Above: Air China’s First Class lounge in Terminal 3E of Capital Airport.
Flying to Bejing
I woke up to an email advising of a one-hour reschedule to my flight from Urumqi to Bejing from 1440 to 1540. I had purposely chosen a 6h30 connection to Auckland at 0100 rather one 2h shorter or 4h shorter.
Reason given was air traffic and the other two flights had been shifted too. The new time is actually perfect in case one had to re-collect bags during the domestic-to-international transit when on the same ticket. All-in-all, well-anticipated. Pat on the back!
I wanted a lazy relaxing finish to the trip and took a Didi to the airport for around CNY50 instead of CNY6 by metro (which required a 10 min walk). It was another pleasant day weather-wise in Urumqi as I waited for my ride. I regretted my decision when we got stuck in the city traffic but once we were on the motorway, the overall trip was quick at only 30 mins.
Check-in at Urumqi airport took about 20 mins in the queue. I was issued both boarding passes, to Beijing and also to Auckland. With no bags to check in, this will be an easy transit. But it appears that Air China, unlike Hainan Airlines does issue connecting boarding passes and through-check the bags.
Boarding at Urumqi was controlled by facial recognition. I’m guessing that at check-in, one’s ID/passport details are captured by the staff. And when entering airside, one’s ID/passport is read by the turnstile together with a facial registration. So, at boarding, only one’s face is required without the boarding pass or the ID/passport.
The Air China flight departed slightly ahead of the rescheduled time. A hot meal was served with drinks before and after. The meal was very cheap, with potatoes (and little bits of chicken) served with rice and I was surprised LSG Skychef could put their name on it!
Transit to Auckland
Coming in to land at Beijing, the surroundings seemed surprisingly green. I supposed I’ve been in Xinjiang where it is largely desert!
Landing at 1900 at Beijing Capital Airport T3, I followed the signs to T3 international flights. I had to take the train to the international concourse at T3E where I cleared immigration. As LAG rules are implemented domestically, there was no need for a separate security check.
It took about an hour of walking, train and brief queueing to get to the international departure area. So, I would recommend 2h as the minimum domestic-to-international connection here at Beijing Capital.
I had a choice of the Air China Business or First Class lounge, so I naturally opted for the latter. It’s very spacious compared to the Hainan Airlines lounge back in Urumqi. Compared to many Priority Pass lounges, the food is good but not if one is considering it as a First Class lounge. Nevertheless, I had a good feed before boarding my 0100 flight to Auckland.