Help With Iberia Flight
 

I have a flight on Iberia from SFO to Rome September 6th returning October 7th. Iberia notified me that one of the legs of my flight was going to change and in closer examination, that would only give me 30 minutes to change planes. They then wanted to put me on a flight leaving 2 hours earlier with a 4 hour layover in Madrid.

I can't leave earlier unless I spend the night near SFO and I do not want a 4 hour layover, what can I do?

I assume the plane change is in Madrid..or is it?

Since you don't want a four-hour layover (neither would I) and also apparently don't want to spend the night near SFO, then what viable options are you left with? Few, I suspect.

You are making a big assumption here: that you won;t make the change of planes. What are you basing that on?

I think I'd rather take a chance than taking the long layover or spending the unwanted night.

If you decide to overnight near SFO, note that bidding on Priceline for your hotel is a good idea in this area. Go to www.biddingfortravel.com and learn the PL bidding process. The moderators at BFT will help you plan your PL bid. I have no affiliation with either PL or BFT other than that of a happy customer.

If the airline has issued an alternate itinerary, then there is the strong possibility you are not going to make the connection. What you need to consider is what is a bigger inconvenince; spend the night near SFO & a 4-hr layover in Madrid or risk not connecting and be at the mercy of the airline counter in Madrid. It's your call now; who knows who will be callingthe shots later.

I'm looking for another flight right now on another airline. Iberia offered a refund upto 1 week prior to departure, a very fair thing considering what I have read.

Iberia doesn't fly from western USA to Madrid but rather code shares with AA. Thus you'd have to change planes in Chicago, New York, or Miami.
Landing in Madrid you'll likely have to clear customs & immigration, and then catch the Madrid to Rome flight.
IMHO only 30 minutes between flights is a very risky connection both for yourself & your baggage!

Can you tell us where the 30 minute connection is? If it's ORD or MIA, although reluctantly, I would go for it. JFK? maybe not, Madrid - definitely NOT.

If you miss your connection in one of the domestic airports, you have a greater shot at being put on a different flights, which actually may work out better, like a direct ORD-FCO or something like that. I don't feel like looking at the schedules, but as <b>travelerone</b> said, you must be flying AA at least part of the way. There are many possibilities. The only possible problem I see, is dealing with Iberia personnel if something goes wrong.

If we knew where your tight connection is we may be able to give you better advice.

Have a great trip!

The 30 minute connection is in Madrid, no way to make that. Thanks for confirming what I was thinking.
I am looking at flights directly to Florence or Pisa since there is a train strike on Sept 7th and I don't want to rent a car, rather pay for a cab or bus. I'll let you know what I end up with.

If the fare is good, than I would leave earlier from SFO and take the four hour layover in MAD. That four hour layover can always decrease if your plane is delayed.

As someone else has stated, use priceline for the SFO airport. I spent the night at the Marriott San Francisco Airport for only $32 per night. I would place a bid on Priceline for $32 to $35, (I know you'll get a 3 star for that), spend the night, leave early the next day, and have a safe, four hour lay over in MAD. Good luck.

Thanks for the advice. I ended up with a flight that works great for my schedule. I fly out of SFO on United to London, Luftuansa from London to Munich and Munich to Pisa for 970.00. This means that I do not have to rent a car in Rome to get to Florence (Sept 6-7 train strike), get to Florence at a decent time to get my apartment keys and my boyfriend can meet me at the airport.

The interesting thing was checking fairs on orbitz, travelocity and expedia. The fairs on expedia were much better than the other sites and the airline web sites.

Glad it worked out for you. Thanks for posting feddback and keeping the thread updated. Good to know how the sites compared by you experience. Have a great time!!:-D