Connecting flights question

cognos

Never gotten a connecting flight before so just wondering what exactly the deal is. When I arrive at the intermediate airport do I have to collect my bags as normal and go check in again and get a new boarding pass etc. for the next flight or do I just go straight to my next flight and assume my bags will find their way on to it too if I've told the people at the original airport where I'm going.

Thanks.

BuffyBot

It varies - who are you flying with? where are you connecting? Are both trips on the same ticket or two seperate tickets? All these factors and more can affect the answer.

cognos

Thanks buffybot...

flying to heathrow with aerlingus then to chicago, then san diego with united airlines. flights were booked together (with go4less) and i just have the one booking reference number/e-ticket thing.

mikedragon32

You'll be able to check them through to Chicago at least. You will probably have to clear customs in Chichago and then put your bags through for the San Diego flight.

Word of warning: Do NOT buy liquids in Duty Free in Dublin, as you'll have to re-clear security in LHR and your booze/perfumes over 100ml WILL be confiscated.

Irish Wolf

cognos wrote:

Thanks buffybot...

flying to heathrow with aerlingus then to chicago, then san diego with united airlines. flights were booked together (with go4less) and i just have the one booking reference number/e-ticket thing.

Well you should be able to check your bags through to Chicago - but iirc you need to collect your bags at your first US destination and re-check them for interal US flights.

I believe you'll need to clear customs and immigration in Chicago as well.

Irish Wolf

mikedragon32 wrote:

You'll be able to check them through to Chicago at least. You will probably have to clear customs in Chichago and then put your bags through for the San Diego flight.

Word of warning: Do NOT buy liquids in Duty Free in Dublin, as you'll have to re-clear security in LHR and your booze/perfumes over 100ml WILL be confiscated.

Beat me to it!

Good point on not purchasing duty free in Dublin but as you're destination from Dublin is Heathrow I'm not sure you'll actually be allowed purchase duty free... having said that the restrictions on all liquids does apply.

cognos

thanks guys

homah_7ft

Hi I did the same flight last year except not to San Diego. Going again in a few weeks Make sure to ask at the check in desk to check your bags all the way through. When you get into Chicago you will need to collect your bag. Cos it's the USA! You basically bring it a short distance and onto another carusel. No major problem. Just ask someone on the cabin crew on the flight over if you have any questions. On the way back you can check your bags all the way through and forget about them. Have fun.

mikedragon32

Irish Wolf wrote:

Beat me to it!

Good point on not purchasing duty free in Dublin but as you're destination from Dublin is Heathrow I'm not sure you'll actually be allowed purchase duty free... having said that the restrictions on all liquids does apply.

AFAIK you CAN, provided you have your boarding pass for the onward flight, however, it's a moot point for the reasons already stated.

gibbsongraham1

I am looking at flying to warsaw from dublin via stansted airport, I will arrive in stansted at 16.50 and my connecting flight to warsaw is at 18.00 would this 1 hour and 10 mins be enough time to catch the connection? I will also only have hand luggage thanks in advance

gibbsongraham1

I am looking at flying to warsaw from dublin via stansted airport, I will arrive in stansted at 16.50 and my connecting flight to warsaw is at 18.00 would this 1 hour and 10 mins be enough time to catch the connection? I will also only have hand luggage thanks in advance

whomitconcerns

why not take a direct flight?

if your changing in Stansted and its seperate bookings you wont make it or will be very VERY tight?

So question is is it one booking dub-stn-waw or 2 bookings?

Sean9015

Not been to Stansted, but have heard some horror stories in the past. If you are on two seperate bookings (or indeed one, as Ryanair don't do through bags) and have checked baggage, then the answer is simply no - by the time you get your bag off the first flight, bag drop will have closed for your onward flight. I cannot see why you would look to do this rather than fly direct, which is likely to be cheaper and certainly less hassle. If you really must go via Stansted, get an earlier flight. I would suggest three hours connection time minimum to allow for delays etc.

LXFlyer

gibbsongraham1 wrote: »

I am looking at flying to warsaw from dublin via stansted airport, I will arrive in stansted at 16.50 and my connecting flight to warsaw is at 18.00 would this 1 hour and 10 mins be enough time to catch the connection? I will also only have hand luggage thanks in advance

70 minutes is too tight - given that your first flight has to be with Ryanair, if that first flight arrives late and you miss the second flight, you will have to book a completely new ticket for the second flight.

