Knowing that I will look really stupido telling you this, if it saves one person the hassle I caused myself, it will be worth it.
I've booked my own flights for years, and I still try to be creative and find a cheap fare as this is a huge part of our travel budget.
In March I knew I had to finally book something for the end of May - no more messing around. U.S. Airways had the best price flying Atlanta to Milan with a stop in Philadelphia. Our return was to be Florence to London on codeshare Meridiana (a small European airline), then London to Charlotte on US Air, then on to Atlanta. Pricing the Meridiana part of the flight separately, rather than booking it through US Air, I found that I could save a few hundred dollars.
The only thing that concerned me was that we only had 1.5 hours in London for us and our luggage to make the connection. At that time, I was only thinking of the luggage handlers making the change with the luggage, NOT US! I know none of you would ever make this mistake .
The day before we were to leave Florence I decided to re-confirm online the times for our flights and it suddenly dawned on me that we would have to claim our baggage, go through customs, and re-check them. AND check in with US Airways 2 hours before the flight.... Okay, freak-out time.
Luckily, I had a great friend in the U.S. who called and changed our flight for us out of London to a later one. Yes, we had to pay $200 per ticket (so much for the big saving) to make the change, but we were willing to buy a new ticket if we had to.
I have to say that I don't think 1.5 hours would have been enough time between flights even without personally re-checking the bags. London security is still VERY tight, and they are checking carry-ons very closely. It just takes a long time to pass through that airport.
Flights out of London are still only allowing ONE carry-on bag per person, and this includes your PURSE. I had to stuff my small one into John's carry-on. This was after they took every single thing out of his carry-on and checked them for explosive residue. He does look a little shady. They use a small wand with a cloth over the end, and then put the cloth into a little machine that shows if there is anything suspicious....took F O R E V E R. But it's a Good Thing....and they are very nice and chipper about it all.
Another thing I want to mention and will post in another thread: At Gatwick, they are telling you that you can buy liquids in the duty-free shops and carry them on now - perfume, wine, whatever. What they don't tell you is that if you have a connecting flight in the U.S., you will not be able to carry the liquids on, and they will be confiscated if you can't put them INSIDE your checked luggage for the next flight.
I don't know about you, but my luggage is totally maxed out on a return flight, not an inch of space. There were a lot of unhappy and angry people.
Maybe next time I should let my travel agent book my flight!
If Meridiana and USAir have reciprocal ticketing and baggage agreements with each other (which they should if they are codeshare partners), then even though the segments are ticketed separately you could provide your USAir connecting information when checking in at Meridiana and see if they'd check you and your luggage through to your destinations. Alternatively you could check in with USAir online in Florence 24hrs in advance and print boarding passes...which I would still do in any case.
Now all that said, I'd still want more than 90min in London to connect, even if checked all the way through.
I agree - this new online check in really saves you with close connections (if you are switching carriers) if you can check in prior to leaving on the first flight! It saved us on a recent trip and it was a great comfort not to try and figure out how to do it once we got there. Heathrow continues to be huge...and is only getting "huger!"
We had an Air Canada Flight to London and a BMI (a partner...) to Venice but we could NOT check in luggage or check in ourselves at Air Canada at the beginning of the trip because the tickets were bought separately. I don't know about other carriers but this was our experience.
Checking in online with BMI before we even drove to Halifax to catch our Air Canada flight was easy and it saved alot of worry. We also had an 1.5 connection - which was squeezed into actually 60 MINUTES because we were late arriving! We tore through that airport! But heck, all that running is good for you and had a wonderful trip to Italy out of it!
SGabriele, they wouldn't let me check in online from Florence and print boarding passes. I tried. Some airlines won't let you from some airports....hard to know all the exceptions!
In our case everything worked out fine because we had a good contact in the U.S. to help us. But it could have been a real mess!
While it's possible in other cases to do interline baggage checking even when going on flights ticketed separately, I understand that this is not allowed when connecting at a London airport.
