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SEA-FCO flight on Continental/Alitalia

After some weeks of fare research and agonizing, I went ahead and bought the cheapest fare ($680) for my Dec. trip from flycheapabroad.com. The flight was listed as departing Seattle at 7:30am and having about a 2hr layover in Newark. Imagine my surprise when the e-ticket arrived with a 8am departure and only a 1 hour layover! Now my stomach's in a knot as to whether this will be enough time to make the second flight?

Also, Continental has a carryon weight limit of 40lbs, but Alitalia's is only 5kg (11 lbs)!! How strict are they about the weight limit?

Posted by
359 posts

That's a bit of a tight layover. It looks like their international flights depart out of Terminal B and the domestic (non-Express) flights are out of Terminal A. So you'll likely have a terminal change and hope that you come in on time and your luggage makes the change.

I would expect Alitalia to be strict about their weight limit. To expect otherwise could lead to some last minute adjustments (not to mention your already tight layover).

Here's a terminal map for Newark:
http://www.continental.com/web/en-US/img/travel/terminals/terminal-ewr.gif

Posted by
131 posts

I don't know if this will make you feel better, but I'll try! It's a trade-off, for sure. If you research and carefully plan and buy your tickets far in advance (I usually do that, too), you can be "hit" with these sort of unexpected time changes. On the other hand, if you wait until closer to the departure date, fares may be a lot higher and better connections sold out anyway! So don't be hard on yourself! I am facing a similar situation in reverse, from Europe. I have decided to just assume I won't make the connection and be very, very happy if I do! I hate to fly anyway and look at the whole experience as just the means to an amazing end. If the ticket is booked altogether, as yours is, the airlines will be responsible for getting you to your destination. Eventually! Just make sure to take a change of clothes, etc, if you check your bag. (It might be worth it to pack within the Alitalia limit so you can run with your bag if you arrive on time in Newark.)