Hi, all you incredibly knowledgeable, helpful people out there!
DH and I land if on time, at 8:00 a.m. at T1 (flying Delta from JFK), Feb 22. Not checking bags. (Delta has 75%-83% on-time avr. past 30-60 days, according to 2 or 3 stats sites.) Trying to decide whether to take 11:55 a.m. Iberian flight to Jerez (boarding closes 11:35) or change to 3:45 p.m. flight. (Bought exhorbitant Business Flexible 11:55 tickets couple of days ago to have no-cost refund & change options.)
FlightQueue site shows 72-min. passport control wait time for non-EU travelers at peak times, which include 6-9 a.m., and 61-92 min (!) security wait. I've read that T1-T4 shuttle takes 10 min. & runs every 5 min. from 6 a m to 11 p m. I understand, if I've read correctly, that we'll have to do security before Iberian flight. SO... seems pretty clear we should take later flight, unfortunately for our 12-day-vacay real start, Agree? (P.S. Original plan was to take AVE 2.5-hr train to Seville, rent car, spend nt in Seville, drive to Jerez next afternoon. But after recent train tragedy(ies), decided to book Jerez flight instead & rent car on arrival there.)
Thanks for sharing any thoughts you may have!

The train Madrid to Jerez may possibly be faster than flying, if you count door to door time.

Why not take Iberia instead of Delta ?

Have done the Madrid/Jerez flight over a dozen times. Always Iberia. Average layover time was about 2 hours and made it every time (except once when the layover time was only 70 minutes). With even time for a coffee before the Jerez flight. You should have more than enough time to make your Jerez connection.

If everything goes according to plan, then you have plenty of time. The real question to ask yourself is "what do I do if my DL flight is delayed and I miss the next flight?"

I think you can rest easy. I've also done that trip a few times (but I fly Iberia).
Two years ago, I had a nail-biting 50-minute connection time in Madrid, coming from Jerez and bound for Miami. Believe it or not, I made the flight.

I also bought those insanely expensive business flex tickets!

When will you be in Jerez? I'm there next month.

My guess is that train travel in Spain, at this time, is probably at its safest.

Thanks, all, for your speedy replies! Taking all under advisement, as they say.
As of couple minutes ago, FlightQueue security wait time = 110 minutes! I don't see any breakdown by terminals, but...

dreamon - Took a quick glance at train option tho' not at schedules yet, but idea of sitting for another 4-ish hrs after VA - JFK, long JFK layover (best we could do) JFK-MAD feels ugh. At least we can get a walking workout in MAD if we take the 3:45 flight, lol

cdnyul - Checked Iberia few wks ago, nothing available. Good point about post-crash train safety.

ekscrunchy - We'll be in Jerez only 3 nts, Feb 22-25. Sorry we'll miss you! (Assuming all washed-out roads passable by then, driving from there to Malaga 2 nts, to Granada 3 nts, to Cordoba 4 nts, train as of now to MAD 1 nt pre-flight home.)

Sitting in an airport for hours versus being in a train, where I can nap—not a tough decision

Just checked MAD-Jerez RENFE schedules for 2-22, and the only one we'd be able to do takes about 5.5 hours. (Meanwwhile, current problem sticking w/original high-speed MAD-SEV plan is that it seems unknowable when high-speed option will re-start.)
Good point, yorkshire, except that we wouldn't be sitting on our tushies in the airport all that time (having just finished 7ish hrs of sitting on plane), just standing in long lines (bad) & walking (good).

No law against walking on a train .

You won't have a bad time lounging at the Iberia lounge int he airport.

Also a good point, hetismij2, tho' a bit trickier, unless Spanish trains don't wobble !

And thanks for the flight & Iberia lounge encouragement, eks!

Meanwhile, the later flight had sold out by apparently a nanosecond after my 24-hr hold on it expired while, coincidentally, I was getting needed info re Fast Track not available online from Iberia agent (who'd reminded me that, while might be do-able, they don't recommend anything less than 4 hrs betw landing & departure). On the plus side, I then discovered & bought tickets for 4-hr train ride to Jerez (+ 3-in-1 add-on thingie to make it 100% refundable, have >1free change option, & seat selection), i.e., 'bout hr & half longer than hi-speed (whenever that resumes) to Sev.
So... thanks again, pro-train contingent, for that suggestion! Now all I gotta do is agonize/overthink a little more before final decision, lol (sort of)!

Trains don't wobble that much. And it will be a far nicer trip, actually seeing things along the way than flying would be.

The flight from Madrid to Jerez is 45 min. If a clear day beautiful views over the countryside are wonderful

hetismij2, thanks for additional train points. (Actually wobble factor is one of the few things I'm not worryin' about! )

mike1728, flight schedule in question shows 1 hr 20 min, tho' most flights do take less time than scheduled... in the air, at least.

Re train, does anyone have any experience renting a car at the Jerez train station? (Already have res w/Enterprise at airport but obviously don't wanna waste time going from train to airport for car.)
And re car rental in Andalucia generally, anyone have fave companies &/or fave-to-avoid ones?

I rent a car every year at Jerez airport. I always rent with Sixt. I imagine you can find cheaper alternatives, but I've always had such great service from Sixt..beyond what you would normally get from a rental agency......I've found this everywhere with Sixt. See if they have a train station location. I take all the insurances. And do not forget your driving license from home. They will ask for that.

If you have time at the Madrid airport, you can get into the lounge, and it's a great way to pass time...just ask for the location when you check in.
I do think you will make the early flight, with time to spare. If you are pressed for time, go to the head of the line and say that your flight is leaving..sometimes they even have a separate line for people with tight connections..

eks, thanks much for your reply re car & Madrid airport. I guess if we end up w/time for lounging, we'd rather spend it actually moving towards our destination vs waiting for next available plane (earliest of which would be 7 hrs later)... Wish I shared your optimism (never my forte', lol), will work on it!

Will check whether Sixt at train station, but suspect - as has happened w/other cos. & 3d pty site - 1st hit will indicate train station presence, then see individual car choices show airport pick-up (We used and had good experience w/Sixt in Iceland 10 yrs ago. Chose Enterprise b/c can pick up in Jerez & drop in Cordoba or Mad. airport at the end and have always had good experience w/them. (Have seen complaints, tho', 'bout Enterprise in Spain, e.g., heavy use of contractors many of which stink, etc etc etc. But also know most ppl write only of complaints & any company can have screw-ups, so...)}
Thanks again!

eks, re passport control lines, forgot to say that I've seen mention before of asking 'bout tight-connection line. Problem is that I think it has to be a literal connecting flight vs our situation of separately bought ticket for flight with non-partner airline. (I've also read of near-riot over ppl trying to go to front of line just to ask anything, tho' that might've been 'bout Frankfurt or Malaga airport, but I'm sure could erupt anywhere there are very long lines of very frustrated &/or anxious ppl)
But thanks for suggesting - I might try to find out if that's a thing for separate flights/airlines.

A-75….really think you’re overthinking this….Im with Eks…Sixt or Enterprise is very customer friendly….I do this route from Boston EVERY September…it’s such a breeze. Madrid Airport can be stressful but if you follow the gate signs you will be ok. And yes the gate to gate may show over an hour flight…trust me the air time is 45-55 min. And Jerez airport is an easy hop off and get on the road to enjoy the southern beauty of Andalusia