Hi all first time post on here so not too sure if I am in the right place, but here we go. I will be travelling from Heathrow to DFW flying Premium economy and then connecting onto AA all from the same termial D at DFW. I will have to clear immigration collect my luggage customs and then do the bag drop as this should have been checked all the way through to Cancun. And then find the required gate, good thing is there is no messing changing terminal etc.. Now for the problem I have been given a time frame of the minimum legal connecting time of 1 hr 10 mins and Im slightly worried.
Have done this before and was a real rush and that was a termianl change so im thinking this will be much easier. This however was at LA
I would have thought that 1hour 10 minutes is pushing it because AA will close the gate about 20 minutes before departure and they can be quite strict on that. Combined with going through immigration and waiting for your bags to come out I would be worried as well. If you are on the same ticket though AA will put you on the next available flight for free
So do you think the time frame of 1 hour 10 mins is enough to connect to the next flight, my connecting flight we are in business class will there be priority lines going through security for business class first class passengers etc..?
1) WT+ gives you a good chance of being in the first wave of people off the plane. In my experience at DFW, you are best to walk briskly and get even closer to the front of the pack at immigration. I've had very varied experiences at DFW inbound, with immigration queues anywhere between 10 and 60 minutes.
2) I have also experienced long queues at DFW customs, so I would think your 1hr 10 connection is awfully tight.
3) That said, if your MCT is officially legal, and you are on the same ticket, you may be offerred some form of "expedited transfer" - I had this last October at LAX. It took the form of a bright orange envelope with my onward BP already printed, and although it helped get through both immigration queues and customs lines, you still have to wait for your bags. (in my case they were about the last off despite priority tagging so I missed the connection after all).
4) Again, assuming you are on the one ticket (PNR), which implies the airline have allowed the MCT, I would have a word with the CSD on the LHR-DFW leg and make sure they know of your tight connection. That way, if there are any special arrangements being made on your arrival, you can be sure you are on the list.
5) Once you are through customs, there is an immediate bag recheck for AA, IIRC, but I'm not sure how you stay airside to make a same terminal connection. Perhaps others can advise.
6) Personally I am very suprised that 70 minutes is a legal MCT.
Last edited by PWOZUK; Jan 17, 13 at 2:01 am..
Reason: usual typos
Hi yes this will all be on the same ticket, offerd by BA so confused why they would sell it if this wasnt possible lets hope that the onwasrd flight is delayed a short while!! and hope the BA Flight into DFW is early !!
Think I should talk with the check in agent in London and ask about the expedited tansfer see if they will assit. just going back to our last trip we roughly had the same amount of time to connect in LAX and we even had to change terminal we literally run all the way there.I remember rightly when we was queing up through security there there was a priorty line for business/first customers do you know if they have this in DFW? maybe this will help us too
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Welcome cp1983
Quote:
Originally Posted by cp1983
Think I should talk with the check in agent in London and ask about the expedited tansfer see if they will assit. just going back to our last trip we roughly had the same amount of time to connect in LAX and we even had to change terminal we literally run all the way there.I remember rightly when we was queing up through security there there was a priorty line for business/first customers do you know if they have this in DFW? maybe this will help us too
Welcome cp1983 to FlyerTalk, welcome to the BAEC forum. Thank you for your questions and feel free to make the most of this resource. It would be great to hear more from you.
I don't recall a fast track at DFW, however it is there by implication. There are not a huge number of international arrivals at DFW, so if you are off the aircraft fairly smart-ish and take the brisk walk to Immigration, you should be OK by avoiding much of the queue. By all means mention the tight connection to BA staff about an hour before arrival, they may allow you to leave the cabin more quickly. DFW is one of the better places to transfer in the USA. If it is one PNR there may be BA or AA staff at the end of the airbridge to speed you through, but to be honest 70 minutes at DFW is OK in most circumstances. It's not MIA and it's a world apart from LAX.
Thank you for easing my concerns, tight connections seems to be our speciality over the last few years last year we were like a mad couple dashing through LAX and the staff there were so unhelpful it made things that tad difficult.
Hi yes this will all be on the same ticket, offerd by BA so confused why they would sell it if this wasnt possible lets hope that the onwasrd flight is delayed a short while!! and hope the BA Flight into DFW is early !!
Despite my earlier post - given that you are on one ticket - I would not be unduly worried. I am sure BA/AA will look after you as best anyone can, if flights are delayed.
I also assumed (rather stupid on my part) that you will have to queue at the "foreigners" queue at immigration. If you have a US passport the lines are much shorter !
There are also volunteers at DFW arrivals to help check your arrivals paperwork (DFW "Ambassadors" IIRC in smart blazers) ahead of getting to the immigration desks, so dont be afraid to ask for help or directions. It's a short walk (downstairs) to baggage reclaim, chances are you will get there before your bags do!
Airside the DFW terminal D layout is pretty straight foward, and if you do end up landside and having to come back through security I've not found that too bad midafternoon either.
So what you are saying is that when I check my bags at Heathrow I can check these in all the way to Cancun and I wont see them again until Cancun?? Slightly confused now as some people say that you have to collect your luggage on a connecting flight once you land and then clear customs and head to bag drop area?
You do that normally when connecting in US but if you are flying through DFW or MIA and your international connection is within 8 hours, bags go to final destination. Check in agent labels the bag as normal and adds big orange 'I.T.I. TRANSIT - DO NOT RESTRAIN WITHIN U.S.'
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Posts: 3,773
Quote:
Originally Posted by cp1983
So what you are saying is that when I check my bags at Heathrow I can check these in all the way to Cancun and I wont see them again until Cancun?? Slightly confused now as some people say that you have to collect your luggage on a connecting flight once you land and then clear customs and head to bag drop area?
For US domestic transfers you cannot through check. For international ones it SHOULD be possible to through check, using something known as an I.T.I. label. It's a big orange label which tells DFW handlers not to take it to CBP but on to the AA flight.
The problem is that some check-in agents will be unfamiliar with this label, but obviously you can ask them for it. I don't personally check in luggage, so I don't know whether it definitely works at DFW, but I cannot see why not. It certainly works for MIA. [EDIT: Arthur would know better than me].
It actually makes surprisingly little difference, even if you do end up rechecking, it normally only adds a few minutes to sort this out.
..... I will have to clear immigration collect my luggage customs and then do the bag drop as this should have been checked all the way through to Cancun ......
Thanks
Sorry - I too failed to spot the significance of your final destination. Your 70 minutes should be fine since you should not have to "enter" the USA and chase bags. So the most important thing is getting the right tags at time of LHR checkin.
You might even get time to visit the AA lounge at DFW.
You do that normally when connecting in US but if you are flying through DFW or MIA and your international connection is within 8 hours, bags go to final destination. Check in agent labels the bag as normal and adds big orange 'I.T.I. TRANSIT - DO NOT RESTRAIN WITHIN U.S.'
Thank you for correcting me. Learn something new every day
