Recent Experiences with QF’s new terminal transfer at SYD

[whughes3]

And they wait till the bus gets full to capacity before going from SYD T3 to T1.

AFAIK they go regularly at 15 and 45 minutes after the hour.

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

Few years back, I flew once or twice, QFd ADL - SYD afternoon flight, got to SYD about 5pm, and the bus was still there, waiting, waiting, lucky I made the QF flight to CHC and WLG (different trips), missed out on the SYD T1 QFi J lounge of course as the timing was tight, to get through immi and int security and get to gate, through PNR of course, bet to gate and they were about to board.

 

[RealtimeY]

Flying SYD-MEL in December, we waited for ~10-15 minutes for about 10 passengers to arrive from the international terminal. At least if you take/wait for the QF transfer you might have some sort protection against the flight departing without you?

 

[Daver6]

Yet another reason to prefer MEL over SYD if you need to transfer.

 

[justinbrett]

Yet another reason to prefer MEL over SYD if you need to transfer.

More time to spend in the inferior lounges

 

[AIRwin]

More time to spend in the inferior lounges

Or more time to enjoy the Spice Bar?

 

[Ade]

Flying MAA-CMB-SIN-MEL-CBR on 10/04. Will document my transfer experience.

 

[justinbrett]

Or more time to enjoy the Spice Bar?

OK, so SYD for D>I and MEL for I>D then.

 

[Matt_01]

More time to spend in the inferior lounges

There is still and F lounge and that is all that matters, even if it is considerably smaller

 

[kangarooflyer88]

I don't quite get why QF runs DOM-INT but not INT-DOM. Is it because they don't want the cost of running the DOM check-in desk at the INT terminal? It seems madness to abandon that critical piece of infrastructure at QF's busiest port. Moves QF into LCC territory.

This makes very little sense to me either. Having flown a number of times through the US where you are required by Federal law to clear immigration, collect your checked bags, clear customs and then re-check your bag, the other airlines seems to have figured this whole thing out.

Some examples from pre-COVID times:
Flying LHR > SYD (via LAX) I land at the TBIT (terminal B). Clear immigration in 5 minutes thanks to Global Entry. Wait about 15 minutes at Carousel for bags to arrive. Walk the 100 metres to clear immigration, show my boarding pass to United baggage connection team, who promptly accepts the bag for onward journey. I then re-clear security at TBIT and head for T7 which is about a 20 minute brisk walk between terminals air-side.

Flying LHR > YYZ (via ORD) with United, I land at terminal 5. Clear immigration in 5 minutes thanks to Global Entry. Wait maybe 5 minutes for bags to arrive in carousel. Walk the 50 feet to clear immigration, show my boarding pass to United baggage connection team who promptly accepts the bag for onward journey. I then catch the inter-terminal bus land-side (damn people mover was down) to make it to my flight taking out of Terminal 1.

I should also note Heathrow and many airports internationally they don't charge you to use the train to go between terminals. Heck even at JFK, which many people argue represents one of the worst airports in the world, their Airtrain system provides free access for inter-terminal transit. Why does Sydney airport always seem to be behind the times?

-RooFlyer88

 

[whughes3]

You re-check your bags at the Int terminal facility (thankfully!) but must then queue up for the landside bus.

A bemused follow-up to this: my bag seems to have vanished into the void!!!

 

[Per_Travels]

I went through Sydney a couple of weeks ago and I'm not sure what the fuss is about.

The process for checked bags is exactly the same as before - you pick them up at the international baggage reclaim and drop them off at the transfer desks. The difference is that the passengers don't go through a security check and onto an airside transfer bus but get onto a landside transfer bus that takes them to the domestic terminal where they join the rest of the domestic passengers and go through security.

 

[justinbrett]

There is still and F lounge and that is all that matters, even if it is considerably smaller

Except for the unfortunate few who only have J lounge access and have to go to the MEL dungeon.

(Not me, but I still remember my pre-WP days, and I like to be considerate of others...)

 

[Matt_01]

Except for the unfortunate few who only have J lounge access and have to go to the MEL dungeon.

(Not me, but I still remember my pre-WP days, and I like to be considerate of others...)

My days of P1 are numbered, I will fall to WP may or may not stay at that level for a while and one day back to SG for the rest of my flying days When this day arrives I will be able to join the masses complaining how badly QF treats the loyal SG, start monitoring the T-80 count down, whinge about the international J lounges etc. At least I know what I have to look forward too

 

[kangarooflyer88]

My days of P1 are numbered, I will fall to WP may or may not stay at that level for a while and one day back to SG for the rest of my flying days When this day arrives I will be able to join the masses complaining how badly QF treats the loyal SG, start monitoring the T-80 count down, whinge about the international J lounges etc. At least I know what I have to look forward too

Or you can diversify your flying to attain mid-tier status on a number of programs thereby giving you choice when you need it! In my case I'm aiming for Delta Gold Medallion (Skyteam) via status match, whilst maintaining the United Premier Gold (Star Alliance) and Qantas Gold (OneWorld) status I have. The key in all of this is being strategic in the flights and routings you book to hit the various sweet spots in the program. For instance a J flight on AA from HNL to NYC can easily earn 500 status credits return depending on routing and those flights tend to be relatively inexpensive (~$2000 AUD)

-RooFlyer88

 

[george27]

Pretty sure 100% of passengers arriving from LAX/DFW into SYD yesterday missed their domestic connections due to huuuuge lines at the bag re-check aka transfer desk. There was no business priority queue, no care from the staff to try and prioritse pax just before each flight cut off etc. I realised this pretty quickly and ubered it to domestic with all my bags but the bag check machines wouldn't take my bags. The lines for the business service desk were 1 hour+ Most of the domestic flights out of Sydney were full so hard to get seats too.

