Has anyone been on the China trip and flown from Manchester? I havn't got my flight details yet for the M/c to H/row flight (I'm not going till next year) but wondering about checking luggage through to final destination and changing terminals? It'll be hectic at Heathrow if I have to reclaim my luggage there!

Regards,

Pat

China - fantastic choice - I did it in March. You are going to love it. So much to see and do - won't catch your breath.

l flew direct from Heathrow but others on my trip came on a connecting flight from Manchester and they checked their luggage straight through, I know. There is a slight difference in luggage allowance if you are getting a connecting flight though, so be aware of this.

Have a great trip!

Be happy,

Best wishes,

Lesley :angel:

Some of our group were flying via Birmingham/Manchester and had connecting flights to Heathrow

They had their luggage checked in at their UK airport and it was checked straight through to the China flight at heathrow.

The same happened when they returend, we went to baggage claim and customs, while the transfering flight passengers were diverted before baggage claim to their flights and their bags were automatically transferred for them.

What is really important is that on the return flight Air China allwed a much higher baggage allowance and handluggage than the internal flight transfer, so you must make sure that your main luggage does not exceed the connecting flight's maximum and only take one hand luggage on the return flight from China (They allowed us two bags), because your connecting flight will not allow extra

I do not know if you can book your luggage all the way through from Manchester, somehow I think it might be difficult, considering you will be using 2 different airlines.

At the moment, although things can obviously change, Air China use Terminal 3. Terminals 1,2 and 3 are fairly close together, so if you land at one of these from Manchester you should be OK. If you land anywhere else the terminals are a long way away and you need to use buses. Terminal 5 is 2 miles away by road and taxis are extortionate. Expect to pay at least 20 pounds. There are also licensed porters to help with luggage at a cost of around 10 pounds

I know that the flight timings are an evening departure, but when I go next year,I will have a night at Heathrow before departure.

I understand also that Air China are fairly tight with quite severe restrictions on hand luggage.

I know you will have an enjoyable holiday,

Peter

I was one on skippy's trip who flew to LHR from MAN. You can check you luggage through to your final destination even though you do change terminals at LHR - there are loads of transfer signs to follow so it's not a problem. As for amount of luggage you get 30kg with BOTH Air China and BMI (for the MAN-LHR bit). You check your case in at MAN but if you have anything larger than a medium-sized backpack they will take it off you at the gate and put it in the hold (free of charge that is!) as the aircraft is . . . ahem . . . tiny lol as in two seats on one side and one seat on the other and overheads on only one side of the cabin. On the up-side the one we got back from LHR-MAN was larger and we could easily take all our bags with us on-board. You can check your bags all the way to MAN on the way back too!

Have a fab time!

Helen