Layover/Connection Times

What are the airlines offering?

I have flown to Frankfurt through Detroit and barely made my connection, and, last October, I had four hours to make my connection in Phily and could have made it in one hour. Needless to say the connection in Phily was boring, with too much time to kill. In most airports, once you are inside security, like to change flights, you don't have to go through again.

Well I always pad in at least 3 hours. Remember it isn't just you that has to make the flight but your checked bag. (As an aside I gave up on traveling with just a carry on but do carry on a complete change of cloths, toliet kit, travel books etc. Just in case ya know. Remember you can buy just about anything you buy in the U.S. in Europe so forget the full size bottle of, well, anything.) Unless you are going to Israel there isn't usually a secondary security checkpoint outbound (although there frequently is one on the return journey back to the U.S.). You will need to show your boarding pass and passport. Should you find yourself with time galore, your plane leaves and lands on time...good luck, think about joining your airlines travel lounge for the day (usually o/a $50 for the two of you). You can generally have a shower, lots of juice, coffee etc. in a peaceful relaxing environment. Object is to arrive as rested as possible. Have a wonderful time. Where are you goining?

Peggy,
Do you have any options where you would transfer in Europe? Given the choice between transferring in the States and transferring in Europe, I almost always choose Europe. While I have missed connections in Europe due to delayed flights, I have always arrived in my final destination on the same day. One of the problems with connecting in the States is if your first leg is delayed, there may not be another one until the next day.

www.sidestep.com is very helpful search engine when trying to find flight options. You can see a list of layover airports.

I'm with Laura on this one. I choose my flights so that I change planes in Europe, figuring even if my flight is delayed there are a lot more flights within Europe than there are flights over the Atlantic. And if worst comes to worst once I'm in Europe, there's always the train. From my area I usually fly to Frankfurt which has plenty of flights out, as do several other large European cities. I'd avoid London, personally, because its more difficult to get to other destinations in the Continent by train and because British Airways has really tight limits on carry-on luggage.

Which brings up an additional point, even though you didn't ask about it. If you can travel the way Rick Steves and many others endorse (with just a carry-on bag) there's no luggage to get lost or miss a connection.

I'm with Mike on this one. We had this happening before: arrived with delay in Frankfurt because of fog. And because of the fog any connection flights out of Frankfurt got cancelled. We took the train instead and arrived safely at our destination. That was the first time we got to take the scenic route along the Rhine - fantastic! Our luggage didn't in that case, it was already on a bus to the final destination airport. We got it delivered the next day. Train was payed by the airline.

I'm not sure about US customs but for Canadians not having a transfer in Canada also means much easier time with customs on your way home from Europe. You have to clear customs at the first Canadian airport and that can make for very tight and stressful connections.

I don't know why everyone says British Airways has terrible hand luggage restrictions. In reality, they are excellent:

* one standard-sized bag - maximum size of the bag must not exceed 56x45x25cm (22x17.5x9.85in) (including wheels, pockets and handles)

* In addition, one laptop sized bag, handbag or briefcase
* A 23kg(51lbs) maximum bag weight applies and you must be able to lift the bag into the overhead lockers in the aircraft cabin unaided

That's better than just about any other European airline.

But back to your original question. You will check in for all of your flights--if you're flying the same airline--at your initial check in point. Your biggest concern will be if your first flight is late and whether you have to change airlines, terminals, etc.

I agree with L.A. Mike on one thing. You are better off with a carryon bag. You know it will get there (wherever) with you.

Other than that:

In ten flights to Europe, I have been 1 hr late to my U.S. connection once, but we made it.
I have been late (1 hr) to my Europe destination twice, but it didn't matter, I just took a later train. But one time, I had a four hour layover in London and it was excruciating. It was from 2 AM to 6 AM Denver time, and I had a terrible time trying to stay awake to make my (scheduled) connecting flight.

I decided then that I would much rather make a connection in this country, when I am still awake and alert, with a language I understand, than try to connect in Europe, when I am half asleep, at an airport with a language I wouldn't understand if awake.

On the other hand, on the way back, I don't mind connecting in Europe, because I am still fresh and it is early in the day.

