One leg of our flight to Italy was cancelled by Air France and we need to make a change. When I called two weeks ago (and they thought the problem would straighten itself out on its own in two weeks), they offered a Delta/Delta combination with 49 minutes to change terminals at JFK, which sounds ridiculously short. Another option I found is a KLM/KLM combination with 70 minutes to change planes at Schiphol. I've read this is a much easier airport in which to make a transfer, but are we going to need to figure in time to clear immigration since we're flying in from LAX, or will they ship us right off to Milan and let us clear immigration there? I do know there's a KLM afternoon flight from Schiphol to Malpensa, but it's a commuter plane and it seems like there would be fewer seats available for those who don't already have a reservation, and I really don't like flying on smaller planes, so I'd rather make the scheduled flight. Thanks.
Posted by
Medford, OR, USA
5837 posts
Better to be "stuck" (missed connection) in AMS than New York for many reasons. The first being that there would be more frequent KLM/AF flights to European destinations than from JFK.
You will need to clear immigration into the Schengen treaty zone at AMS, not JFK, but AMS is pretty efficient. See: https://www.klm.com/travel/us_en/prepare_for_travel/at_the_airport/connections/index.htm
I've flown on KLM Cityhopper flights which were not memorable in that the flights were utilitarian and got me to me where I wanted to go without any problems. As their name implies, they are short hop flights in comparison to LAX to AMS. And a big advantage of Cityhopper aircraft is fewer passengers mean less time to get off.
Posted by
Atlanta
5196 posts
Edgar is spot on!! Schiphol over JFK any day of the week. If you miss the connection at least you are on the same continent and have more options.
Posted by
Seattle
4637 posts
Schiphol any time!
Posted by
Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, USA
14736 posts
I agree with the others and will add there there are probably many more flights to Milan from Amsterdam so if you miss the one in 70 minutes it will be easier for them to put you on the next flight. BTW, many of the flights from within Europe land at the other Milan airport which is Linate. If you do choose Amsterdam, take a look at the times for flights from AMS to Linate as well so you have a general idea. I'll bet there are planes leaving every 2 hours.
I would be stressed to the max with a 49 minute transfer ~anywhere~ even if the airline says it is a doable minimum connection time. I love Delta but I would not accept that transfer time. Can they get you out on an earlier flight to NYC? They will start boarding the International flight 45-60 minutes before take off so you would just be landing when they are starting to board.
You will go thru Immigration in Amsterdam and the last time I transited there to a flight within the Schengen zone had to clear security again right after passport control. They have done a lot of changes in that airport so that may not be the case, but just be ready. At AMS they also will put you in a short connection line thru Passport control if you tell the monitors in the area of the lines.
Posted by
Olympia, WA, USA
6713 posts
I agree with the others. If you're going to miss a connection, better to be in Europe already, with more options for later flights.
The same logic applies, I think, to the return trip -- better to be in the US already, having cleared immigration, with more connecting options to home. However, this logic does not apply if you secretly want to stay longer in Europe and a missed connection would give you an excuse to do so. ;-)
Posted by
OP
Southern California
443 posts
Thank you all for your help. We are now booked on the KLM flight and will be looking at the additional information provided so we'll have a good idea of where we're headed in Schiphol for the connecting flight. Also thanks to the many posters over the years who advised keeping an eye on your flight information in case of changes. This was the furthest ahead I'd ever booked since we are doing our first Rick Steves tour and so had to be in Italy by a certain date (or in our case, a bit before that date). I was just making a random check one evening and discovered the cancelled flight. (Never received an e-mail during the 4 weeks that this flight was cancelled.) I was much more relaxed about dealing with this change since it's months before our trip. And I'll continue keeping an eye on our new flight. :-)
Posted by
Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, USA
14736 posts
Oh wow, good thing you looked! I have a routine where I check every other Monday up until about a month out, then start looking at the booking every Monday. You probably won't have another big change but it's still good to keep tabs on it.
Have fun on your Italy tour! I am glad you are getting there early!