sevendown

Hopefully someone out there with some experience in this area has an idea for me before I go back to Delta for action.

For those who have helped me before on my airline issues for my upcoming Africa trip, here we go again. (Patty, my new friend, are you out there?)

Delta has had a schedule change that messes with me big time at JFK. Originally my family of 3 was scheduled to fly from Dallas to Tanzania (through New York and Amsterdam) on the following flights on 12/24 and 12/25:

Delta: DFW-JFK 10:20 am-2:49 pm
Delta: JFK-AMS 5:30 pm-7:20 am
KLM: AMS-JRO 10:20 am-8:45 pm

Delta has just changed its schedule for the first flight into JFK, and now they have us flying DFW-JFK 12:00 pm-4:50 pm, leaving only a 40 minute connection in JFK for my flight to AMS and then on to JRO.

First, is this even a legal connection? But even if technically legal, it sounds way too risky. Especially at JFK, and especially given the itinerary I have and the need to make all connections or risk substantial damage to my trip if we miss any flight. Any thoughts there?

Next, what can I do? There is an earlier flight on Delta to JFK 7:00am-11:50am, but of course then we have the pleasure of a 5 1/2 hour layover at JFK -- Just long enough to be miserable, but not long enough to exit security and take a trip into the city.

Also, this is all on SkyMiles awards, and there is only one Skymile seat available (in all classes) on the 7:00am flight. When there was a previous schedule change on KLM I was lucky enough to get them to open up some more SkyMile seats on another flight, and that would be great if they could route me on Delta through Atlanta to Amsterdam, but I can't really count on that here just because I'm complaining about an additional 3 1/2 hour layover in JFK. Any thoughts there as well?

Amy40

I am not sure about legal connection times, but I have been quite lucky lately, asking politely to have my flights changed, even with SkyMiles tickets. I would just call, calmly explain the situation and see what they'll do for you. If it doesn't work the first time, call again and try with someone else. You may also find that the schedule changes again before December, allowing a more favorable connection time.

You think a 5.5 hr layover is horrible, imagine the stress at the start of the trip, wondering if you're going to make it. In recent years, I have just surrendered to the hellishly long layovers, in exchange for peace of mind. You'll be fresh at the start of your vacation, eager to be on the road and the layover will go faster than you think. Plan on a long leisurely lunch, a good walk afterwards, and a few hour-long catch-up phone calls to friends and family. My DH reads Dostoevsky! I shop!

Hopefully Patty (also a wealth of info for me!) will chime in with some ideas for you, particularly as to legality. Good luck!

dutyfree

I think that the fact that you are flying on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day,winter weather and JFK-5 hour layover would be nothing but piece of mind!

sevendown

Thanks. Don't misunderstand me. I am not going to settle for the 40 minute layover. (I have been searching for minimum layover times and they are hard to find, but one website I found says that AA requires a 40 minute layover for Domestic to International at JFK. That's just not enough!!)

But understand my problem at this point (before I have called Delta) is that there are not enough seats available on the 7:00 a.m flight. Perhaps I can get some strings pulled if I knew for sure the connection was not legal.

I'm going to call Delta tonight after I get a few more thoughts on here.

BeachBoi

sevendown....From my TA's GDS...
T*CT-JFK/DLDL/DI«
STANDARD.D/D...D/I...I/D...I/I.
ONLINE 1.00 1.15 1.45 2.00
OFFLINE 1.00 1.15 1.45 2.00
This indicates that a connection from a Delta flight to another Delta flight, domestic flight to International flight
the minimum connecting time (Online means same airline to same airline) is 1 hour 15 minutes.That is the D/I column.There are a bunch of "exceptions" listed below this info, and the absolute least amount of time needed is 45 minutes.So, bottom line, it is NOT a "legal" connection.

Patty

I would call and ask for reaccommodation via ATL if that works better for you (have the flights you want picked out). Because it's a DL schedule change, they should be able to open up Skysaver seats for you on alternate DL operated flights. I've asked to change from LAX-JFK-AMS to LAX-ATL-AMS even though there was no Skysaver availability on the ATL-AMS flight and because DL had a schedule change it was not a problem. Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

rkkwan

When I type in 12/24 DFW-AMS for purchase, the 12:00 flight via JFK is not listed, which confirms BeachBoi's finding that it's not a legal connection anymore.

Patty is correct. They should have no problem accommodating you on a ATL connection. You can depart DFW at 1:20p with a 66 connection, but I'll choose the 12:10p with a 2hr22min connection at ATL.

The ATL-AMS flight arrives at 8:10am, and you will have no trouble connecting to the JRO flight.

They can also put you on NW, KL, and CO flights to AMS as well. The number of possible connections are limitless.

The main point is that you tell them the 40min connection is &quot;illegal&quot;, and a 7am DFW departure is absolutely unacceptable. Call back if you find the agent incompetent. Ask for a US-based supervisor if you can't get <b>any</b> competent agent.

sevendown

Thanks all. That is exactly the information (and motivation) I was looking for. I'll give it a try and let you know how it turns out.

sevendown

Found more ammunition. ExpertFlyer says the 12:00 flight they put me on has a 29% ontime reliability percentage and its average delay is 72 minutes. No way they can keep me on that flight and expect me to try to make a connection in 40 minutes to an international flight!!! I'm surprised the computer even let it happen.

gail

&quot;Ammunition&quot; about on-time record and legal connection times is not what you need. Listen to Amy (second poster). Call Delta and calmly and politely explain that you wish a longer layover. I have never had an airline refuse such a request after they have changed a flight schedule. Even if they required a small fee, pay it. That is way too short a time at JFK in the winter for an international flight (or any one of those factors alone).

sevendown

I must be doing something right these days. Delta was able to route me through Atlanta no problem.

The Atlanta connection is the route I had wanted from the day I made these reservations, and I had it on waitlist but hadn't cleared yet. So the schedule change worked to my benefit.

The same thing happened with my KLM flight from AMS-JRO. I had wanted that flight before, but it was not available so I booked AMS-NBO instead, and was going to have an unwanted overnight in Nairobi. Then KLM had a schedule change and they were basically forced to give me the AMS-JRO flight I originally wanted but couldn't get.

Schedule changes are usually a huge pain in the neck, but this trip they seem to be my friend.

Thanks everyone for your advice. It worked like a charm.

rkkwan

Sure, my family and I have benefited from schedule changes a few times ourselves.

Amy40

My gut feeling is that the &quot;New&quot; Delta has emerged with a gentler, kinder attitude. I had a situation, mentioned in my first post where our combo FF/paid tickets involved huge layovers. Due to a schedule change that made for even longer layovers, as well as a switch onto a regional carrier offering only coach (were flying First for this trip), I called and arranged for far more favorable connections. An outbound layover changed from 5 hours to three and an inbound layover from 7.5 to 3.25. Glad you had a similarly positive experience!

Patty

Great to hear!

My award booking strategy has now become book whatever's available, monitor and wait for schedule changes, get the flights I wanted originally