China Southern & Baiyun Transit Experiences

Rubicon99 on 03/04/2019 - 09:21

I'm a single traveller looking to fly Sydney to Amsterdam in late Oct. I've never flown with CS but the $1k'ish fares have me interested. I've read a few general comments/reviews about flying CS and almost all mention the transit at Baiyun as an issue or potential issue. The SYD-AMS flight requires around a 5 hour stopover, which I assume would allow enough time to deal with any issues if they arose. The flight back however, has only a 1.5 hour stopover.

Has anyone had any recent experiences with CS and transiting at Baiyun, particularly short transits like the potential 1.5h transit I may have coming back from AMS?

Thanks

Dave

Travel Airfare Amsterdam Europe Netherlands

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Comments

  • pformag on 03/04/2019 - 11:00
    +1

    I fly China Southern twice a year. Actually very good. Sign up to their rewards program, more chance of getting upgraded. My 2nd trip I went from economy to premium eco to business at the gate.

    Seats have more room than Singapore Airlines. Food is decent, not as much selection as Singapore, but still good, and the staff is on par with Singapore Air.

    Baiyun AIrport is a decent airport too, very large. If you are running too close to your transit time, let the staff know, as they can fast track. Food options are limited, so if you see something you like, get it. I have done 1.5 Hr is enough time.

  • geek001 on 03/04/2019 - 11:29
    +1

    I am not sure about international stopover, but every time I was there, I was transferring from international to domestic, which required quite a long walk to the transfer counter after clearing immigration, and on top of that, the queue was quite long because they only had 2 counters open. I can see why travellers might find this to be a stressful situation particularly if they only had a short stopover time.

    I think you should be ok if you are transferring from one international flight to another. Maybe someone else can verify this.

  • Rubicon99 on 03/04/2019 - 14:06

    So passengers need to clear immigration even if staying air-side at the international terminal?

  • nztony on 04/04/2019 - 11:39
    +1

    I transit through Baiyun every couple of months. Assuming Baiyun is your only China stop then you won't have to clear immigration, and 1.5 hours would be enough time to get through transit and security (don't be afraid to ask the csair staff for help, the transit can be confusing if you haven't done it before).

    And my experience is that a missed transit is ok too… they'll put you in a nice hotel with free meals, and offer a free Guangzhou mini-tour + a transit pass.

    I like China Southern. Their planes are usually new, and so is their Baiyun terminal. They treat frequent flyers very well too (I'm only silver, and get far better benefits than Singapore Airlines gave me as gold).

    • SydneySwan on 04/04/2019 - 23:41
      +1

      In addition if your flight originated in the EU you could be eligible for compensation under the EC261/2004 regulations. Mrs Sydneyswan successfully claimed from China Southern when her flight from Amsterdam arrived 2 hours late in Guangzhou so she missed the connection to Sydney.

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