Last edit by: WineCountryUA
Consolidated NRT connection time / logistics
#542
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More than enough time, but if you want to be efficient and spend time in a lounge, you want to clear security as fast as possible, so review the thread and maps for the location of the various transit checkpoints and look for the one that is the least busy.
Case in point, I was arriving NRT last week so I had the chance to walk past 3 different checkpoints - the satellite location that is normally empty was absolutely packed with the line out the door, while the usually chaotic central checkpoint was completely empty, and the "hidden" checkpoint just before you go down the final escalator to arrivals processing was also empty.
So, for example, if you arrive the 50s gates and you are leaving from the 30s gates, you have 3 possible checkpoints to walk by and can choose the least busiest of the options since you need to walk that distance anyway. Just be familiar with the layout and you should be able to connect quickly and efficiently with minimal waiting.
Case in point, I was arriving NRT last week so I had the chance to walk past 3 different checkpoints - the satellite location that is normally empty was absolutely packed with the line out the door, while the usually chaotic central checkpoint was completely empty, and the "hidden" checkpoint just before you go down the final escalator to arrivals processing was also empty.
So, for example, if you arrive the 50s gates and you are leaving from the 30s gates, you have 3 possible checkpoints to walk by and can choose the least busiest of the options since you need to walk that distance anyway. Just be familiar with the layout and you should be able to connect quickly and efficiently with minimal waiting.
#543
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Virginia
Programs: HHonors Gold, IHG Platinum, Marriott nobody
Posts: 470
Is 50 minutes really enough? I will fly from HKG to IAD via NRT. UA7988 will arrive NRT at 3:10pm and UA804 will depart at 4:00 pm. That is the shortest connection time I have ever tried and I begin to wonder whether I should research backup flights should I miss the connection.
UA7988 is a code share with ANA.
UA7988 is a code share with ANA.
#544
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Japan
Posts: 5,577
Is 50 minutes really enough? I will fly from HKG to IAD via NRT. UA7988 will arrive NRT at 3:10pm and UA804 will depart at 4:00 pm. That is the shortest connection time I have ever tried and I begin to wonder whether I should research backup flights should I miss the connection.
UA7988 is a code share with ANA.
UA7988 is a code share with ANA.
Last edited by Exleftseat; Sep 17, 2017 at 1:14 pm
#545
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Join Date: Apr 2013
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It's a little tight, but pax make that connection every day. NRT is not a difficult transfer.
If you miss, there are numerous later connecting options via LAX, EWR, ORD, SFO, etc. Though if you're trying to preserve an upgrade, that could be a problem.
If you miss, there are numerous later connecting options via LAX, EWR, ORD, SFO, etc. Though if you're trying to preserve an upgrade, that could be a problem.
#546
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Join Date: Aug 2015
Posts: 11,352
Is 50 minutes really enough? I will fly from HKG to IAD via NRT. UA7988 will arrive NRT at 3:10pm and UA804 will depart at 4:00 pm. That is the shortest connection time I have ever tried and I begin to wonder whether I should research backup flights should I miss the connection.
UA7988 is a code share with ANA.
UA7988 is a code share with ANA.
#547
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Virginia
Programs: HHonors Gold, IHG Platinum, Marriott nobody
Posts: 470
Thanks for the advices. My flights will be at the end of this month, hope there is no weather related issues on the first flight. I looked at options if I miss the connection. There are later connecting flights that will arrive at IAD about six hours later. Not ideal, but it will work.
#548
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Virginia
Programs: HHonors Gold, IHG Platinum, Marriott nobody
Posts: 470
Just want to give an update now that I am back. When I checked in for the first flight UA7988, the ANA agent assured me that people have connected in NRT in as little as 20 minutes, so I had nothing to worry about. UA7988 arrived NRT 45 minutes early so that gave me an extra 45 minutes. Without those extra minutes, I am not sure if I could have made it.
There was an agent at the gate as soon as the first flight landed. She had a list to use to check off my name on the connecting flight. After that, it was the walk upstairs to the security line. The security line was not too long and was relatively easy. It only forced me to ditch my water bottle and rebuy another one after the security check.
The walk to the next flight was surprisingly long with turn after turn in a crowded terminal. It must have taken me at least 15-20 minutes at a normal pace. By the time I reached the gate, they already started the boarding process, which means overhead space started to disappear.
If I have to do it over again, I would pick a longer connection time at NRT. There were attractive looking ramen choices along the walk that I had to force myself to pass.
There was an agent at the gate as soon as the first flight landed. She had a list to use to check off my name on the connecting flight. After that, it was the walk upstairs to the security line. The security line was not too long and was relatively easy. It only forced me to ditch my water bottle and rebuy another one after the security check.
The walk to the next flight was surprisingly long with turn after turn in a crowded terminal. It must have taken me at least 15-20 minutes at a normal pace. By the time I reached the gate, they already started the boarding process, which means overhead space started to disappear.
If I have to do it over again, I would pick a longer connection time at NRT. There were attractive looking ramen choices along the walk that I had to force myself to pass.
#549
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Join Date: Apr 2017
Programs: BA
Posts: 609
airside transfer between terminals 2 and 3?
I want to visit and eat with a friend flying JAL internationally from Terminal 2 while I am flying UA out of Terminal 1. We will both be airside and have roughly 3 hours. Is it easy to transfer between these terminals airside or would I need a boarding pass to access the JAL terminal?
#550
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Join Date: Apr 2017
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Posts: 609
I want to visit and eat with a friend flying JAL internationally from Terminal 2 while I am flying UA out of Terminal 1. We will both be airside and have roughly 3 hours. Is it easy to transfer between these terminals airside or would I need a boarding pass to access the JAL terminal?
#551
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Japan
Posts: 5,577
it really is a hassle. The service is more or less exclusively aimed at pax that need to connect at
the other terminal instead of leisurely shuttling between terminals airside. My guess there are no other replies because that is the general consensus. I cannot recommend this.
#553
Join Date: Apr 2012
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