Certainly cost me an extra 10 hours in Sydney turning my trip into an almost 48 hour experience.

 

[*A Flyer]

I went through Sydney a couple of weeks ago and I'm not sure what the fuss is about.

The process for checked bags is exactly the same as before - you pick them up at the international baggage reclaim and drop them off at the transfer desks. The difference is that the passengers don't go through a security check and onto an airside transfer bus but get onto a landside transfer bus that takes them to the domestic terminal where they join the rest of the domestic passengers and go through security.

That’s actually a big difference if the connection is a bit tight, especially if queues are horrific at T3. But, more importantly, QF has published next to no info to clarify what the service actually entails. Just tell us what the offer is and we can make decisions about whether SYD or MEL or Timbuktu is our best option for connections.

 

[Matt_01]

Or you can diversify your flying to attain mid-tier status on a number of programs thereby giving you choice when you need it! In my case I'm aiming for Delta Gold Medallion (Skyteam) via status match, whilst maintaining the United Premier Gold (Star Alliance) and Qantas Gold (OneWorld) status I have. The key in all of this is being strategic in the flights and routings you book to hit the various sweet spots in the program. For instance a J flight on AA from HNL to NYC can easily earn 500 status credits return depending on routing and those flights tend to be relatively inexpensive (~$2000 AUD)

-RooFlyer88

OT. I have read your comments/ views in another thread as I was thinking about doing the same however as you have posted in this thread I will respond here. Prior to Covid I spent a lot of time in planes and hotels, on the back of work and personal travel I have been a WP since Moses was a boy and retained QF P1 since around 2013, VA WP for about the same same time frame and in the 3 years running up to covid had earned more than enough SCs to gift x2 SG and x1 WP status on this site, I also maintained *G with SQ. Let's just say I have high status (platinum or equivalent) with multiple hotel chains. Most of the major places I travelled to be it airlines or hotels are well and truly covered.

During covid I have benefited form extensions and as the airlines put out status matches I applied for most initially out of curiosity to see how far I could push things and most of the match requirements have been extended and I have lost interest. As far as I am aware, I am currently:
QF - WP1 (extended)
VA - WP (extended)
SQ - SG (extended)
QR - WP (matched from VA)
QH - First (matched from QF, VA or SQ cannot remember) and will never use.
NZ - *G (matched from QF, QR or VA cannot remember) and still need to meet the requirements, if not yet expired.
AZ - Volare Executive Club (matched from QR which as another match)

I may have status with other airlines via the past 2 years from matches and challenges but could not be bothered looking through email records. There has also been other challenges or status match offers that I just lost interest in.

As travel is picking up I may be the odd one out on AFF as I have actively used covid as a reason to reduce my travel. Dropping from 150-175 flights per year down to 10-20 and this is still to much in my books. I currently value the school drop offs/pick ups, IMO chasing status is over rated and for the record I have never done a status run be it anywhere and on any carrier.

 

[Mwenenzi]

I went through Sydney a couple of weeks ago and I'm not sure what the fuss is about.

The process for checked bags is exactly the same as before - you pick them up at the international baggage reclaim and drop them off at the transfer desks. The difference is that the passengers don't go through a security check and onto an airside transfer bus but get onto a landside transfer bus that takes them to the domestic terminal where they join the rest of the domestic passengers and go through security.

Can you now get a QF domestic boarding pass at T1?
Previously could arrive in Au on a separate ticket and then check in with QF for an Au domestic flight/ticket at T1.
To me joining the masses at T3 for security would be worse. (as posts above)

 

[kangarooflyer88]

As travel is picking up I may be the odd one out on AFF as I have actively used covid as a reason to reduce my travel. Dropping from 150-175 flights per year down to 10-20 and this is still to much in my books. I currently value the school drop offs/pick ups, IMO chasing status is over rated and for the record I have never done a status run be it anywhere and on any carrier.

That's quite the drop in travel, I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing. From my perspective, I am a bit worried about COVID, even though I've been triple vaccinated and will be going in for my 4th dose next week. That being said, being on the ground in Sydney for so long has made me restless. Pre-COVID I would take dozens of flights per year and now I'm slowing getting back into the swing of things.

As regards to your thoughts on status runs, I completely agree with you. Some of my friends will literally sit on a plane for a whole day flying back and forth just to rack up the status credits or miles to earn status or make a dent on their lifetime status. I remember one colleague I know who pre-COVID would fly Toronto to Hong Kong or Taiwan back-to-back. Literally get off the plane, use the Centurion lounge for an hour or so and get back on. For me that's wild! When I fly I like to go places and see things. Indeed, I can't recall a single time where I took a gratuitous flight just to earn status (although I have used awkward routings to save hundreds of dollars and confirm a long haul upgrade).

Getting back on topic and the point of this thread, having travelled to a number of countries not just the 'States or Canada, I can tell you that the international to international and international to domestic experience in many respects can be a lot smoother. For instance, flying Cairo to Zürich via Geneva, on EgyptAir & Swiss, I distinctly recall just having to clear through immigration and security and that was it. When I finally got to Zürich I picked up my bag in the baggage hall and passed through the customs channels. The point being is things can be much smoother. I still don't understand why Australia has an emmigration process, when countries like the United States have shown that domestic to international transfers can become silky smooth. For those unaware, the US makes no distinction between domestic and international flights from a departure standpoint, meaning a flight to Athens, Greece could be right beside a flight to Los Angeles. Hence, flying anywhere from Canada/USA through the US means you only clear security once and head straight to your gate.

-RooFlyer88