One thing to be avoided when flying is a separately booked connecting flight. While you can potentially save money doing this, it also means you are not protected in the event of flight delays or cancellations.
On my latest trip to Australia, I was flying most of the trip on a single ticket, but had to book – you guessed it – a separate connecting flight at the end. My scheduled arrival time was 06:15 and my next flight was 09:05, so I had built in almost three hours to connect. Plenty of time, or so I thought…
A flight delay (of course!)
Everything on my trip was going perfectly, until the last sector. I boarded my Malaysia Airlines flight in Kuala Lumpur on time, and we took a short delay of 10-15 minutes waiting for some connecting passengers.
Would I make the connecting flight?
While one hour and forty minutes might sound like a lot, I was arriving into Brisbane. Like some other Australian airports, the domestic terminal and international terminal are separate. This meant I had to go through Passport control, collect my bag, pass through Quarantine and then get a bus between terminals. All of this was going to take place in an unfamiliar airport as well.
Queues and queues!
It seemed like thousands of people had all arrived at once and we were all heading towards immigration like lemmings. In Australia, you can use the Smart Gate kiosks that are generally located along corridors before the actual immigration desks. You pop your Passport into the machine, it scans your face and you answer a question on the screen. It spits out a ticket with your face printed on it and off you go.
Amazing luck… or is it?
Soon I came to the main immigration hall where a massive queue was snaked back and forth across the area. A lady said something like, “If you have a ticket from the kiosk, go to the right!”. I went to the right and bypassed the entire maelstrom of people in the middle, arrived at the checkpoint, and proceeded straight through to baggage claim. Beautiful!
A hit or a miss?
Not being able to believe my luck, I headed to the Express Path quarantine entry, mere steps away. At quarantine in Australia, you’re either sent on your way or you’re sent to be checked by an agent. In front of me was the lady I’d chatted to at the carousel and she was sent for checking. The guy took my documents and sent me… straight out! Another win!
By now it was 8am and I turned right and headed for the domestic transfer desks at the end of the arrivals hall in Brisbane international. There was one guy being served and two others in the queue. I asked if they minded if I went next as my flight was due to depart in an hour and they said to go for it, one commenting that he’d been in this situation before. Welcome to laid back Australia!
It’s no can do, but…
I got to the desk at 8:04am (now one hour and one minute to departure). I’d already checked in for my connecting flight, so had the boarding pass on my mobile. The lady at the desk said there is nothing she could do as the minimum time is one hour before departure.
Politely I pointed out it was exactly one hour to departure, but she said, “Oh well, it used to be one hour and 15 minutes, so I can’t do that, you should just go to the domestic terminal. You’ll make it!” and directed me to the free terminal transfer bus outside. By now I was resigned to missing the flight, as I was counting on that check-in to go smoothly.
Would I make it?
The bus came a few minutes later and everyone waiting piled in with all their luggage. Our driver said it would be perhaps 10-14 minutes travel time. He certainly took it nice and slow around Brisbane Airport and we first arrived at the Qantas and Jetstar terminal. People got on, people got off.
Say what now?
I showed the attendant my boarding pass on my phone and asked what I should do. He walked over to his computer near by and just prints off a bag tag, casual as you like. He says, “You can go up to security screening, that way, I’ll take care of the bag.” In disbelief, I thanked him and went up to security screening. Fully expecting queues, I ran around a few people and then spotted the screening area.
Overall Thoughts
By rights, there is no way I should have made my connecting flight. Every single thing that needed to go correctly actually happened. What would have happened had I not gone to an immigration kiosk and instead had to join the queue of doom?
What are the chances that my checked bag was first onto the carousel, which never happens? Perhaps the bus had taken longer or been delayed. Any extra minutes anywhere along the connection journey would have ruined it all. When I checked afterwards, it seems Virgin Australia business class passengers can do bag drop a minimum of 30 minutes before flight departure. I made that by the skin of my teeth!
Sometimes you just luck out and after 32 or so hours of travelling, I was really happy that everything worked out. I’m still quite surprised by it though!
What do you think of this experience? Have you had a similar thing happen to you? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.
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Featured image via Brisbane Airport on X.
Brisbane Smart Path via Australian Aviation.
Baggage claim via Communiti.
Virgin Australia terminal Brisbane via Yelp.
I can’t believe your luck. You’re more Irish than Australian with that luck!
Yes, I couldn’t believe it myself!