I would suggest a minimum of 120-150 minutes between flights where they are on separate bookings.

At least then you have some wriggle room in the event of a delay.

As the previous poster suggests look at direct flights, or other airlines that offer through ticketing (such as Lufthansa or SAS).

schemingbohemia

gibbsongraham1 wrote: »

I am looking at flying to warsaw from dublin via stansted airport, I will arrive in stansted at 16.50 and my connecting flight to warsaw is at 18.00 would this 1 hour and 10 mins be enough time to catch the connection? I will also only have hand luggage thanks in advance

Well done on resurrecting an 8 year old thread!

You're taking a big risk with those timings. In Stansted you have to go all the way out through security and all the way back through security, you could be very lucky and make it but you will need to be very lucky. I wouldn't risk it myself. Are there no direct flights from Dublin?

gibbsongraham1

I could get a direct flight but as there is a Poland v Ireland game on that weekend flights are a more expensive than normal. I will only have hand luggage with me so won't be waiting around for bags. I searched my flights on sky scanner and it's the last flight out of stanstead that day so it do or die really.

LXFlyer

gibbsongraham1 wrote: »

I could get a direct flight but as there is a Poland v Ireland game on that weekend flights are a more expensive than normal. I will only have hand luggage with me so won't be waiting around for bags. I searched my flights on sky scanner and it's the last flight out of stanstead that day so it do or die really.

Either way, 70 minutes is cutting it too fine and you risk ending up having to pay for a hotel at Stansted and then book another flight the next day.

whomitconcerns

gibbsongraham1 wrote: »

I could get a direct flight but as there is a Poland v Ireland game on that weekend flights are a more expensive than normal. I will only have hand luggage with me so won't be waiting around for bags. I searched my flights on sky scanner and it's the last flight out of stanstead that day so it do or die really.

honestly you will have to be very lucky to catch it. If you have to clear immigration and security it can take a while...thats a busy time of day too.

Sean9015

As I said in my last post, get an earlier flight to Stansted if you must use that flight to Warsaw. Even without bags, you will still have to exit through immigrastion ten re-enter through security. 70 minutes is not enough to reliably do it. Better to wait a few hours with a safe connection in Stansted than to be stranded there overnight.

gibbsongraham1

Ok point taken 70 mins is not enough time, looks like I may bite the billet and pay the extra for the direct flight.

JumpShivers

Hypothetical question:

A while back my boyfriend and I got a text from Aer Lingus saying that our flights to Lisbon in December would be 4 hours later than originally scheduled.

What if this happened when someone had connecting flights onto a city with no direct flights from Dublin and that the flight into the first city ended up scheduled to arrive after the connecting flight was leaving?

For example, I book a flight from Dublin to Frankfurt with Aer Lingus and then with Air Armenia from Frankfurt to Yerevan.

Should Aer Lingus be changing schedules for flights that are already booked? Should they not only be changing schedules for flights which have not yet been booked (flights can be booked 330 days in advance).

Would AL have to compensate me for changing the flight times / dates?

The text says something along the lines of "AL regrets inconvenience" or something like that with no real contrition.

athtrasna

If you book separate flights you have no protection, you should be able to cancel your original flights without penalty but that's all. If you book them on one single booking then there is an obligation to accommodate your onward travel.

JumpShivers

By one single booking, would that cover two separate flights on separate airlines booked by the travel agent or do both legs have to be with the same airline?

athtrasna

JumpShivers wrote: »

By one single booking, would that cover two separate flights on separate airlines booked by the travel agent or do both legs have to be with the same airline?

They need to be on one ticket so completed as a single ticket, not necessarily the same airline

munchkin_utd

If you book 2 separate flights then it's your own tough.
Not any different than complaining that bus eireann cancels or reschedules the first bus in the day and your subsequent flight plans are then in difficulty.
Should you be making an unsecured connection then you need to give yourself plenty of buffer for unexpected happenings, especially at a busy airport like frankfurt which is thrown into chaos any time there's a problem with weather or air traffic control