Stargirl007

Hello All,

We will be visiting USA in March and have booked a return ticked with DELTA for the domestic flight to New York, JFK, arriving to terminal 4 (or 2, not sure) at 4:00PM. Our next internation flight with FINNAIR is at 5:40PM from terminal 8. Will we be able to pick our check in luggages at terminal 4 and make it to the terminal 8 and gate on time? Anyone can advice? We can run fast but are scared if that is possible with luggages. Tickets are bought separately but still maybe DELTA could pass our luggages to terminal 8 (or to our Europe's destination) without picking them in terminal 4? Thank you

ellenem

There is no way I see this working for you, especially with checked luggage. Finnair does not seem to be a partner airline with Delta, so I doubt your luggage can be checked through.

According to the link below, your luggage for the Finnair flight must be checked in one hour before departure.

https://www.finnair.com/us/gb/inform...vices/check-in

That leaves you just 40 minutes to deplane, walk through the huge Delta terminal to baggage claim (about half a mile it seems), wait for your luggage, walk to the AirTrain, ride the AirTrain to terminal 8, and drop you luggage at the bag check. Physically impossible to my mind.

I encourage you to find a flight with at least 3 hours to connect.

doug_stallings

Nope. It's likely not possible to make this connection if you still have to check bags and check in for your flights. There's generally a 60-minute cut-off before international flights at JFK for baggage (but this varies by airline and terminal).

Security at Terminal 8 usually moves quickly, but JFK is notoriously slow at delivery bags.

Are you sure you cannot check in for your Finnair flight and check your luggage all the way through? If you could do that, then you have a decent chance of making the connection if everything is on time. Otherwise, no way.

thursdaysd

Finnair and Delta are in different alliances, and interlining even within alliances is becoming a thing of the past. I think it unlikely in the extreme that the bags will be checked through. Can you travel with carry on only?

Delta domestic flights arrive at terminal 2:

www.panynj.gov/airports/jfk-airlines.html

Unlike many airports, JFK does not provide transfer information and times, but I would not have booked this connection. I don't want to sound accusatory, but we get quite a few questions along the same lines (although usually on the Airlines forum) and I am puzzled. Why didn't you ask before buying the tickets?

J62

At JFK I've had bags arrive at baggage claim anywhere from 30-60min after arrival time, so best case you'd have about 10min to get from T4 baggage claim to the front of the line @ T8 to meet the 1hr check-in cutoff time.

So I agree with the others - physically impossible. If it only takes 20min to get your bags, then Usain Bolt has a chance to make it. The rest of us mortals no.

Finnair & AA are partners and share JFK T8, exchange baggage, and you'd also likely (maybe) to be able to check-in for all flights at your origin.

So if you can get into JFK on AA then 1hr 40min would be enough time.

If you've already purchased your Delta ticket then your best option is to get an earlier flight on Delta.

nytraveler

Since these are separate tickets if you don't make the Finnair flight (and I think this very unlikely) you will be considered a no show an will have to buy a new tickets at the walk up cost - and possibly for the next day. and the overnight would be on you.

If t were me I would get a much earlier Delta flight into JFK. And realize that in March flight delays due to bad weather are not uncommon so you may still be on the Delta flight when the Finnair flight actually takes off.

A very good reason not to buy separate tickets unless you know the airports really well and that you have allowed enough time. If any travel agent sold this to you I would ask them to cover any cost associated with getting an earlier Delta flight.

thursdaysd

For a long Trans-Atlantic or Pacific flight I always prefer to be in the departure city the night before unless I have a protected connection. While that would be overkill for a 4:00 pm departure in the summer, in March it might not.