Hello,
We'll be flying from Chicago to Rome and returning from Naples to Chicago.
Aer Lingus has an amazing rate now, but there's only 75 minutes between flights in Dublin.
Assuming the connecting flights are on time, is this even doable? Also, I believe we have to go through customs in Dublin on our trip home.
Thank you!
Going from Naples to Chicago, you will go through US customs and immigration and Dublin. The advantage is that you arrive in Chicago having completed these formalities. However, you do have to allow time in Dublin for this; I'd want more like 2 hours.
I'm not sure of what's involved on arrival in Dublin from Chicago when transferring to Rome (I transferred to Glasgow, and the procedures are different for that since they're in a common travel area). Check on when the next flight from Dublin to Rome is; if there are several more that day, and you miss your original connection, they can put you on a later one.
EI bases a lot of its business of connecting transatlantic flights into Europe through Dublin and the Airport is pretty streamlined for it. On the outward connection all you will do is present your onward boarding card and passport for ID purposes, progressing through the flight connections channel. No immigration. No customs. No re-security.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJ_309DOkwk
On return you would go through US pre-clearance.
Thank you both for the helpful tips!
If you are buying the entire route on one ticket, then if your first-leg flight is delayed so as to make you miss your connection, the airline would be obligated to put you on another flight. If you buy the legs separately, it might be difficult or even impossible to get the airline to accommodate you. A 75-minute margin is really tight. Even if you land on time, it could take the better part of an hour just to get off the plane and make your way to the boarding gate for the next flight.
I took Aer Lingus home from Aberdeen to San Francisco, changing in Dublin and clearing US immigration there. I had 1 hr 45 minutes to make the connection, which worried me - but I was all done and at my new gate in well under an hour. If Aer Lingus is giving you this routing I’d say go for it.
