New England - Munich - Boston - Buffalo - Short stopover

Hi,
I'm flying Delhi - Munich - Boston - Buffalo, Delhi - Munich - Boston would be by Lufthansa and further from Boston to Buffalo via Jet Blue.

I have a short stopover of 2 hours at Boston and some 5 more international flights land at the same terminal (E) near about the same time. My connecting flight to Boston departs from terminal C, which is thankfully right next to it.

1. Usually how long does the immigration take at the Boston airport?

2. Would I have to collect my check-in luggage at Boston since the connecting flight is by Jet Blue, even though it says on my ticket that it's Lufthansa (operated by Jet Blue).

3. Would two hours be enough to manage immigration and check-in? That is ofcourse if the flight is not delayed.

4. How easy is it to get around the Boston airport? Especially from Terminal E to C.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Cheers.

Welcome to FlyerTalk, digojoy! :) As your questions are specific to one airport, we'll move your thread over to the New England forum for input and discussion. Thanks! :) /JY1024, TravelBuzz co-moderator

Hi,
I'm flying Delhi - Munich - Boston - Buffalo, Delhi - Munich - Boston would be by Lufthansa and further from Boston to Buffalo via Jet Blue.

I have a short stopover of 2 hours at Boston and some 5 more international flights land at the same terminal (E) near about the same time. My connecting flight to Boston departs from terminal C, which is thankfully right next to it.

1. Usually how long does the immigration take at the Boston airport?

2. Would I have to collect my check-in luggage at Boston since the connecting flight is by Jet Blue, even though it says on my ticket that it's Lufthansa (operated by Jet Blue).

3. Would two hours be enough to manage immigration and check-in? That is ofcourse if the flight is not delayed.

4. How easy is it to get around the Boston airport? Especially from Terminal E to C.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Cheers.

Welcome to Boston.

Answers:

1. Depends. With 5 other flights, and if the CBP is having a good day, and if you are a US Citizen, AND you happen to be in line before the 5 other flights, I'd say you can hope for 20 minutes. If you are the last plane in line, and not a US Citizen, plan on rushing to make that 2hr connection.

2. Yes, you will have to collect your luggage, and go through security again.

3. Two hours is doable, really depends immigration.

4. Best bet is to walk from Terminal E to Terminal C - about 5 minutes. You could take a shuttle bus if you have a bunch of luggage.

Hi,
I'm flying Delhi - Munich - Boston - Buffalo, Delhi - Munich - Boston would be by Lufthansa and further from Boston to Buffalo via Jet Blue.

I have a short stopover of 2 hours at Boston and some 5 more international flights land at the same terminal (E) near about the same time. My connecting flight to Boston departs from terminal C, which is thankfully right next to it.

1. Usually how long does the immigration take at the Boston airport?It depends on if you are a US Citizen or not, and how many other flights land at about the same time. In general I find it faster than in most other points of entry.

2. Would I have to collect my check-in luggage at Boston since the connecting flight is by Jet Blue, even though it says on my ticket that it's Lufthansa (operated by Jet Blue).Yes.

3. Would two hours be enough to manage immigration and check-in? That is ofcourse if the flight is not delayed.It is possible, but not something I would try to do if it were me. Even if you clear immigration quickly, you might have to wait a little for your bags, and if customs decides to inspect all your bags it could take even longer.

4. How easy is it to get around the Boston airport? Especially from Terminal E to C.It is relatively easy.

Welcome to Boston.



4. Best bet is to walk from Terminal E to Terminal C - about 5 minutes. You could take a shuttle bus if you have a bunch of luggage.

And just to add to this, the shuttle bus will take longer than 5 minutes to get you from Terminal E to Terminal C, as it will go from E to A to B and then to C, or it will go from E to the Subway to C. Could be 10 minutes, could be 25, depending on traffic.

You will have to go outside (briefly) to walk directly from E to C, but you can go back inside pretty quickly if you see the door right across the road from E. You'll go down a long, ugly hall (part of the former Terminal D), and then enter C from there.

Not sure when you are flying....but I would suggest you look to...just to be on the safe side...and book a jetblue fligt the next morning direct from BOS-BU that leaves around 8 am and just stay at a BOS airport hotel for the night.

The 2 hrs immigration plus having to recheck bags ad go through security is cutting th 2:10 min layover too close....any delay in the flight it will even be less likely. That is the last Jetblue flight of the day to BUF.

The air fare you can find is probably will be around $75...if you dont talk to jet blue and be proactive and just shift the flight. JEt Blue is a little more friendlier than other airlines.

Not sure when you are flying....but I would suggest you look to...just to be on the safe side...and book a jetblue fligt the next morning direct from BOS-BU that leaves around 8 am and just stay at a BOS airport hotel for the night....

I disagree completely. OP has a single ticket to BUF (that's the only way that s/he could have an LH-coded flight on B6 to BUF). Therefore, if the OP is delayed and misses the flight, he's protected and will automatically be placed on the next available flight (the following morning). Plus, if that happens, OP would be eligible for a distressed traveler rate at the airport hotels.

Besides, it seems to me that there's a lot of unwarranted pessimism here. I'll bet that less than 10% of people have a CBP wait in BOS of more than an hour, and LH does as a good a job as anyone at getting their flights in on time. OP will already be checked in for the B6 flight, so I'd estimate that he'll make the connection 9 out of 10 days.

Besides, it seems to me that there's a lot of unwarranted pessimism here. I'll bet that less than 10% of people have a CBP wait in BOS of more than an hour, and LH does as a good a job as anyone at getting their flights in on time. OP will already be checked in for the B6 flight, so I'd estimate that he'll make the connection 9 out of 10 days.There are so many variables here that make this a less than optimal connection time. If I had to fly 3 segments (2 long haul) the last thing I'd want to do is worry about whether I'm going to miss a connection, which is a very real possibility in this case, even if ideally it should be fine.

Can the OP make it? Probably.

Is it something I would consciously pick for myself if I had other options? No.