Hong Kong Airport - Are you able to leave when in transit

[JohnK]

Assuming that the dragonair lounge has computer and free internet access then I will be posting on AFF.

 

[JohnK]

Do you pay a departure tax from HKG airport if you are in-transit?

If so, how much?

 

[Kiwi Flyer]

Not if departure is same day (note this differs from some other places where it is 24 hours).

Tax is normally collected when buying the ticket.

 

[JohnK]

Most people say you have to try Chinese food while visiting HKG so can anyone recommend a really good place in, or very close to, HKG airport?

 

[AlwaysUpThere]

The giant buddha is on same island as the airport...

Hate to nit pick...but the airport is on Chek Lap Kok island while Buddha is on Lantau Island. - yes they're right next to each other, but they are separate.

There are special taxis that only serve the Lantau area that are a different colour to the Red Hong Kong taxis (blue or green). If you're interested in the Buddha, you need to take a Lantau taxi - they're well signed at the queue. A new attraction is being built there by an Australia company (same mob that build the rainforrest cable car in Cairns). The Skyrail will take you up the mountain and be much more accessable than the current 40 minute windy bus trip from Tung Chung bus interchange(see www.np360.com.hk). I expect they'll have shuttles directly from the airport in due course.

Hong Kong government ENCOURAGES people to go out while in transit. It adds to their visitor arrivals figures. Never heard of anyone having a problem.

 

[AlwaysUpThere]

Most people say you have to try Chinese food while visiting HKG so can anyone recommend a really good place in, or very close to, HKG airport?

The main Chinese restaurnat IN the airport building is in the mezzanine area above departures LAND side. Its just a branch of the Maxims chain, but the food is good and Yum Cha for lunch is consistantly good.

Aside from that, the one in the airport hotel (Regal Airport Hotel) is also good, though a little more expensive. Anyone doing business in that area will take customers to lunch there rather than Maxims.

There are great little restaurants in the villages around Lantau, but I couldn't direct you as my friends/colleagues always took me there for the authentic "local" experience.

 

[aus_flyer]

I'd recommend trying to get into one of the Cathay J lounges instead. I have not been into the DragonAir lounge, but the Cathay one is regarded as one of the best lounges in the world...

Most definitely the better option. Dragonair lounge is not very interesting at all. Sure there is internet but virtually no food - in contrast with CX's offering.

I have seen written before that no status pax with J passes on other OW airlines have been allowed in. Worth a try... Just choose the one closest to your departure gate! If you get refused entry, no worries - just wander off to the DragonAir one.

Correct. No status OW J passengers are allowed into CX lounge - in the past anyway - not sure if still current practice.

 

[serfty]

I'd recommend trying to get into one of the Cathay J lounges instead. I have not been into the DragonAir lounge, but the Cathay one is regarded as one of the best lounges in the world...

Most definitely the better option. Dragonair lounge is not very interesting at all. Sure there is internet but virtually no food - in contrast with CX's offering.

I have seen written before that no status pax with J passes on other OW airlines have been allowed in. Worth a try... Just choose the one closest to your departure gate! If you get refused entry, no worries - just wander off to the DragonAir one.

Correct. No status OW J passengers are allowed into CX lounge - in the past anyway - not sure if still current practice.

Yes, there have been some very recent posts on FT about this. Until then, I had not been aware of it.

See here: Flight QF30 from LHR-MEL via HKG. A few questions.

JohnK, the CX Wing/Pier Business lounges are widely regarded as two of the best around.

 

[JohnK]

JohnK, the CX Wing/Pier Business lounges are widely regarded as two of the best around.

Thanks for the tip serfty.

F passengers and OWE passengers on any OW airline can access the First class section of each lounge...and J class and OWS passengers on any OW airline can access the Business class section of each lounge

As long as you are flying on any ONEWORLD carrier that day in J or F class, and have boarding pass to prove it, you are entitled to use any Oneworld lounge ie BA or CX.

I am in The Wing now and I have just asked the desk. Guy Betsy is correct - travelling any OneWorld airline in Business Class gets you access to the Business side of The Wing or Pier even without status. Similarly with First Class and the First side of The Wing (or Pier).

 

[Mal]

I thought I'd dredge up this rather old thread to raise an interesting point.

According to the Qantas Conditions of Carriage, the following needs to be noted:


"10.1 Refusal of Carriage

Even if you have a ticket and a confirmed reservation, we may refuse to carry you and your baggage if any of the following circumstances have occurred or we reasonably believe will occur:

* if you ask the relevant government authorities for permission to enter a country in which you have landed as a transit passenger
"

I don't know of anyone who has been denied boarding back on a plane after leaving the airport during a transit stop - but hey, you never know if you are the one Qantas will choose as an example.

