davie355

How about this. Track PVG-DTW when it departs. If it's late, book yourself a ticket to DTW and meet your dad at international arrivals. Then you can help him sort out meals, hotels, and rebooking -- none of which I can imagine doing alone if I spoke no English.

CarmenOM

You might call DTW, or search the airport website, to see if there is a travelers assistance office at DTW that could help your dad when he comes out of international arrivals into the terminal.

At MSP you can call the Travelers Assistance office and arrange an escort for someone who might have trouble making a connection for reasons such as language difficulties, developmental disabilities, age (either an older person or a teenager too old to travel as a UM but nervous or inexperienced at travel), etc. A volunteer will meet the traveler and remain with him/her/them until the departure of the connecting flight. The volunteers have phones with numbers to call for translation services, wheelchairs, etc. There is no charge for this service. I think ATL has a similar service but charges a fee. I don't know what is available at DTW. Many airports have volunteers at information desks but MSP goes well beyond that. There is often a volunteer stationed near the doors where arriving international passengers enter the terminal to make connecting flights

I don't mean to go on at too great length about MSP but want to give the OP an idea of what to ask about at DTW.

xliioper

There's a 9:45PM flight to LGA on weekdays that they might be able to put him on if there is space.

aolj

What might help with immigration is to have him print out a typed note from you stating he doesn't speak english, what he is doing in the US, where he is going, who he is visiting, how long his stay is. Include your name and contact info to call if they have any questions. I've done this in the past and it is a breeze through immigration.

UMichKid

No that's too far...would they take Philadelphia?
@aolj, who will he be showing the note to? He's immigrating here permanently.

UMichKid

Am I wrong to assume that there will be a Chinese-speaking flight attendant on the PVG to DTW flight? Or even one at customs? Or even the actual officer?

mot29

I'd guess that DL has but Mandarin and Cantoneses speaking agents in Immigration in DTW. And I've certainly heard the page for a xx language speaker to booth y in customs halls.

All the best to you and your father. Welcome him to the US!

bennos

Does he have a visa (non-permanent) or a green card (permanent)? The latter can be processed in the US citizen line and can typically be handled a lot faster.

Regardless of the visa type, he'll have to see an immigration officer. Having a page of pre-translated phrases will be helpful to everyone involved in figuring out what's going on, even if it just means finding a translator.

And this isn't just for immigration. Phrases like "Can you help me find my flight to Newark?" would also be useful.

DL is usually pretty good about having "Speaker of Destination" FAs on board international flights, so there will probably be a Mandarin speaking FA on the flight to DTW. (EWR, probably not so much.)

At CBP, someone somewhere will probably speaking some dialect of Chinese, but chances are it won't be the first person your father encounters. (That will probably be the person shouting at everyone to get in the correct line. Having a pre-translated phrase indicating which line he needs to get into wouldn't be a bad idea.)

To the original question, it's certainly plausible that 1h25 is not enough time to make the connection if arriving as a new resident without English language skills. I'd definitely have alternate flights identified (and appropriate phrases pre-translated). I suspect DL would be willing to reroute to PHL if there were no other EWR options, but him explaining that might be a problem. Also, he would need to do this before re-checking any bags, which would otherwise be tagged to EWR. Having a phrase where he can have the agent call you would probably help.

tentseller

OK the timing of the flight might be tight considering he is arriving with a US Visa (PRC passport, my guess) and need CBP processing procedure for such as a first time entry.

BUT:

I heard many time at CBP custom hall paging for Mandarin translator at DTW; so that part should not be a problem.

After claiming his bags and exiting US customs to onward flights there are Mandarin/Putonghua speaking DL reps there due to the number of Asian/PRC inbound flights at DTW.
DTW layout is two straight lines so it is one of the easier intl arrival airports for transits.

Potential Issue:
If he misses the 740pm to EWR the next NYC flight is to JFK around 8pm(IIRC) so there is not much buffer if he misses the EWR flight. These are the last daily flights to NYC.

xliioper

OP is apparently closer to PHL. Last flight to PHL is 9:40PM on weekdays and 8:06PM on weekends.

UMichKid

Yes, 9:40pm, but he may have checked his bags to EWR already.
@bennos He has a visa, but he will be getting his green card in the mail soon.
I'm not really worried about customs, just a bit worried about him getting to his gate. I'll tell him where to look on his boarding pass.

CarmenOM

If he gets his boarding pass for DTW-EWR when he checks in at PVG it probably won't show the gate. The space showing the gate will be empty. In that case he'll need to point to that space on the BP and ask a DL agent.

Is he old enough that a wheelchair would be helpful? If you request a wheelchair to meet him in DTW that will mean someone is getting him to the right gate.

I repeat my earlier advice to check on whether DTW has a travelers assistance office. That could be the easiest solution.

UMichKid

He's not old enough for a wheelchair...well when is he going to find out his gate? Can he find out at PVG?

bennos

Gates can change literally up until departure. There are monitors all over DTW that indicate the gate, including right after you come up the escalator from clearing CBP. (And maybe even after security but before the escalator? It's been a while since I cleared that way...)

CarmenOM

He might find out his gate at PVG but it's also possible that he won't be able to find out until he lands at DTW because the gate won't yet be known before he leaves China. You may be able to find out before he does, since you may be able to get it from Delta flight status while he is still en route from PVD. Will you and he be able to talk or text once he has landed? It seems unlikely that he would have a phone that will work in the US. If he does have a phone, be sure to tell him not to use it until he has cleared immigration and customs.

I just found some information about the DTW Airport Ambassadors Program. Unfortunately, all the links I could find were for recruiting volunteers, not requesting help from the program. The link I'll post describes the program and has a contact name and phone number. I'd suggest you call that person and ask about help with your father's situation. Even if she is the volunteer recruiter, she should be able to tell you who to contact to get assistance for your dad.

http://www.metroairport.com/Portals/...sBroch2013.pdf