We are arriving from Chicago and will have an hour layover until our flight leaves for Zurich. Does this give us enough time? Thanks!

Tina

That's kind of tight considering your flight to Zurich will begin boarding at least a half hour prior to departure.

Are you on the same airline all the way? Do you know if you have to change terminals?

We are on the same airlines AA but I do not know if I have to switch terminals.

Tina

You won't have to change terminals, but are you sure it's only one hour? I can't see any AA ORD-JFK-ZRH flight times with that short a connection at JFK. When are you traveling?

Regardless, if the airline will sell you a ticket with that connection time, it's legal.

Make sure your luggage is checked all the way through. If you don;t make the flight then AA will have to put you on their next flight (but be sure you have a change of cltohes in your carry-on).

BUT - considering how often flights out of O'Hare and into JFK are late - I would never leave less than 3 hours if I cared about making the flight to Zurich.

We are traveling July 19th and our tickets were bought through a non-profit organization and they are making the arrangements.

Tina

Then you should double-check the arrangements because there are no scheduled AA flights that match the transit time you mention.

I see AA 1362, arr JFK 4:15 then AA 64, departing to ZHR at 5:25.

If the flights are on time then you have plenty of time. ORD - NY is often delayed, either due to weather or traffic enroute.. It's a very busy route (into Newark & LGA, but not JFK).

If you can't change the tickets I'd try to go same day standby on the earlier AA flight. You can call the airline ahead of time and get a feel for how many open seats on the 9:55 deparure from ORD. the problem is that it's on an ER4, so it's a small plane so space may be limited.

Those are the correct flights but I am actually leaving from Louisville. We do not leave SDF until 11:25. I know it is the long way around but we had to compromise a little when we bought these tickets. We can try to get out of Louisville earlier, I am emailing them to see what we can do.

Tina

My mistake - I was using the Oneworld timetable which is usually reliable but didn't have that ORD-JFK fight in it. Apologies.

I would contact AA on this ASAP. You are usually required to check in 2 or more hrs. prior to take off for an international flight. Since you won't be arriving til 1 hr. before (IF you're lucky) I'd be concerned. I'd also be VERY concerned about your luggage making this connection. I would assume you'll be spending your first day or two in Zurich without luggage.

2hr checkin for international flight is not a concern here. tmodav will checkin at SDF around 10am. The 70min layover could be concern. There is an alternate routing through RDU that would get you into JFK earlier. Try to plug SDF - JFK into AA website and you'll the various options either through Chicago or RDU.

I had the same issue with our upcoming trip to Japan. I had a 90 minute connection time at JFK from SXM and finally decided to change it to arrive JFK the night before. I didn't want to take any chances if my flight was delayed out of SXM due to weather or mechanical difficulties and I couldn't get another flight to NRT until a day later.

I agree that it would probably be best to see if you can arrive JFK earlier in order to give yourself more time.

Thank you for the responses, we are trying to get an earlier flight to leave us a little more time.

This may not be relevant to your situation, but someone really ought to force travel websites to warn people about transfer times, or just not package tickets with barely enough time to transfer planes.

There ought to be a law to bring the hammer down on Expedia, Travelocity, etc... They all offer transfer times that need the stars and planets to be aligned for buyers to make their transfer.

Dear Tina,
One hour is barely enough time.
The thing to do is to make sure that your luggage is checked all the way through to Zurich.
As soon as you plane lands at JFK, get moving to the departure gate of your plane/flight to Zurich. Check the message board in JFK in case there has been a gate change.
I would not suggest that you stop for a bite to eat and if you have to use the bathroom, use it closer to your departure terminal. (That is on the assumption that you are flying the same airline and not changing from American to Delta. If you are changing "carriers" definitely do not stop to use the bathroom...I am not kidding !
If your flight from Chicago is delayed even 5 minutes from the scheduled arrival time, tell the flight attendant on the Chicago flight to alert the gate/terminal at JFK, so that you don't miss your conecting flight. There are 8 terminals at JFK.
If you are a tiny bit late, do not even stop to go to the bathroom and make sure that you check with the airline personnel that meets the flight and I hate to say it, but be rude and tell him/her that you are on an international flight that leaves in ___minutes and ask them to radio ahead.
I would also be concerned about your luggage making the connecting flight. According to the airlines, they need just one hour to change planes. Be aware that you might make the flight and your luggage may be in NYC. Hence, I would suggest that you bring/carry on the travel size toothpaste, etc, so that you will have them when you arrive in Zurich.
Contrary to what you may hear, I would not want to be at the gate just 15 minutes before departure. I think that JFK airport closes the plane to passengers 45 minutes before the scheduled departure.
I know of at least six out of ten people that have missed their connecting flight in NY, with a two hour layover in the last few weeks. (Myself included! I live in NYC and I am a seasoned traveler !)

cleslie,

They are flying AA for both legs - Tina has made that point clear in one of her replies.

As long as the arriving flight is on time she has plenty of time to stop at the bathroom, or even (gasp) stop to get some food.

AA at JFK does not close the airplane door 45min before departure. Such a notion is hogwash and alarmist. 10min is the norm if they can.

Nevertheless, an hour is ridiculous. I was flying to Reagan through Charlotte on Tuesday and my first leg was delayed an hour because the first captain had an eye problem and had to go to the emergency room; meanwhile they had to find another pilot. I would have missed my second leg if a) we hadn't arrived a few minutes faster than expected and b) I didn't run really fast from one "pod" to the other. I definitely would not take that chance.

J62--You are absolutely wrong. I missed my AA flight from JFK to Raleigh-Durham the day after Christmas 07. I checked in on line and had my boarding passes in my hand. When, I reached the front of the line to check one bag sixty five minutes before departure time, they told me that there was no way that I would be able to clear security and be at the gate because they would be closing the door 45 minutes before the departure time and stand-by passenger would be given my seat.

But cleslie, the difference is you were checking in too late for your _first_ flight.

tmodav is making a _connection_ using two AA flights. She/he will already have checked in long ago -- before her first flight. They will have her in the system, and they know to expect her. Unless the flights are in different terminals, she won't have to go through security again. If she misses her connection, it will (legally) be AA's fault for booking too short a connection time, and they will be responsible for making alternative arrangements.