Enough time in JFK for connection?
 

Flying from Madrid to JFK on Iberia and connecting to S.F on AA on Jan. 5th...is 2 hours 20 minutes enough time for a connection, considering the time of year?

Thanks!

Wow, that's tight even for a domestic layover.

I wouldn't risk that if you can help it. Long flight delays are very common in the winter on the east coast. And even if the weather cooperates, you'll have to go through immigration, collect your luggage and move two terminals down for your American flight (not sure if you have to go through security again, but that would add another 20 minutes).

If you can move your American flight back a bit, I would do it. If not, maybe your travel insurance can cover a missed flight?

Good luck!

Since you have to collect your luggage, go thru customs and immigration, then recheck your luggage and transfer to another terminal, I'm thinking it would be way too tight for my comfort. I agree that maybe a 3 1/2 to 4 hour connection time would be much better. ((b))

If the plane is relatively on time, you will be fine...immigration is no big deal really and most of the time you're through immigration before the bags start coming down so we're talking about the usual wait for bags as at any airline, generally there is no big problem with customs and as you leave the customs hall you deposit your baggage and walk out of the terminal to the Air Train which will efficiently take you to the AA terminal and assuming you are travelling on one ticket and have checked in properly probably would have already had your boarding pass so it's through security and to the gate.

Look obviously weather delays are always a possibility on the East Coast and severe weather could be a problem of course but for the most part I wouldn't worry. If you miss your connection, they'll put you on the next flight to San Francisco. If it's a legal connection (I think it is) don't worry, there's nothing you can do about it anyway.....if you feel better scheduling a later flight out of JFK to SFO, well you might not be happy spending several hours at JFK if you could have made the connection, right.

My only other option is going through Chicago..that would give me a 4 hour layover...however the weather tends to be worse there so I really didnt want to go that route..but I do like the 4 hour connecting time...
But then again, if I miss my flight in New York, I dont really mind if I have to spend the night...I always have Sunday to get home...such tough decisions :(

Ooh yeah, Chicago's O'Hare is way worse in the winter. Better to go through JFK. But, two things:

1) Make sure American will put you on the next flight if you miss yours. Some of the airlines have ridiculous rules that say you have to notify them before your flight leaves or else you forfeit most or all of your fare.

2) If you will have to forfeit your AA fare, see if you can get travel insurance that will cover you for weather delays.

Also, if you're not an American citizen, make sure you're the first one off that Iberia plane. I've heard from my European friends that immigration into the US can be beastly these days (sorry everybody).

slangevar,
Great advice...thanks :)

:-) Have a great trip... my fingers will be crossed for good weather this winter!

I agree that you haven;t left enough time. When a bunch ofplanes from europe land at once it can easily take 30 minutes to an hour to get through immigration for non-citizens. Then you have to claim luggage, go through customs and recheck luggage and go through security again.

There is a strong chance you won;t make this - and I would try to fix it now, rather than be frantic and trying to solve it with AA (which is the least cooperative airline on earth IMHO).

strong chance of not making the connection? I disagree respectfully..I've been through JFK immigration and customs many times...most of the time from the time the plane lands, it's about 45 minutes to an hour...that leaves another 1.5 hours to hop on the air train two stops (the air tran runs every couple of minutes) and go through AA security...it's more than enough time provided...

the plane is relatively on time and that is something you can do nothing about...if there's weather, there's weather..if there's a mechanical problem, there's a mechanical problem...all these things are possible but a 2.5 hour connection at JFK is a legal connection and as I said, now that the air train is running, internal transportation at JFK is very very good.

Now if the next flight to SFO is 4 or 5 hours later, then you might have to wait an extra 6 hours and waiting at the AA terminal in JFK is boring....it's relatively new and not a whole lot of choices for restaurants.

Don't worry about it...there's little you can do about it anyway.

Now if you were trying a 1.5 hour connection, I would tell you you'd probably not make it but really 2.5 hours should under most circumstances be enough time.

Sure, there is a decent chance that angy400 will make it to the connecting AA flight in time. But I'm seeing more and more flights delayed these days, and more people lining up in the aisles trying (and failing) to make connecting flights.

