I’m thinking of taking one of those cheapo Oasis flights to England, but to do that I need to take a different airline to Hong Kong and change flights. In the past I just checked in at Taipei all the way. How and where do I check in when Oasis doesn’t have a check-in desk in Taipei ? Do I have to pay taxes for each leg ? Ideally I don’t want to see my luggage in HK, and I don’t want leave the airport and reenter. Are “transfer desks” involved ? What happens there ?
Sorry for being a noob, I’ve never done this before, please be gentle with me.
Forget all that. Just get one of those parachutes that you can control, and maybe a jetpack for extra safety – you can check out a Mission Impossible or James Bond film for further details on these.
You’ll need an expensive watch that can measure altitude and all stuff like that. You then board your flight, and check your wristwatch. When there’s a plane nearby that’s going in your direction, you simply leave the plane via the emergency exit and deploy your jetpack or parachute and navigate toward your target plane.
The only thing you need to worry about is making sure you don’t get sucked into the jet intake when you land on the wing, obviously. You’ll also need a widget on your watch that will allow you to either open the door or cut through the fuselage so you can get into the plane, as it can get quite cold at high altitude, and the air hostess union will probably have rules against going outside during flights, so you’d not get any food. Although you could always take an apple or a banana with you I suppose.
[quote=“Big Fluffy Matthew”]I’m thinking of taking one of those cheapo Oasis flights to England, but to do that I need to take a different airline to Hong Kong and change flights. In the past I just checked in at Taipei all the way. How and where do I check in when Oasis doesn’t have a check-in desk in Taipei ? Do I have to pay taxes for each leg ? Ideally I don’t want to see my luggage in HK, and I don’t want leave the airport and reenter. Are “transfer desks” involved ? What happens there ?
Sorry for being a noob, I’ve never done this before, please be gentle with me.[/quote]
I’d email Oasis if I were you to find out what the procedure is. I’ve traveled like this via Bangkok, and it was painless, and I’m sure that HK would have a similar set-up.
I flew Taipei-Bangkok. In Taoyuan, I only showed them my ticket to Bangkok. When I arrived in Bangkok, I went to the transit desk instead of immigration, found my second airline, gave them my luggage tags and they took care of everything else. I then went to the gate and waited for my flight Bankok-Siem Reap.
It was the same thing in reverse when I returned to Bangkok to catch my flight to Taipei.
You have to find the transfer counter in Hong Kong. There you will get your boarding pass for Oasis.
Should be included in the overall ticket price.
No problem, the luggage will be send through and you don’t have to leave the transfer area, i.e. you do not need to go through immigration in Hong Kong and re-enter.
Sorry disagree with comments so far. Oasis are a low cost airline - I doubt whether they will “interline” with other airlines. Assuming I guess correctly:
Your Oasis ticket will be separate from your ticket to HK. At TPE you will check-in to HKG only. You will have to collect your luggage at HKG and then check back in to start your onward journey. If you miss the connection, you will be responsible for the cost. Therefore its advisable to allow bags of time in Hong Kong. Assuming you acquire separate tickets, I doubt whether they will “join them up” at check-in at TPE.
Note this is different from when you book journeys involving multiple “normal” airlines. Eg EVA to HK, Cathay to London etc. If its one ticket (ie you buy at the same time) its no problem. (Though you may still have to go to a transfer desk to get the onward boarding pass.) And sometimes even if you’re on separate tickets they can check your baggage through.
I’m prepared to stand corrected on this in the case of Oasis.
London-boy: I think your analysis of Oasis is correct, I think they don’t use travel agents to save costs and prefers everyone to book on-line directly, so I will need 2 sets of tickets from different airlines, which takes into uncharted territory. From your replies it seems as obvious as I though it was going to be. Just one more question, How do you they know not to put my luggage on a carousel at Hong Kong and that I will need it for another flight ?
They final destination and all flight numbers will be printed & bar-coded on the luggage tag at your airport of departure (Taipei in this case). When you transfer in HK they will scan the stub that was given to you to confirm the onwards journey.
However I would check with Oasis if they operate a transfer counter in Hong Kong, else you would indeed need to go through immigration (out and back in), in which case you want to make sure you have enough time for the transfer (at least 2 hours I rekon).
