Connection Time
Feb 14th, 2006, 07:25 AM
#1
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Connection Time
I know this question gets asked all the time..we arrive at JFK via Delta (Comair) at 4:28 pm in Terminal 3, then depart on Swiss Air for Zurich at 6:10 pm in Terminal 4. This gives us 1 hour and 42 minutes. Will we be running to make our connection or is this plenty of time?
Feb 14th, 2006, 08:11 AM
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If a) your bags are checked through and b) you already have boarding pass/checked in for the Swiss flight at your origin, then you definitely have plenty of time.
Call Swiss directly and find out if you can checkin at the Delta counter at your hometown airport.
If you already have boarding pass and bags are checked, you will be off the Comair plane by 4:40, and can be at Term 4 security in 10-15min - very easily done, either by foot or using the AirTrain to go between terminals.
If you can't checkin for the Swiss flight ahead, you will still be able to get to the Term4 checkin line by 5pm.
This is less than the recommended checkin time, but not what I would call cutting it close. If you need to reclaim your bags from Delta and lug them to T4, then that's a huge variable I wouldn't be on.
Personally, I would be comfortable doing this if my bags were checked through (with or without boarding pass), but not if I had to reclaim and recheck my bags.
but do check with Swiss about checkin
Call Swiss directly and find out if you can checkin at the Delta counter at your hometown airport.
If you already have boarding pass and bags are checked, you will be off the Comair plane by 4:40, and can be at Term 4 security in 10-15min - very easily done, either by foot or using the AirTrain to go between terminals.
If you can't checkin for the Swiss flight ahead, you will still be able to get to the Term4 checkin line by 5pm.
This is less than the recommended checkin time, but not what I would call cutting it close. If you need to reclaim your bags from Delta and lug them to T4, then that's a huge variable I wouldn't be on.
Personally, I would be comfortable doing this if my bags were checked through (with or without boarding pass), but not if I had to reclaim and recheck my bags.
but do check with Swiss about checkin
Feb 14th, 2006, 08:15 AM
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Well, the last time I had a connection through JFK, my inbound flight got stacked over Ohio, then again over Pennsylvania, and finally diverted to IAD to refuel.
My 135-minute connection time turned out to be minus 10.
But the outbound was an Aeroflot that had never left the gate within 15 minutes of schedule.
But this one time it did.
So you never know.
My 135-minute connection time turned out to be minus 10.
But the outbound was an Aeroflot that had never left the gate within 15 minutes of schedule.
But this one time it did.
So you never know.
Feb 14th, 2006, 10:13 AM
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First - is this on a single ticket - so if you don;t make the flights the airline must fix the problem? (If it's separate tickets and you miss the Swiss flight you may have to buy completely new tickets at full fare - depending on how generous they feel).
Second - check on how often your incoming flight is late vs on-time.
For a 6:10 flight you are advised to check in at 4:10 for an international flight - so you're already 20 minutes late when you land. If everything goes on schdule you'll probably be fine. If your plane is late (bad weather - and where is it coming from - mechanical problems, air traffic problems etc) you could be racing through the airport and still not make it.
This happened once to me in Stockholm by SAS - they said there was plenty of time (1:20) for the connection - but my plane from NYC was delayed by weather - and even though I literally ran through the airport dragging a 27" suitcase behind me - the gate of the connecting flight was closed in my face. (The attendant on the spot said they do this all the time - and people can rarely make this connection - but they force it on you since the next flight is usually too crowded.)
Second - check on how often your incoming flight is late vs on-time.
For a 6:10 flight you are advised to check in at 4:10 for an international flight - so you're already 20 minutes late when you land. If everything goes on schdule you'll probably be fine. If your plane is late (bad weather - and where is it coming from - mechanical problems, air traffic problems etc) you could be racing through the airport and still not make it.
This happened once to me in Stockholm by SAS - they said there was plenty of time (1:20) for the connection - but my plane from NYC was delayed by weather - and even though I literally ran through the airport dragging a 27" suitcase behind me - the gate of the connecting flight was closed in my face. (The attendant on the spot said they do this all the time - and people can rarely make this connection - but they force it on you since the next flight is usually too crowded.)