When I went to South Africa in May I had one ticket from/to London with SAS and then another seperate ticket from London to/from Johannesburg. When I was on my way back the plane had some start trouble and I was beginning to fear that the flight would be cancelled. Luckily we did get of and I got to London on time. But if this flight had been cancelled I would have missed my flight from London to Stavanger as it was two seperate tickets and not connected in any way...and I might also end up missing my flight the following day to Thailand. So it is a chance you take when you buy tickets online that are not connected. Saving money can end up costing you quite a bit.
I am wondering if you make connecting flights out of the US...at what time to you claim luggage and go through customs?
For instance if I fly from London~> Toronto~> Atlanta. Would I clear customs in Toronto or in Atlanta?... or both?
Not that I have anything to hide, I just hate the hassle! I usually only carry on a purse and check everything else. Those customs lines can be a nightmare.
For London-Toronto-Atlanta, traditionally you cleared Canadian customs in Toronto, and then U.S customs and immigration also in Toronto; Toronto airport has U.S controls so that flights out of there can arrive at domestic gates at the U.S. airport and people can make quick connections if needed. However, as of a few months ago, if you arrive at the right part of Toronto Terminal 1 and connect, you can bypass Canadian formalities and go straight to the U.S. inspection there. Information here ; note the International flight to U.S. flight line and footnote *** .
dragonpat, I just flew from Gatwick a few weeks ago, and thats what I did. here is a good site detailing it. Also, they are very strict on the size of the carry on and made people check it if it was over their size they publish.
You also go through several security points. One before you even get to the front ticket desk. They ask you a bunch of questions, then on to the ticket counter, after that another check point where they look at your carry on size and if its too big, send you back to the front to check it. Then thru the metal detectors. Then to gate where they check everyones passport again and some people and thier carry ones are randomly searched at this last point.
Ok someone talk me off the ledge here . We are flying Northwest to Amsterdam and have a connecting flight on KLM to Rome. The problem is we have 75 minute layover that's it. Should I be worried?
Posts: 109 | Location: Minnesota | Registered: 14 April 2007
KatB, if your connection is anything like the last few times my wife and I have connected through Amsterdam (also on Northwest to KLM to Rome),it will be tight, but doable. The main problem is that you have to re-clear security again, and the time that requires can vary with the crowds. Plus the airport is spread out, so be prepared for a bit of intense walking.
On the plus side, we've done that route perhaps four times in the past few years and never missed a flight. Just a few heartbeats wondering if we'd make it or not.
Originally posted by KatB: We are flying Northwest to Amsterdam and have a connecting flight on KLM to Rome. The problem is we have 75 minute layover that's it. Should I be worried?
Schipol is one of the most efficient airports in the world. So that's one good thing going for you.
In my experience, in recent years (since 2001) 75 minutes have been sufficient - not in any leisurely way of course - for the "less sensitive" international airports, with, I'd say, about 3-5 minutes to spare.
Here are some - pardon me - buy-low-sell-high tips on how to catch your connection faster: - Don't hesitate to flag down those people-moving golf-cart things that zip around the airport. I always practically hijack those, without which I doubt I would have made the connections in time. - Don't wear laced shoes, in case you have to take them off for inspection. In general, think about a way of packing and dressing that would shorten the inspection time. With 75 minutes, those things count. -- Uh oh, am I pushing you off ledge?
Kat, NWA and KLM are essentially the same, so you should be able to check your luggage through to Rome. I had two recent KLM experiences in Amsterdam. The first, I had to run to make my connection (incoming flight landed about 25 minutes before next flight left.) I made it before the plane left but they would not let me board because my suitcase would not make it. I couldn't get a flight until the next day. They still lost my suitcase (got it 4 days later.) Coming back I had 55 minutes to connect in Amsterdam, this time had abour 25 minutes (was supposed to be 55) so I had to run again. I was the last person on my flight -- of course my luggage couldn't make it but this time it wasn't an issue. My luggage was delivered to my house the next day. One thing you have to consider with your itinerary is that you will have to go through immigration in Amsterdam coming and going since it is your point of entry/exit to EU. I haven't learned anything either, coming back from my next trip I have supposedly 75 minutes to change in Amsterdam. Schipol is a good airport, but it is big and delays come from other places (for me, leaving US and leaving Rome)
Thank you all for the posts! Some of them made my stomach drop again. And yet more importantly some of them had me laughing out loud .
