Is one ticket and one booking a guarantee that baggage goes all the way?

No. I had one ticket on one carrier and the baggage was still checked only to Shanghai. The only way to know in advance is the itinerary receipt and a question at the check-in desk.

If I miss a connection because of a delay, will the carrier rebook me itself?

I was rebooked, but not at once and not on the flight I needed: the first option was a day later. I had to argue for the date I needed in the queue. If you have something important the next day, say so straight away.

Do you go through passport control in Shanghai if you collect baggage?

Yes, in my experience: baggage can be collected only after passport control, after which you check in and go through security again as for an ordinary departure. That is where the time goes.

Is it worth complaining if the delay was weather?

Yes, but not about the weather. The carrier is not liable for it. Write about what did not depend on it: no warning about baggage, contradictory information from staff, an unreachable hotel.

Who gets the complaint: the carrier or the site where the ticket was bought?

I wrote to the support of the site where I bought the ticket, because that is where I was not warned about the baggage at purchase. If the ticket is bought from the carrier directly, there is one addressee.

Shanghai Layover: Do You Have to Collect Your Baggage

In short. Even on a single China Eastern ticket, baggage may not travel on by itself in Shanghai: it has to be collected and re-checked for the Seoul flight. I learned this only at check-in in Moscow. The flight was delayed by weather, three hours for the connection were not enough, and I reached Seoul two days late. Below: how it went and what to check before departure.

How I missed the connection in Shanghai

The flight was 10-12 August 2026. One ticket, Moscow - Shanghai - Seoul, China Eastern. At Sheremetyevo I was given one boarding pass and told: collect the baggage in Shanghai and check in again for the Seoul flight. Until then I had assumed the suitcases would travel to the final destination on their own.

Departure was set for 19:05, with three hours for the connection. First it was moved to 00:35, then to 02:00; we left at 02:30. The reason was weather. I landed in Shanghai after the Seoul flight had gone.

Then the rebooking queue. More than four hours standing, no water, no food. The first offer was a seat on the 13th. I had a salon appointment and a meeting at the academy on the 12th. In the end they put me on another airline at 08:05 on the morning of the 12th. They said there was a hotel but nobody could explain how to get to it. I spent the night in the airport.

Why three hours were not enough

Pudong is a big airport with long distances. If baggage has to be collected, carried and re-checked, three hours is tight even without a delay. With a delay there was no chance.

The carrier is not liable for weather and pays no compensation. So I sent my complaint to the support of the site where I bought the ticket, and wrote about what did not depend on the weather: I was not warned about the baggage at purchase, staff gave contradictory answers, the hotel was unreachable.

I wrote to the salon in Seoul as soon as it was clear I would not make it, and asked them to hold the appointment without a fixed date. It was moved to the 18th.

What to do

Check the itinerary receipt to see whether baggage is checked through to the final destination. If unclear, ask at check-in in Moscow.
If you collect baggage yourself, take a layover longer than three hours.
Do not schedule anything important for the day after arrival.
When delayed, write at once to whoever is expecting you and ask them to hold the slot without a fixed date.
In a complaint, write about what did not depend on the weather.

Check the carrier's and the airport's rules separately before any flight: this is my experience of one flight, not an instruction for every case. The rest of the journey: K-ETA for Russian citizens, flights to Seoul on your own terms and how to pay in Korea without Visa or Mastercard.