 

[JohnK]

"10.1 Refusal of Carriage

Even if you have a ticket and a confirmed reservation, we may refuse to carry you and your baggage if any of the following circumstances have occurred or we reasonably believe will occur:

* if you ask the relevant government authorities for permission to enter a country in which you have landed as a transit passenger
"

Wow! How on earth an airline could conjure up a condition like is beyond my comprehension. Your next connecting flight may not be for upto 24 hours. What do you do? Stay in the airport? If someone has knowledge on these matters could you kindly explain it to me.

 

[NM]

"10.1 Refusal of Carriage

Even if you have a ticket and a confirmed reservation, we may refuse to carry you and your baggage if any of the following circumstances have occurred or we reasonably believe will occur:

* if you ask the relevant government authorities for permission to enter a country in which you have landed as a transit passenger
"

Wow! How on earth an airline could conjure up a condition like is beyond my comprehension. Your next connecting flight may not be for upto 24 hours. What do you do? Stay in the airport? If someone has knowledge on these matters could you kindly explain it to me.

This is to ensure the airline is not fined for not collecting the relevant taxes. In many countries there are different taxes and charges due if a passenger "enters" the country rather than remains as a transit passenger. If you plan on entering the country, ensure the airline knows this before issuing the ticket so then can note the location as a stopover rather than a transit and hence collect the correct taxes and charges.

 

[JohnK]

This is to ensure the airline is not fined for not collecting the relevant taxes. In many countries there are different taxes and charges due if a passenger "enters" the country rather than remains as a transit passenger. If you plan on entering the country, ensure the airline knows this before issuing the ticket so then can note the location as a stopover rather than a transit and hence collect the correct taxes and charges.

OK, I can understand the point you raise in regard to being in transit as opposed to a stopover in some countries. In Thailand you pay departure tax everytime you leave and the same goes for Indonesia and New Zealand I think. Others like Australia include departure in the price of the ticket.

On my last trip I entered a country 3 times (HKG twice and SIN once) whilst being in transit for less than 4 hours. At no point did immigration tell me that I could not do that, only to ensure that I left enough time to make return flight. And on the way back through immigration I was not asked for departure taxes.

How would I be refused carriage if I haven't broken any rules or done anything wrong? This rule confuses me slightly.

 

[NM]

OK, I can understand the point you raise in regard to being in transit as opposed to a stopover in some countries. In Thailand you pay departure tax everytime you leave and the same goes for Indonesia and New Zealand I think. Others like Australia include departure in the price of the ticket.

Here is the specific wording for Hong Kong Departure Tax:

NAME: HONG KONG AIR PASSENGER DEPARTURE TAX
CODE: HK
AMOUNT: HKD120 per passenger for each departure from Hong Kong.
EXEMPTIONS: Passengers in direct transit/connecting airside passengers who do not pass through
immigration control, military, diplomats guests of government, heads of state/ministers.
Children under 12 years of age.

So if your ticket is for transit at HKG you will not have paid this tax. If you go land-side, you should have paid the tax and the airline could be fined for not collecting the tax from you.

On my upcoming DONE4 itinerary, I pass through HKG three times, once will be a true transit (QF29 MEL-LHR), while the other two are less than 24 hours but do involve an overnight stop and I will be going landside and staying at an airport hotel. As such, the travel agent has noted the HKG stops as stopovers and has rightly charged me the HK taxes for those two stops.

Some countries don't make a distinction about going landside or staying airside - just that the transit is less than a certain number of hours. But HKG specifically make the point that the departure tax exception is only for people who stay airside.

So if you plan to go landside in HKG, make sure the airline know that and notes it is a stopover for tax calculation purposes. This does not mean they need to count it as a stopover for the fare rules purpose. On a OneWorld Award itinerary, I had already used my full allowance of 5 stopovers, but still wanted to explore HKG for the day between my 7am arrival and 10pm departure. No problem as far as the fare rules were concerned since I was there less than 24 hours, but as I intended to go landside the airline charged me the HK departure tax (rightly so).

On my last trip I entered a country 3 times (HKG twice and SIN once) whilst being in transit for less than 4 hours. At no point did immigration tell me that I could not do that, only to ensure that I left enough time to make return flight. And on the way back through immigration I was not asked for departure taxes.

The immigration folks are only concerned with you right to visit based on nationality etc (Visa requirements etc). The do not have visibility of the taxes you have paid on your ticket (short of asking to see the paper ticket or e-ticket receipt).

How would I be refused carriage if I haven't broken any rules or done anything wrong? This rule confuses me slightly.

It is very unlikely you will be denied boarding based on such a breach. But you could be asked to pay the additional taxes and perhaps even a ticket re-issue fee(to have it re-issued showing the stopover instead of transit).

But its a risk I would not take and I would ensure the airline know my intentions regarding transit vs stopover from a tax calculation perspective - after that it is their problem to calculate the taxes accordingly.

 

[JohnK]

The immigration folks are only concerned with you right to visit based on nationality etc (Visa requirements etc). The do not have visibility of the taxes you have paid on your ticket (short of asking to see the paper ticket or e-ticket receipt).