As far as hijacking a cart. I have no qualms about it! With my husbands heart failure and my back surgeries, and a 17 hour flight in coach (ugh) I wonder if I can request one at the gate?
Posts: 109 | Location: Minnesota | Registered: 14 April 2007
As far as hijacking a cart. I have no qualms about it! With my husbands heart failure and my back surgeries, and a 17 hour flight in coach (ugh) I wonder if I can request one at the gate?
You should have no problems - it is always best to pre-request airport assistance with your airline at the time of booking and then again at check-in. I do it all the time for my parents who have mobility problems and have never had any problems. The only thing I can think of - is that depending on the airline, they do sometimes make you wait until last to get off the plane.
Originally posted by KatB: With my husbands heart failure and my back surgeries, and a 17 hour flight in coach (ugh) I wonder if I can request one at the gate?
17 hour flight in coach is chopped liver, since everybody else has had the same torture. But your husband's and your health condition should definitely allow you to get a cart waiting for you.
Geez that sounded crass. I certainly did not mean since I had traveled coach that this "princess" deserved a cart. Just that my state of mind might be that I deserved one. I would give it to the family traveling with small children first....unless it was the kid screaming in my ear the whole flight. (kidding (kinda) of course).
Posts: 109 | Location: Minnesota | Registered: 14 April 2007
Originally posted by KatB: I would give it to the family traveling with small children first....unless it was the kid screaming in my ear the whole flight. (kidding (kinda) of course).
Definitely push that kid off your cart. I'm behindya.
Kat, I would definitely ask KLM if they can give you assistance at the gate in making your transfer. When I broke my arm recently in Italy and had to return, we were flying KLM, and they could not have been nicer. They had a very polite and efficient young man waiting for me when I got off the plane in Amsterdam. He drove me and my husband in one of those little carts to our next gate (quite a long way). I had not flown KLM before, but I was very favorably impressed and would probably try to book them again.
Originally posted by KatB: and a 17 hour flight in coach (ugh)
This is a bit off-topic, but I'm just wondering what kind of ghastly routing you're taking. Assuming you're flying from Minneapolis via Amsterdam, total in-air time to Rome should should only be about 11 hours. Not that 11 hours in coach is a picnic, either, of course!
Posts: 810 | Location: San Francisco Bay Area | Registered: 28 June 2006
Hmmm I will have to clarify. I know we leave at 9:30 p.m. but my husband did all the booking. We then have the 75 minutes in Amsterdam and land in Rome at 5:30.
Posts: 109 | Location: Minnesota | Registered: 14 April 2007
That works out to about 11 3/4 hours on the plane, when you factor in the time difference (assuming my lousy math skills haven't misled me). It will be an an hour more or less if you hit one of those days when the US and Europe aren't in synch in terms of daylight saving time and European summer time (part of March, and the very end of Oct-early Nov), but it won't be 17 hours. There, don't you feel better already?
Posts: 810 | Location: San Francisco Bay Area | Registered: 28 June 2006
I had been meaning to post and hadn't gotten aroun d to it about the liquids. We bought wine and pastis at Charles de Gaulle and they let us take it on. When we landed in Cinci we weren't even connecting, but no matter. Everyone coming off that international flight goes back through security (is everyone doing this or is CVG jsut weird?)
We were totally unprepared to have to pack away the bottles in a bag to then lug back over to the belt where they convey your luggage up to baggage claim. I went through security first and my husband caused wuite a stir with the agents when he tried to get my attention by waving a box wrapped in newspaper (that he wanted me to come back and get).
Everyone coming off that international flight goes back through security (is everyone doing this or is CVG jsut weird?)
It's required if the only exit to the street is through a passenger concourse. Customs facilities are usually put near the gates that can accommodate wide-body jets, which tend not to be the closest.
Topic Closed
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The day before we were to leave Florence I decided to re-confirm online the times for our flights and it suddenly dawned on me that we would have to claim our baggage, go through customs, and re-check them. AND check in with US Airways 2 hours before the flight.... Okay, freak-out time. 
. We are flying Northwest to Amsterdam and have a connecting flight on KLM to Rome. The problem is we have 75 minute layover that's it. Should I be worried?
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