crusty

The revised itinerary shows a layover of 1hr 15min (Moscow to St Petersburg (RU). This is an Aeroflot flight. Is this enough layover time in Moscow? Do I go through customs in Moscow or in St Petersburg? We are coming back through JFK and there is only an 1 hour 7 min layover for the Delta flight to Tampa. I know we’ll need more than an hour in JFK to go through Customs.
So far, Hotwire had not gotten back to me about coming up with revised flights (they said a suprv. would call yesterday. I’m on hold again (51 min. & counting,almost ready to hang up) and am very hopeful.
I would consider changing plans and going somewhere else but I have too much time and money invested in this trip. I purchased the ticket in April for $650 and right now everything is double the price.
The flights I originally paid for were different, for example Delta cancelled its later flight from JFK to Tampa. Anyone know what my rights are with the airlines/Hotwire?

live42day

I think for a domestic flight you are fine, but call or email Aerflot directly. I guess you need to confirm that you go through customs at your final destination. I have 1 1/2 hours in London connecting from Istanbul to the London Vancouver flight and that is fine. If you are on Aeroflot for both legs and not having to leave the gate area, (same terminal) that should be plenty of time and they should put your luggage through for you.

nytraveler

I don;t have enough experience in Russia to advise on what to do there. But I can tell you there is no way you are landing on an interntional flight at JFK and geting ona flight out an hour later.

Even if your plane comes in on time you still have to get to the gate, deplane, treka ll the way to immigraton, wiat on line there, get to baggage area, pick up bags, go through customs and then back through security for your next flight. I wouln't risk this in less than 2 hours - and 3 would be better. (I can't imagine 1 hour is even a legal connection.)

If you bought tickets and the airline then changed flight times the time to fix it was when they notified you of hte change. At that point you could make changes wihtout penalty. If you accepted the new flights and decide to change them much later - they will probbly want to charge you extra since now it's YOUR change.

J62

Many people use the word customs to refer to passport control, which is actually immigration. Customs is the inspection of goods, not people.

I'm not familiar with Russia, but I'm pretty sure that you will pass through Russian immigration upon arrival at Moscow. The Moscow-SP flight is a domestic Russia flight.

For what it's worth both Delta and Aeroflot are Skyteam alliance members. That means that you should be ticketed and checked in all the way to your final destination from your starting airport. Whether that'll actually happen I do not know.

Since Aeroflot uses terminal T1 at JFK, and all the airlines there are foreign airlines, that means there will be a lower % of US citizens on those flights. Hence the line for immigration will be much shorter than for non-citizens.

That said, I still agree with nyt. I would not count on 1hr connection at JFK after arriving on an international flight, especially if you have checked bags. The door to the Delta flight will close about 15min before departure, and it'll take you more than 15min to get from T1 customs exit through the T3 Delta security to your gate. I'd be comfortable with a 2hr connection through T1.

Marc_David_Miller

I regularly work with clients who are going to/from various US points through JFK to Moscow, and am always very cautious about connections. (and personally transit myself through Moscow often).

Not sure what the actual rights are, but if you haven't sorted it out with Hotwire they SHOULD work with you on this.

1. US-Moscow-St Petersburg: I never book less than 2 hours between flights (although I think the minimum legal connection is 1 hour). Upon arriving in Moscow you have to pass through passport control which is a bear, collect luggage and clear customs (which is usually not bad, but good luck (it is NOT checked through to St Petersburg as you clear customs and immigration in Moscow) and get to the domestic terminal at Sheremetyevo. It's doable, but I give you about a 50% chance of missing the flight, and that assumes the flight arrives on time (it often doesn't). I would get on a later Aeroflot Moscow-St Petersburg flight.

2. Moscow-NY-Tampa: again, I would never book less than 2 hours between, and that is pushing it. You have to clear customs and immigration at Terminal 1, get to terminal 2/3, clear security, and get to the gate. And that is assuming the plane lands on time (this flight regularly is delayed).

Perhaps you could get Hotwire to do the following:

1. change your Moscow-St Petersburg flight to a later flight
2. If there is a later JFK-Tampa flight, change it. OtHotwire if hotwire says you can change flights if you miss the connection, get documentation on that and monitor the JFK-Tampa flight to make sure it isn't full a week before the flight. You might also have contingency plans to spend the night at a JFK hotel (cheap through Hotwire) if you can't get onto a later flight.

You will want to sort as much of this out as possible before leaving, and understand what your options are in terms of later flights. Once you land in Russia forget about getting in touch with Hotwire (unless you have a Russian cell phone), so you will have to rely on Aeroflot's good graces for assistance. Usually they are accomodating, but it can be a lengthy process. For the domestic return, you can easily get in touch with Hotwire to push them to come to your help.

Good luck!

Michael

We were once refused a flight on Delta because we were five minutes late (55 minutes before departure) going through security through no fault of our own--the lines were horrendous. I would not count on making the JFK-Tampa flight.

nytraveler

The long lines at security are the reason that airlines typically tell yuo to check in 2 hours in advance - often 3 hours for internatinal flights.

The length of the line is your fault if you didn't get on it 2 hours before flight time.

Michael

Crusty,

If you do not make your flight, complain to Delta. We had a flight canceled connecting us from NYC to SFO coming from CDG. We were given a hotel room and two $10 vouchers each, one for dinner (try to get a dinner for that price anywhere around the airport) and one for breakfast (we could get a decent roll and coffee). We complained and received an $250 voucher for future flights--this was not Delta and each airline will react as it sees fit.

travelhorizons

This is all on one ticket, right? If so, at least you can take comfort in knowing that the airlines are responsible for getting you to your final destination if you misconnect due to their late arrival, schedule change, etc. You should not have to pay more.

I would deal both with Hotwire (email them so that your issue is in writing) and with Delta/Aeroflot. If your useless travel agent (Hotwire) doesn't help you out, call the airlines directly and speak with them about your connection times and scheduling you on later flights.

Lots of talk on this board about using travel agents - Hotwire is a travel agent - but here's a case where a flesh-and-blood travel agent who is expert in international air travel would be worth so much more to you than an OTA (online travel agency).

Mimar

I would think this a case when you should have booked directly with the airline. Now Hotwire can blame the airline and the airline can blame Hotwire. Same would be true with a live-person agent.

aleethia

I am dealing with a similar situation right now. I had a flight booked from Baku- Moscow- JFK- Tampa through Orbitz. The carrier is Aeroflot for the first leg and Delta for the second leg. I just got an email from Orbitz saying that the connection between JFK and Tampa has been changed and now I only have an hour and 45 minutes to make that connection.... 5 minutes less than the "legal" connection time, which means that if I don't change my ticket now and travel on this itinerary, the airline won't be responsible for misconnection. Trying to sort all this out via Skype international calling from Azerbaijan is a headache. I have spent more than four hours on hold with Delta, Aeroflot and Orbitz today. Each said I needed to talk to the other, but finally I called Orbitz back and asked to speak with a supervisor. I'm still on hold now as he waits to talk with Aeroflot and figure out if there are any earlier flights.

J62

You are far more likely to find more flights from JFK to TPA on Delta then find a 2nd Moskow to JFK flight on Aeroflot.

Go to the Delta website, look for non-stop or connecting (through ATL) flights so you know your options.

That way when you do talk to Orbitz or Delta you know what your options are.