Hi, we want to fly from San Diego (or LA or San Francisco) to Amsterdam (or maybe London with hovercraft to Amsterdam) by way of Chicago. We need a layover of at least a couple of hours in the Windy City to drop our kids off with Grandma. Do we need to make separate flights from west coast to Chicago, then Chicago to Europe? What's the best and least expensive way to plan this trip? Thanks! Karen
No, you don't need separate tickets. But, it will be dependent on the flights you book - you obviously need to give yourself 3-5 hours to take care of dropping off the kids, unless Grandma can come to the airport to pick up the kids. The obvious airline choices that you should start with are United and American, both of which have a hub in Chicago. A very quick search on United showed me at least one flight from SAN to AMS with a 5.5 hr stopover in Chicago. This may not be the cheapest connection, but it will enable you to do what you want all on one ticket.
Right, United has a couple flights a day via Chicago from San Diego to Amsterdam.