They final destination and all flight numbers will be printed & bar-coded on the luggage tag at your airport of departure (Taipei in this case). When you transfer in HK they will scan the stub that was given to you to confirm the onwards journey.
However I would check with Oasis if they operate a transfer counter in Hong Kong, else you would indeed need to go through immigration (out and back in), in which case you want to make sure you have enough time for the transfer (at least 2 hours I rekon).
Just because they have a transfer counter, doesn’t mean they interline with other airlines, though it rather suggest it. If they DON’T interline, then indeed your luggage will be on the carousel and you’ll have to collect it and re-check it. Note: oasishongkong.com/gb/en/carriage.aspx point 9.4.7 which describes this.
Rascal, you wrote “Yes. Done it, works.” - but was that with Oasis?
[quote=“london-boy”]
Just because they have a transfer counter, doesn’t mean they interline with other airlines, though it rather suggest it. If they DON’T interline, then indeed your luggage will be on the carousel and you’ll have to collect it and re-check it. Note: oasishongkong.com/gb/en/carriage.aspx point 9.4.7 which describes this.
Rascal, you wrote “Yes. Done it, works.” - but was that with Oasis?
agree with u on that one, london-boy.
BFM - most likely, you’ll have to get out, wait for your luggage and then re-check in again. i’m thinking of doing the oasis thingie as well in sep from taipei to london. tell us all about your adventures upon your return.
I don’t see what this has to do with the airlines - the luggage is handled by the airport once it arrives there, not the airlines. AFAIK they are all connected to the luggage handling system and when the tag is scanned at the transfer counter the system will know that the bags go to the Oasis flight, not the baggage claim.
Nope, but I have travelled a lot and sometimes changed airlines when getting from A to B. Never ever had I to leave the transit are to go through immigration, claim my luggage, check-in again and go back through immigration once more. Imagine the time this would take.
That being said, what purpose would the transfer counter have if you have to go to the check-in outside of the transit area anyway?
But give them a call if you want to be sure, why not.
The terminals are connected, you can walk or take the train without going through immigration. There will be some security check though.
Hm, I only read the link that london-boy posted after writing the above. It seems he is right and you must go through the whole process, in which case I stand corrected.
A few weeks ago I went by United from San Francisco to LA and Malaysia Airlines from LA to TPE. At San Francisco, my bags were checked all the way through to Taipei, but when I got to LA I had to go to the Malaysia Airlines ticket counter to get my boarding pass.
Yep, Rascal. I too have made many weird changes from one airline to another, and its never been a problem. Even sometimes on multiple tickets they manage to join them up on check-in. Sometimes they can issue boarding passes too so you don’t need to use a transfer counter.
I think whether they interline or not has more to do with costs and liabilities rather than airport technology. Part of the interlining thing is that one airline can be left having to chase luggage that has gone astray via another. Also there are other complications - such as different luggage allowances and rules. Eg if I fly using my EVA gold card to HK in economy, I get 40Kg luggage allowance on the short trip. If, then, they interline with Oasis, will they check my entitlement with Oasis before letting me check-in with my 40Kg? Nah… they’ll check me through and Oasis will pick up the tab for the extra weight when the pilot loads the fuel. I think most airlines take the view its rough with the smooth, and its part of the overall service that people have “seamless” journeys when they change. LCCs like Oasis seem to focus on point-to-point journeys and keep it simple.
I know one chap who’s used Oasis from Taiwan to the UK (CI for TPE/HKG). He’s really impressed and it all went smoothly. Certainly I prefer Gatwick to Heathrow. He said the service was brilliant. He was in economy but travels extensively, in economy and business class - so I think he should know. He’s usually on China Airlines out of Taiwan.
For people who want to fly business class cheaply, Oasis often has some good deals. But the thing that still worries me is not having a through ticket - a missed flight can work out expensive if you need to buy a ticket to TPE at an airline counter at HKG. Think if I’m to do it, I would buy a flexible return from here to HKG and leave in good time. Should make the connection outbound no problem. If Oasis are late on the return, then it shouldn’t be a problem to step on to the next available flight to TPE.
EDIT: Re your point why would they have a transfer desk if PAX always have to retrieve their luggage anyway. Yep its strange, I’m not really sure. Some people travel hand luggage only - could be for them. Maybe to help with other enquiries… maybe for people that are late/can’t normally enter HK so they can be escorted to baggage reclaim??
