miss it, but Hong Kong isn't a bad airport to spend time in,

bcworld

One other piece of advice I would give you is to pack a change of clothes in your hand baggage and whatever essentials you are allowed to take past security. While I'd agree with Pollyanna that you have a very good chance of making this connection the same can't always be said for your bags with such a short transfer - if you're inbound flight is a bit late they might hold the onward connection for you but they wont for your bags.

marvinc

Many thanks for all advice, all noted!