This October we are flying into Rome (FCO) from NY arriving around 1030 AM. We will then fly directly to Palermo. After clearing customs, how is the transfer to either Alitalia, or Vueling Airlines? I want to leave enough time for the 2 of us each with a suitcase to get from one airline to another. Thanks.
Posted by
Chicago
7842 posts
Alitalia has 6 direct flights to Palermo after 10:30 am a day; so if you buy one ticket with them JFK to Rome to Palermo you will get there eventually.
Posted by
New York, NY, USA
11294 posts
I sounds like you are looking to buy separate tickets (definitely, if you are are using Vueling; possibly, if you are using Alitalia).
If you are thinking of this, here's a good summary of the risks: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g41707-c207311/Newton:Massachusetts:Connecting.On.Separate.Tickets.html
I did use separate tickets for this itinerary, because my miles would only get me to Rome. What I ended up doing was buying two different FCO to PMO tickets; one three hours after my scheduled arrival, and one ten hours after. That way, I knew I'd use one and discard one, and I counted the price of the two tickets together as the total cost of my flight (this price was still cheaper than a last minute ticket on that route for my travel date would have been). In the end, I made the transfer to the earlier flight, with time to spare. But of course that's never guaranteed.
The procedure is that you arrive, go through immigration, pick up any checked bags, go through customs, then make your way to your next terminal, re-check your bags, go through security, and go to your gate. Customs is merely a matter of walking through the "Green Channel Nothing To Declare" line. Assuming you're not "randomly selected for additional screening" (possible but rare), you're done. And you can walk between the terminals in 10 minutes or less.
The big potential hold ups are immigration and baggage claim. Whether these are fast or slow simply cannot be predicted. For this reason, Jazz is right - try to get this all on one ticket if possible. That way, the airline is responsible for putting you on the next available flight, at their expense, if you miss the original connection due to late arrival, slow immigration, etc.
If you are on separate tickets, the good news is that, due to the time difference, you can usually do online check in for your second flight (the FCO to PMO one) and print your boarding pass before you leave home. This saves some time.