nvgubbi

I am flying on LAN from El Calafate to Buenos Aires to Santiago on one ticket that arrives in Santiago at 8:20pm. I have, on another ticket, a flight on AA (LAN code share flight ) from Santiago to New York City that departs at 10:25pm. I have a few questions:

- Will I be able to make this connection?
- Can I check my bags directly to NYC in El Calafate?
- Do I need to go through passport control in Santiago again? I will already have paid the reciprocity fee.
- Will I need to pick up my bags from the 1st flight after passport control and customs and checkin the bags for the next flight?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Jeff_Costa_Rica

If LAN in El Calafate will let you check bags through to JFK and give you your boarding pass for the second flight, then you might be fine, assuming your incoming flight is on time. It's risky.

If LAN will not check you through -- and they might not -- then this itinerary is in trouble. You would then have to go through passport control at SCL, retrieve your bags, check in at AA, and go through security. I find the lines at SCL to be very long for the wave of evening flights that go to U.S. Remember that for international flights to the U.S., you have to be fully checked in at the one-hour mark, which means you don't really have two hours; you have one.

Call LAN and ask what they recommend.

nvgubbi

I called LAN and they say that since the connecting flight is on AA (LAN code share), there should be no problem in making the connecting flight. But I just want to make sure and don't want to be stuck in Santiago in the middle of the night.

I was going to call AA tonight but they may not be able to add anything to this.

Jeff_Costa_Rica

Is this all on the same reservation, or is it two separate tickets, purchased at different times? That's the important question.

nvgubbi

It is 2 separate tickets purchased at different times - one from LAN and one AA.

nvgubbi

Also, I see on the fare rules from LAN that I must stay 2 days or 1 Saturday night at destination (SCL). Is this really enforced with buying 2 separate tickets? What happens if I don't stay the 2 days on the last leg of the ticket?

Jeff_Costa_Rica

There's what you need to ask LAN: Will LAN in El Calafate check you and your bags all the way through to JFK ... EVEN IF YOUR SCL-JFK LEG IS A SEPARATE TICKET? The all-caps part is the important part to emphasize to them. If they say no, then I doubt you can make this work.

The fare rules about staying so many days at a destination don't mean you have to be physically in the destination. It means you can't turn around and go back before the specified time is up.

Jeff_Costa_Rica

... go back to El Calafate, in this case, and you're not doing that.

nvgubbi

It sure sounds like I need to delay the departure from SCL to maybe the next morning. I don't want to risk it because I am traveling with family. At least I don't have to worry about the fare rules and staying 2 days in SCL.

In your opinion, how long would it take in SCL to go through passport control/immigration, pick up your bags, go through customs, and then re-checkin to the JFK flight? About 5 hours total taking into account that I need to checkin 2 hours before my next flight leaves?

Jeff_Costa_Rica

Call LAN and ask for their advice.

Huentetu

Getting through customs at SCL: one hour minimum, more (up to double) if you need to pay reciprocity fee or there are a a lot of flights landing at the same time.

Checking in for JFK flight: upstairs to departures, a few minutes. However, evening flights to the USA can have incredibly long lines, especially on a Friday. Check-in should be 3 hours before but 2 will usually suffice. You can't do that change of flight (note, it is not a connection but two separate flights) with the times you originally gave unless they check your baggage all the way through, so you need to leave time to handle things if they won't/can't.

So, providing your first flight is on time, 4-5 hours should do it. LAN in other places and call centers outside Chile don't often have a clear idea of the airport they are talking about. I have noticed they can give very short connection times for SCL.

nvgubbi

Thank you both for your replies. I will be changing the departure time for my flight back to NYC to the early morning so that I have at least a 5 hour gap between connections.