I'm about to fly from LA to JFK and then on to London on AA. The original agent booked me a 2 1/2 hour layover (which is a "legal" connection). But I called back and the second agent agreed I would be smarter to build in a 2 hour cushion. And I'm traveling in the summer!

Hopefully it won't be a problem. All we're trying to say is that angy400 needs to hope for the best and plan for the worst. Then all the bases are covered.

slangevar,
Just out of curiousity..why don't you fly British Airways to London? I always have flown with them from San Francisco to London then on to Spain..however now that they have changed their seating selection rules, I am trying really hard not to fly with them this time...but these connections through the east coast arent looking good so I may be forced to use them again. I was also wrong about my connection time at JFK ..it isnt 2 hours 20minutes its only 2 hours 10 minutes..so its even less time. Ugh...nothing is working for me :(

The AA flight you're looking at is AA177, departing JFK at 5:45p. If you miss that connection, they can put on on AA17, departing 8:05. 2:20 later.

rkkwan,
Great! Orbitz didnt list a later flight...now I won't worry about it..hubby won't like picking me up so much later and then drive to Sacramento...but oh well :) Thanks for letting me know!

Angela

The rule of thumb is that if it's all on one ticket you're "protected" for a later flight if you misconnect.

If you buy two separate tickets the first airline has no responsibility for your making or missing the second.

For angy400, connecting through LHR is a huge crapshoot these days, especially for your bags. In January with post-New Years' blues impacting on the already-grumpy BAA and BA workers at Heathrow, that's a real recipe for seeing your luggage in February. Wouldn't risk it.

angy: Are you on one booking or two?? If one they will put you on the next available flight -- but if there is nasty weather that could be quite a bit later.

If it were me - I'd MUCH rather fly non-stop on BA than connect anywhere on the east coast/midwest in January. I fly out of SMF and SFO too and the extra connections are a real pain.

I've mentioned this on one of your other threads - but I REALLY think you are making too much of BA's 24 hour rule. In winter - non-stop is worth its weight in gold. And BA is head and shoulders above AA

<i>And BA is head and shoulders above AA...</i>

In coach? We'll just have to disagree on that one.

If we're all having a go at re-planning the OP's route, then I'd suggest going for the Madrid-Chicago flight on Iberia, connecting on AA to SF from there. It's actually quicker than via London OR JFK.

janisj,

What do you think of BA's lost luggage problem..do you think that is being blown out of proportion? I do worry about flying through the east coast that time of year but with AA at least I can accumulate miles plus they give a tiny bit more leg room..so I hear. I am really in a dilema on who to book with...I pick one then something else makes me reconsider :(

me personally -- I prefer Virgin to either BA or AA. But my last two AA international flights were total disasters.

janisj,
I am going to agree with you about just going nonstop to London...my son and I would be devestated if we couldnt get to Spain through the east coast as this is a pleasure trip..he will be meeting some family members for the first time! So I am going to go with BA and just pray my luggage makes it with me..thanks again for your help..and to all others thank you too :)

Gosh, I'm so lost here. The OP is going from San Francisco to Madrid. How in the world will transfering in London much better than somewhere in the US?

Each has its advantage and disadvantage, but changing at LHR is not a clearly winner.

My only issue is transferring at JFK or ORD in January. None of the options are ideal - but angy400's main problem originally was that BA won't assign seats until 24 hours ahead and she is afraid of being seated apart from her son.

Me personally - I just try to avoid connections in the upper midwest or NY/New England in winter. been delayed and &quot;weathered in&quot; just too many times.

Thanks, janisj. Sometimes with all these separate threads, I lose the big picture.

Yes, the BA no seat assignment thing is a disadvantage, but if they have been happy with BA/LHR before and is familiar with that routing, no advance seat assignment shouldn't be a deal breaker.

Hi angy400 (sorry - was out watching a movie)

I actually usually fly Virgin to London (LOVE IT!), but I managed to get an upgrade to first class on AA, so that clinched it.

