Lonely Planet™ · Thorn Tree Forum · 2020 |

# Transfer Auckland Airport with different carries in 3 hours? Country forums / Pacific Islands & Papua New Guinea / Cook Islands
leahthetourist 20:40 UTC 22 Apr 2014 | I am planning a trip to the Pacific, as part of this trip I am flying into Auckland then onto the Cook Islands (both international flights and both booked seperatley with different carriers, China Southern and Virgin Australia) ** I have been advised i would need to clear customs and check in as I cannot fly all the way through. China Southern currently land at 16:00 on a Sunday and the flight out is at 19:00 on the Sunday (There is an Air New Zealand flight at 19:30). Is this enough time in between flights to clear customs, collect bags,get off the plane etc etc, and go get checked in and through security on to the next flight. The other option is we leave at 10:00 on the monday, which means hanging around Auckland airport all night, We are taking several other flights onto toher islands after so if we missed the flight this would ruin our honeymoon.** |
Laszlo 21:34 UTC 22 Apr 2014 | It sounds tight, though in theory doable. Trouble is that NZ customs may decide to do a thorough check of your luggage (shoes, whatever) not so much for importing banned things but for dirt/germs, and when I landed there, that took aaaaaaages. If you want to be really safe, you might be better off allowing longer, though if customs just wave you through and your incoming flight is on time, 3 hours should be OK. | 1
justin23 23:06 UTC 22 Apr 2014 | You have 2 posts for the same thing? As I said on other post it if a flight gets delayed. It should be enough time, However I've flown about 6 flights on China Southern and half were delayed, one was 3 hours. The biggest issue with such a short turn around on different carriers is if China Southern are say only a mere hour late then things get tight and difficult. If missing that flight would ruin your honeymoon then maybe being sure is a better option. | 2
budgetkiwi 00:10 UTC 29 Apr 2014 | I use Auckland as a hub for South Pacific travel quite often and have this dilemma most trips. I normally go for the safe option and spend quite a few hours wandering the airport, I once spent the night there due to storms (It was a lot more comfortable than I expected and there were a number of fellow travellers doing the same) A friend of mine always cuts it fine and often rushes past me while i sit and wait but once she missed a connecting flight to Fiji and had to rebook, it cost her a lot of time and money and ruined her trip. You know what your choices and consequences are....go for what seems right for you | 3