We will be flying in to Schiphol Airport from Budapest on KLM. The best connection gives us 50 minutes between our Delta flight to the US. According to Delta, 50 minutes is enough time to make the connection. Tried to call KLM-was on hold for 60 minutes and then they hung up on me!
We have flown into Schiphol many times and it is an easy airport to navigate. What are others' experiences?
Posted by
Twin Cities of MN
5581 posts
We've done 50 minutes at Schipol a couple times. Since you are familiar with the airport, your chances are good. If Delta says you can do it and the ticket has both flights, then they'd be responsible for rebooking you should you miss the connecting flight. I'm not saying I'd recommend it, both times we definitely had to cruise and it did make me anxious. However, sometimes logistics are too complicated to get the perfect itinerary.
Posted by
OP
USA
21 posts
Thanks for the response. Yes, 50 minutes is not ideal and I am sure we will be hot-footing it-but the other option is getting up at 2:00 a.m. for a 6:00 a.m. flight out of Budapest.
Posted by
Olympia, WA, USA
6500 posts
I wouldn't recommend this for eastbound flights, but chances of a significant delay are less from Budapest than from North America. And Delta/KLM should be able to get you on a later flight if it goes wrong.
Posted by
1365 posts
With carry on only you can do it. If anyone checks a bag and the inbound flight is late you may miss the connection because KLM/Delta won't be able to transfer the baggage in time. That happened to us once. Even though we made the connection our bags did not and Delta wouldn't let us board.
Posted by
OP
USA
21 posts
Thanks everyone for your responses. Do you think it makes a difference if one is flying Delta One?
Posted by
Twin Cities of MN
5581 posts
Budapest, For us, we were going to Krakow and there were just the two flights out of Schiphol, the second one was 6 hours later. So, we could try to manage with the 50 minutes, or sit in the airport 6 hours. So, we choose the 50 minute. It did seem like they were waiting for us at the connecting gate, because they asked our name, how long they would have waited, I don't know. I also think we did make it in 43 minutes or so.
Posted by
Magyarország / Rep of Texas
17900 posts
I have been on KLM flights from BUD to AMS. They always parked on the tarmac and you had to ride a bus. Maybe you won't have to?
Most flights I've been on leaving BUD have left a bit late, but always arrived within a few minutes of on time. I think they pad the travel time in the schedules.
But you might make it. I've made a couple of 1 hour connections at AMS over the years. Get a seat as far forward as possible.