Connection through Charlotte

Claude Burgundy

Looking at booking flights soon to Orlando and AA seems to be the best price at the moment BUT they are only allowing us a connection time of 75.

I don't think that is enough to get off, get our bags, clear customs, give our bags back and make it to our gate.

Any thoughts ?

Negative_G

Will you be availing of preclearance in Dublin or Shannon?

If you are booking as a connecting flight, there will be no collecting and rechecking of bags in Charlotte. You will simply disembark and make your way to the gate where your next flight departs. Your baggage will be routed automatically.

You should get all boarding passes at initial check in. I've travelled like this a couple of times and it's worked fine.

I would agree that 75 mins doesnt leave much wriggle room but providing you don't have to go through customs stateside and there are no delays you should be fine.

Claude Burgundy

Negative_G wrote: »

Will you be availing of preclearance in Dublin or Shannon?

If you are booking as a connecting flight, there will be no collecting and rechecking of bags in Charlotte. You will simply disembark and make your way to the gate where your next flight departs. Your baggage will be routed automatically.

You should get all boarding passes at initial check in. I've travelled like this a couple of times and it's worked fine.

I would agree that 75 mins doesnt leave much wriggle room but providing you don't have to go through customs stateside and there are no delays you should be fine.

Yes i do believe we will have pre clearance.

I was under the impression that you still have to produce your bag for customs ?

I also have to drag 3 kids under 7:D

EagererBeaver

Claude Burgundy wrote: »

Yes i do believe we will have pre clearance.

I was under the impression that you still have to produce your bag for customs ?

I also have to drag 3 kids under 7:D

If you're booking the flight from Ireland to Orlando and making one payment, the luggage goes through automatically and you just collect at final destination.

Don't know anything about Charlotte airport but 75 mins is at the lower end of things and has a bit of risk. However, if you're late due to flight to Charlotte being late or something similar, the airline should re-book you on the next one. I imagine they're pretty frequent.

Negative_G

Claude Burgundy wrote: »

Yes i do believe we will have pre clearance.

I was under the impression that you still have to produce your bag for customs ?

I also have to drag 3 kids under 7:D

No, at least not in my experience. I'm sure more seasoned travellers will verify but anytime I've had connecting flights to the US, I checked in my bags in Ireland and collected them at my final destination.

I have discovered that my bag had been opened and searched and a leaflet from US customs left amongst my belongings. Interestingly this was when I was leaving the US and I'm not sure if it was carried out in my departure airport or the connecting airport.

I've never used Charlotte so I can't help with how it will be to deal with children.

The general advise is to arrive for US flights 3 hours prior to departure. As you have kids I would highly recommend purchasing fast track security for you and your family. They can be bought online through the DAA. Think they're about 7/8 euro each, but wIll minimise stress immensely. There has never been more than a few people using it anytime I've used it.

Claude Burgundy

Negative_G wrote: »

No, at least not in my experience. I'm sure more seasoned travellers will verify but anytime I've had connecting flights to the US, I checked in my bags in Ireland and collected them at my final destination.

I have discovered that my bag had been opened and searched and a leaflet from US customs left amongst my belongings. Interestingly this was when I was leaving the US and I'm not sure if it was carried out in my departure airport or the connecting airport.

I've never used Charlotte so I can't help with how it will be to deal with children.

The general advise is to arrive for US flights 3 hours prior to departure. As you have kids I would highly recommend purchasing fast track security for you and your family. They can be bought online through the DAA. Think they're about 7/8 euro each, but wIll minimise stress immensely. There has never been more than a few people using it anytime I've used it.

We are traveling on a Sunday so the number of business people will be a lot lower and a Dublin will be quieter. We've traveled with them before so just need to be as organised !

75 min is tight, i'll look at options.

Claude Burgundy

From the airport website :

The United States Customs and Border Protection (USCBP) facility at Terminal 2 in Dublin Airport is a purpose built facility that allows US bound passengers to undertake all immigration, customs and agriculture inspections at Dublin prior to departure.Dublin Airport is one of only a handful of airports outside North America that offer the CBP facility. Having cleared USCBP, passengers arriving in the US are treated as domestic arrivals, which allows for a faster processing through their arrival airport in the United States including the checking through of any baggage to the traveller’s final destination. Passengers on all US bound flights clear immigration, customs and agriculture inspections at Dublin Airport.

So it looks like bags are checked straight through which does help a lot.

endofrainbow

Dublin might not necessarily be quieter - lots of leisure travelers on Sundays.

CLT is a doddle to connect in, as you arrive as a domestic passenger, you just need to get to your next gate (which might be in a different concourse).

Last time i connected there (albeit domestic to domestic) I had 45 minutes, even had time to grab a quick burger. Might be an idea to purchase food before boarding your 2nd flight as there might only be a drinks run on the CLT - Orlando flight.

If possible, try and sit near the front for quick exit and head straight for your next gate which will be displayed on monitor in the gate areas.

Bags will be tagged through to Orlando.

RobertKK

American Airlines seems to have good prices for US trips. I will be getting a connecting flight in Charlotte in October on the way home.
On my out journey the connecting flight is in Chicago, so hopefully it will be as easy as Charlotte sounds.

aaronm13

RobertKK wrote: »

American Airlines seems to have good prices for US trips. I will be getting a connecting flight in Charlotte in October on the way home.
On my out journey the connecting flight is in Chicago, so hopefully it will be as easy as Charlotte sounds.

Connecting with American in O'Hare isn't to bad as you don't have to change terminal. You arrive and depart in their terminal, T3. Aer Lingus to another airline, now that's a whole different matter.

ceadaoin.

I wouldn't risk such a close connection time. If there is even a relatively small delay on your flight leaving dublin, or if they have to wait for clearance to land, you are going to miss the connecting flight. Yes, theyll rebook you but it's hassle you can do without. Boarding starts 30-40 mins before the scheduled departure time. Factor in getting 3 young kids to the new gate, which could be a fair walking distance away from where you land and you're asking for trouble IMO!

Also, make sure you book seats on both flights if you want to sit together. If you don't reserve them US airlines are not obliged to seat you with your kids and in my experience, they won't go out of their way to help you.

Lima Golf

Connected in Charlotte to Orlando before. We had 2 hours and got a bite to eat and just hung about. We could easily have made the connection in 30 minutes. It's a very easy airport to navigate. Your bags will be checked through to Orlando. You just walk from your arrival gate to your Orlando gate, no other security checks or anything like that.

dave2pvd

Charlotte is not a big airport. One end of one concourse to the far end of another is a 10min walk, tops.

Aprilmay

I live in Charlotte, you should be fine with your connection flight but I would make sure your children have assigned seats.

Snoopy1

I connected through charlotte with us airways. It's really easy to navigate, and your bags will go through to final destination.
Providing your initial flight isn't late, it should be ok