SandyBrit

Last year I connected from St. Louis thru Raleigh/Durham to London Gatwick. Just went to book the same flight and found that their is no connecting flight back to St. Louis until the next day i.e. London flight gets in at 4:35 pm and the last flight to St. Louis leave around 5 pm.

It is bad enough that AA stopped all direct flights from St. Louis to London but now can not return thru Raleigh which was very easy.

AA now wants to take me back home thru Dallas. If I do connect back thru Dallas what can I expect in the time to clear customs and make the connecting flight. How much time should I allow between the London flight and the connecting flight from Dallas to St. Louis. Any one know if this involves a terminal change?

Looking for opinions on Dallas/Fort Worth as a connecting airport and suggestions for other ways to connect back to St. Louis.

Thanks.
Sandy

AAFrequentFlyer

Does it have to be Gatwick?

Heathrow would be a lot easier.

AA has multiple flights to Heathrow from Chicago, New York and Boston.

If it has to be Gatwick then Dallas is the only other choice.

DFW just opened a new international terminal, and I have not been through it yet. In the past, the immigration and customs was very acceptable at DFW. I always gave myself 1.5-2 hours connection time (just in case) but many times I would standby for the "earlier" domestic flight home, because the procedure was quick. DFW also has a new train running around the terminals and it runs in both directions, a vast improvement over the old one which only ran in one direction.

Anyway, I would still plan about an 1.5 connection time. Things could go wrong, but AA has enough flights between DFW and STL to cover you in case you miss your ticketed flight.

The legal connection time from int to dom at DFW is 1 hour, so as long as you have that AA will protect you.

Have a great trip!

Jean

It seems to me that most of your questions can be answered by speaking with someone at AA reservations. Ask them about alternatives to DFW. Ask them if there is a terminal change at DFW for your connection. If the first person you speak with isn't inclined to be helpful, hang up and call back.

Christina

For the future, I don't think realy long post headlines like that are very useful. I don't even want to read them, and they extend the post a long ways. There is no need to put your entire post into the heading.

Travelnut

I bet Rex was happy, though...

GreenEyedCatWoman

Hi SandyBrit,
I fly from STL, too.
I also miss the good old days of the non-stop on AA (and on TWA before AA bought/bailed them out).
And oddly enough, my real name is not GreenEyedCatWoman, but Sandy!

Anyway, I have connected through both Chicago and Dallas to/from London and Paris. I rather like DFW and try to avoid ORD. That's me, though. Others may feel differently.

Of course DFW means more time in the sky. And on the way home, it's a bit sad to hear the captain announce that you're over St. Louis as you're winging your way to Dallas. I try to just think of the backtracking as a few extra AAdvantage miles.

rockhopper7

In the future, Christina, I suggest you don't read the post title if it's too tiring or inconvenient for you.

Jed

In general, I skip posts with titles more than 2 lines, but I had to open this post since the title just set the record for length. I agree with Christina. You go, girl!

Edward2005

This year's award for Longest Thread Title goes to....SandyBrit!!

tcreath

I too fly from St. Louis and agree with AAFrequentFlyer; if you can fly into Heathrow it will probably be easier. I have flown from St. Louis to London Heathrow with layovers at JFK. If you have to fly into Gatwick, I don't think you have too much choice.

Good luck!
Tracy

tcreath

Oh, and I too would much rather lay over in Dallas over Chicago. My husband and I refer to it as "O'Hell" for a reason!

Tracy

Margie

I agree - see if flying through Heathrow would work for you.

For the record - I have no problem with your title to you post, and as already stated you must have made Rex's day! Some people have to find fault with everything - they must be a real joy to travel with.

AAFrequentFlyer

I will have to disagree with the DFW lovers/ORD haters.

I fly AA frequently. Most of my connections are through ORD/DFW, with some through MIA (but that's another story). There is nothing wrong with DFW (ok the loooong walks on occasion), but ORD is just so much better IMHO. Restaurants - ORD is like going to a gourmet, high class place when compared to DFW. Gates - shorter walks by miles (literally ). Delays - I have been delayed equally, for various reasons at both, no advantage.
AA Flagship Lounge at ORD plus a regular, roomy, bright Admirals Club. Only Admirals clus) at DFW. Very nice, equal to ORD ACs, but no Flagship Lounge. ORD wins this one.

Overall I prefer ORD and especially when connecting to international flight as I get to use the FL.

I have not been through the new international terminal at DFW yet, and I have not tried the new train that runs in both directions, so it's possible that DFW will pick up some points in my book once I get a chance to see what all the talk is about.

littilesthobo

i think for a new poster a longer subject is less of a sin than a title that is too short like: London help

but sandy, your history shows you are quite familiar with posts. large subjects although very informative,push other messages farther down in the list.

a compromise would have been to write
"hlp with AA options to Gatwick "

SandyBrit

I accept the award for the longest thread title. I did get a little carried away. Sorry to the folks who got upset about it.

I appreciate the helpful replies from AAFrequent Flyer, GreenEyedCatWoman and tcreath.

I have not connected thru ORD in years. I prefer Gatwick because I think it is a easier drive to Felixstowe, Suffolk. This is the home of my mother who will soon be 86 years younge.

I regret that AA has seen fit to discontinue the later connection from RDU to STL which made for such an easy connection back to what is now my home.
DFW sounds like it may work for me.

Sincerely,
Sandy