How long to allow for transfers in US

coco0981

Hi All,

Since Aer Lingus have stopped direct flights from Dublin to Washington Im going to have to do a change over flight in January to get there. Lot of options out there like changing over in Paris, London, NY, Atlanta etc. just a bit worried about how long to leave for changing from one flight to the other. Options vary from 45mins to 4/5 hours. Do any frequent flyers out there have any advise for me on what would be a reasonable time to allow for delays, customs baggage etc.

Thanks

Ponster

Will you be booking 2 seperate flights or a 'joint' one where you don't pick up luggage after he first flight and i's all booked through?

It'll also depend on the airport you choose....

coco0981

I dont know tbh.

So far have been looking at gohop.ie and ebookers so presume these are two separate flights just put together so would have to collect luggage and all.

Would I have to book a connecting flight with the same airline to allow me to not have to gather luggage etc.?

Sorry new to this long haul flight business

Thanks

Have just checked and one option is to have both flights with Delta, changing over in JFK with a 3hours 30 stopover.
I presume delta would transfer baggage from one plane to the other? If so what would that leave me having to do?
Would I literally be stepping off one plane and have to start queueing for everything again or would i have cleared customs etc already?

robinph

smurfman4ever wrote: »

Would I have to book a connecting flight with the same airline to allow me to not have to gather luggage etc.?

No.

You should be able to get you bags checked all the way through for connecting flights if the seperate airlines are in the same alliance. You'd also be able to book the series of different airlines flights on the same ticket as well, although you may find that one mmember of the alliance offers a completely different price for the same set of flight than another one.

coco0981

so once i sort out that my bags will be transferred by the airline how long would be a reasonable layover to ensure there are no hitches. Would say 2 hours be long enough between landing on one plane and taking off on the other??

GeturGun

Well my direct San Francisco flights with Aer Lingus got cancelled and we have now been rerouted through Chicago and there is 2hr 10 minutes connection time on the way and 1 hour and 52 minutes on the way back.
So i guess if the airline has given me the booking like this it must be enough time. It does involve a change of terminal - but I assume I will be a transit passenger so no customs or security to queue at.
So as long as it's on the same ticket, 2 hours should be enough.
And I assume (maybe wrongly) if both flights are on the same ticket and the first one is delayed, resulting in u missing the connection, they have to put u on the next flight.

steve-o

If you are connecting in a US airport you must collect your bags and clear customs. If your bag is already tagged to your final destination then you just need to hand it back to the airline after customs.

If your flight preclears immigration in Ireland then 2 hours should be plenty for a connection. If both flights are on one ticket the airline will rebook you for free if you miss your connection.

When you are coming home, your bag will be checked all the way through.

BuffyBot

So i guess if the airline has given me the booking like this it must be enough time. It does involve a change of terminal - but I assume I will be a transit passenger so no customs or security to queue at.

Incorrect. You'll have to clear customs, change terminals and re-clear security for your connecting flight.

netwhizkid

I flew to Las Vegas last year with Delta via JFK in New York and had a 6.5 hour stopover I checked in at Shannon and my bags were transfered for me however at JFK I had to go to "transfers" and identify my bag first before they transferred it, probably standard security protocol.

My Cousin then came and picked me up and we headed into Manhattan and had lunch stopped by the house and said hello to the relatives and back to JFK where I checked in again and made my way to the vegas flight and onwards to sin city. 6.5 hours in JFK would be hellish had my cousin not came out to meet me though.

I would allow 3 hours to allow for any delays and when I flew with Delta I landed into their non-existent ancient terminal and got totally lost :pac: as it was my first time flying with Delta into JFK as I usually fly Aer Lingus over. Great learning curve though all the same, I can imagine how some of my peers would have had panicked. Watching the yanks while waiting at the airports makes for a funny experience, I then proceeded to read the Irish Independent!

GeturGun

BuffyBot wrote: »

Incorrect. You'll have to clear customs, change terminals and re-clear security for your connecting flight.

steve-o wrote: »

If you are connecting in a US airport you must collect your bags and clear customs.

Well there's my 'something new' that I learned today!
Thanks for that guys

BuffyBot

BuffyBot wrote: »

Incorrect. You'll have to clear customs, change terminals and re-clear security for your connecting flight.

Thats why I think the op would be far far better flying via london with none of that mess.
The bags will be taken in Dublin and won't have to be seen or handled again by the op untill arrival in washington.

As long as the flight to london and the flight from london to washington is all on the same pnr/booking reference.

snubbleste

Slightly unrelated - hold out for offers
Last november both Continental & Usairways were offering Washington for €150 return via newark or philadelphia for travel in Jan or Feb
Recently Continental were offering Washington for €170 in Sept/Oct

kakee

Hi op. I remember when we were flyning to Kansas the first time. We had to catch a connecting flight in Phillidelphia. We went through customs in Shannon and into the waiting area. We were then told there was a problem with the plane so we had to wait. Then the plane was sorted and ready to go and next thing it was broken again. SEVEN hours later we took off. Then when we got to Philli the plane could not land as their were thunderstorms and the airport had no landing space available.
I see you are flying in Janurary so that has to be considered too as snowstorms can strike anywhere and cripple airports. I think myself I would try leave as long as I could for transfers. You wont be under pressure and if you have to spend a few hours somewhere then you can check out that airport or city.

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