In countries like Thailand and Indonesia they want to see proof that you have paid the departure tax before being allowed through immigration.

Thanks for the clarification. I made a terrible assumption that even if you go landside for less than 24 hours it is still classed as a transit not a stopover.

 

[NM]

Thanks for the clarification. I made a terrible assumption that even if you go landside for less than 24 hours it is still classed as a transit not a stopover.

Hong Kong is one place that does consider it differently. Many others do not (e.g. UK).

Australia also requires transit passengers who wish to remain exempt from the A$38 departure tax to remain air-side:

NAME: PASSENGER MOVEMENT CHARGE
CODE: AU
AMOUNT: AUD38 per passenger for each international departure from an Australian airport.
EXEMPTIONS: Crew (operational and positioning) including crew who need to depart Australia to take
duty offshore on a vessels/aircraft’. (Positioning and Operational crew is a passenger on
an aircraft/ship whose departure from Australia is undertaken for the purposes of
becoming a crew member of that aircraft, another aircraft or a ship).
Transit passengers, except where the point of disembarkation and embarkation is the
turnaround point (eg: SIN-BNE-SIN in the same day). [b]All persons must remain airside[/b].
Emergency passengers - flights which land in Australia for emergency reasons,
passengers from an aborted flight, non-disembarking passengers.
Diplomatic and consular representatives.
Children under 12 years of age.
Torres Strait inhabitants (including those who are Papua New Guinea citizens) engaged
in traditional activities.
Foreign defence force personnel (and their families) departing Australia in military aircraft.
Passengers arriving by sea and who depart within 48 hours.
Passengers who, in the course of a single journey, pass through Australia more than
once, are only liable for one tax payment.
e.g.
1. AKL/SYD/NAN/SYD/SIN/SYD/AKL - pay one PMC.
2. NAN/SYD/LON/SIN/BNE/HIR - pay one PMC.
3. BNE/POM/BNE/POM/BNE - pay two PMC's
For the purpose of the PMC, the External Territories will be regarded as part of Australia
and end to end travel to them will not attract PMC liability.

Compare with the UK, where there is no mention of the requirement to remain airside, just these transit definitions (among other exemptions):

Transit passengers transferring to an international flight within 24 hours.
Transit passengers transferring between flights when the connecting time to a UK
domestic flight does not exceed 6 hours or when a flight arrives at or after 1700 one
day and a connecting UK domestic flight departs by 1000 the following morning.

 

[Alan in CBR]

I'm a little worried now.

I just booked two award flights (using American Airlines AAdvantage miles). One is CBR-SYD-HKG on QF/CX and the other is HKG-BKK-CMB on CX. There is around 8 hours between the flights into and out of HKG so I don't want to remain airside the whole time.

The taxes and charges for both tickets totalled US$70, but I can't really tell from that whether the departure tax has been charged or not.

If the AA agent hasn't added the departure tax, is there somewhere at HKG airport where I can pay it?

 

[NM]

I'm a little worried now.

I just booked two award flights (using American Airlines AAdvantage miles). One is CBR-SYD-HKG on QF/CX and the other is HKG-BKK-CMB on CX. There is around 8 hours between the flights into and out of HKG so I don't want to remain airside the whole time.

The taxes and charges for both tickets totalled US$70, but I can't really tell from that whether the departure tax has been charged or not.

If the AA agent hasn't added the departure tax, is there somewhere at HKG airport where I can pay it?

The HK departure tax should apply to your second ticket in your case. If they are separate tickets, it should have been automatically applied as there in no connecting inbound service to allow it to be a transit.

 

[Alan in CBR]

The HK departure tax should apply to your second ticket in your case. If they are separate tickets, it should have been automatically applied as there in no connecting inbound service to allow it to be a transit.

Thanks, NM. Thinking about it more I think the AA agent said that the charges and taxes on the HKG-CMB ticket were only around US$15. Maybe part of that was the departure tax - I'm still getting used to how low the "extras" are on AA!

I plan on leaving my suitcase in the HKG left luggage store for my HKG-CMB-HKG turnaround flight (I'm sure most readers will correctly guess that I'm picking up a DONE4 in CMB), so I'll need to make sure the tax is paid on the second HKG transit so I can go out to retrieve it!

 

[Mal]

This is to ensure the airline is not fined for not collecting the relevant taxes. In many countries there are different taxes and charges due if a passenger "enters" the country rather than remains as a transit passenger. If you plan on entering the country, ensure the airline knows this before issuing the ticket so then can note the location as a stopover rather than a transit and hence collect the correct taxes and charges.

After thinking about it for a while, I wonder if another reason is to do with Qantas et.al not wanting to be fined if you attempt to enter and are denied entry. In this case, I'm not sure you would be deported back home, (rather you'd be moved onto your end destination) - but I wonder if Qantas etc would still be fined.

I know I've "broken the rules" several times by leaving while in Transit. Wonder if anyone really cares - airport/airline included.