I have flown BA before, btw, and didn't care for it, though they treated my ailing father beautifully on his last flight back from London. But Virgin is my all-time favorite. :-)

slangevar hope you enjoyed the movie!

Lucky you getting an upgrade to first class! I would definately go that route too....

Pros and cons, risks and chances...

Based on my most recent winter trips, Heathrow is a higher risk of weather arrival and departure delays then either JFK or ORD. I'm not sure of the statistics, but the last 3 or 4 times I've gone through LHR in the December/January period they were <i>terrible</i> at getting de-icing done, having planes at the right gates at the right time, and especially getting bags transferred. In January British Airways will be getting ready to open Terminal 5 at LHR, which reputedly will make things better there (can hardly be worse) but it won't be open for you and you'll still be playing gate roulette at LHR and subject to BA's abysmal ground operations.

On board, you'd be in a 747 with coach seating set up 3-4-3, i.e. with 4 center seats per row, vs 2 outboard pairs on either the Iberia or AA planes. And you won't be able to select seats before 24 hrs pre-departure and on January 5 planes will be <i>full.</i>

You'll need to catch a 7:00 AM BA flight from Madrid to connect to the first BA plane to SFO; you can only connect to the second BA flight of the day from LHR by taking an Iberia flight to LHR and changing terminals - no fun AT ALL in January and a huge risk of misconnecting. By comparison the direct JFK or ORD flights leave later in the day and if you arrive late in either JFK or Chicago there are later flights to SFO you can take.

I'll be flying through MAD 4 times in the next three weeks and I'm here to tell you it's an easier and much more pleasant airport than Heathrow, any time of year.

Just my opinion and I'll now retire from this thread. Good luck with your choice.

Thanks, angy400 - it's my first time in first class, so I'm feeling a bit nerdy in my excitement. :-)

Glad you've gotten so much great advice on this forum - I really hope your connections all work out! San Francisco can be so lovely in the winter.

Gardyloo,

Thanks for the advice..what you say makes sense..I looked into the weather at JFK for the last 5 years for that time of year, and it was just their normal weather..no major blizzards or storms...so weatherwise I think will probably be OK..of course one can never tell and to be honest as long as I get to my destination on time, I dont really care how long it takes me to get back. I do love that AA has the 2 seats by the window..that would be so nice to just have my son to sit with. Hve you ever flown out of Chicago that time of year? If so, how was it?

Thanks again,
Angela

Thanks slangevars,

I too would be very excited flying first class..that in itself would be an adventure!

I accidentally posted this on the wrong thread and of course this antiquated bulletin board does not allow you to erase messages which makes people look like fools osmetimes but anyway...

There is a myth about JFK that it is frequently subject to weather problems in the winter. In pure blunt fact, New York City is just far enough south and close enough to the water that it is very very rare the city per se is hit by a blizzard that JFK can't handle...I think in the last five or six years, there have been perhaps one or two...there was an ice storm this past February and another one a couple of weeks later but that was it. For the most part, flying into JFK should not be a problem because of weather even in January (there are more likely to be delays in the summer because of thunder storms); besides which they usually prioriterize the international flights....it is far more likely a connection at JFK will go far smoother than the horror stories I have read about and been involved with at LHR (as a side note, if you go through LHR you are stuck with that idiotic one carry on through security requirement...that is not the case at Madrid and at JFK.

I wouldn't sweat it....weather is something you can't control anyway and in almost all likelihood you'll be fine and again, in my opinion, 2 hours and 20 minutes is enough time to make a connection at JFK.

xyz123,

What do you think of Chicago that time of year...there I would have over 4 hours to connect?

Thanks,
Angela

Chicago is much more likely to have weather problems......but again you never never know.

Facts are:

- Weather at JFK usually isn't that bad in Jan. And chances of snow storms are less than ORD.

- 2:20 is adequate for the transfer

- Since the OP is on the same ticket, there's another AA flight just over 2 hours later they can put the OP on.

If one's still uncomfortable with those facts, then there's nothing more to be said. Go somewhere else with a longer connection. I believe there's another IB/AA via MIA with a 4-hour connection.