Frank, after I saw your post I looked up the BA policy and was happy to see it changed. The old policy was 1 bag, max weight 13lbs. See http://www.britishairways.com/travel/baggag/public/en_us

I'm glad you asked this question because I have the same issue. I'm flying from Portland, OR to Dublin. I keep looking at layover time since I've missed flight in the past. If you stick with the same airline through the flight, there should be few problems and 2.5 hours should be sufficient. I prefer one change however cheaper flights have 2 changes. I could change in Chicago, JFK, Newark, or Frankfurt with one plane change. However, finding flights that has a minimum of 2 hrs between flights is not always easy. I'm interested in reading more comments.

Thanks for all of your input. We are flying from Dallas to Ireland, so connecting in Europe isn't really an option unless we connected through Heathrow. We are thinking about trying the carry-on only route, but I'm concerned about souvenirs. I could absolutely see us picking up a couple of bulky Aran sweaters, and then having no way to get them home. Our other option is to bring one carry-on with several days worth of essentials for both of us, and then check a larger bag with plenty of room for anything we pick up there; that way if the checked bag doesn't find its way to us for a few days we're still able to do everything we want to do.
Back to the topic at hand, there are flight options through Logan with cushions of 1 hour, 2 1/2 hours, or 4 hours. It's all the same flight from Logan to Dublin, so we really just have to pick the flight from DFW to Boston. We're leaning towards the 2 1/2 hours, but we're pretty conservative by nature and may end up choosing the 4 hours just to be safe.
Thanks again to everyone for your help!

2 1/2 hours should be plenty of time to make your flight. Even if you're delayed by weather, chances are that your connecting flight will be, too.

We've always checked a bag when going to Europe, but take at least one change of clothes with us in the carry-on. If your luggage is delayed for more than a day, I believe the airline will pay for a portion of new clothing that you buy (usually half).

It depends on delays and how many people are on security lines.
JFK and O'hara are very busy airports, but with this 3 hours is a more than enough.I travel a lot nvere been on line at JFK more than 30-40 minutes. They have a few gates open, so it goes pretty quickly.
The biggest problem would be the delays. There is nothing you can do about it.

The main reason you may choose carry-on is that checked in luggage is more likely to get delayed. The decision re. carry-on or checked in luggage is most important on the way TO Europe as you don't really want to start off your precious time there without your belongings that got somehow delayed by the airline. It is less important when you're getting HOME and hopefully find a closet filled with clothing that can tie you over till your delayed luggage arrived.

So a lot of people here fly to Europe with carry-on luggage but check in their suitcase, now filled with souvenirs, on the way home.

For us, this question doesn't come up since we usually visit family and take gifts along and get stuff to take home as well. I have a hard time staying within the check-in allowance once I added new books, my favourite Milka chocolates and Haribo, licorice snails, tea, DVDs for the kids and myself ... and I haven't even found room to carefully pack a new Christmas ornament from the Erzgebirge (no Chinese imitation, please!) ...

Both JFK and O'Hare were listed as some of the worst airports for delays last year, so you might consider Logan a better choice. If I'm not familiar with an airport, I would allow 2 to 3 hours and preferably do only carry on. (I really prefer to send my Convertible Backpack in cargo though if I have a long delay and just have my Civita day pack with me. Since I'm on the west coast I prefer the SEA-AMS flight and have a lay-over in AMS.)
Enjoy the planning!

I wouldn't do 2 connections, even if it's cheaper. I did that my first time to Europe, and coming back was a nightmare. More connections means more chances of things going wrong. Plus, after a long flight over the Atlantic, going through customs, and catching another flight, having another connection after that is miserable. I left Paris at 11 in the morning and didn't get to Atlanta until 11 at night.

Thanks for the info. I have been trying to avoid O'Hare which also has short connecting flight times. The JFK flight has a 4 hr connecting time (Portland-JFK-Dublin) which is appealing.I haven't seen that any flights thatconnect through Logan but it may became I'm using Portland rather than Seatle. I think the PDX-Amsterdam flight connects in Detroit and I'm trying to avoid 2 changes. Thanks for all the suggestions.

Peggy, have you considered leaving out of Seattle? That might give you better connections and layover times instead of flying across the US.

My husband has used SAS out of Seattle a few times and swears by it. They get to Copenhagen and then you connect to wherever else you are going. Flying the arc means shorter flight times - I think it was only 9 hours, but please don't hold me to that.

I have thought of flying out of Seattle but that makes two plane changes and I'm trying to avoid that situation. I'm keeping my options open. I have also thought of flying out of San Francisco and can do that with one plane change but then there is the layover time issue. Thanks for the suggestions/comments.

To some degree it depends on tme of year. In winter I'd pick the 4 hr window--just in case. Other times of the year not so much.