Originally Posted by
Mckwvu
My husband and two kids (8 and 11) will be traveling from ATL to JNB, arriving at 5:50 pm. Because we are traveling using miles, we have to book our flight to Gabarone on Air Botswana. The last flight of the night leaves at 8 pm. Couple of questions --
1. Since we will be flying on a different ticket from JNB to GBE, will we need to exit the terminal, collect our bags and check-in?
2. Would 2 hours be enough time to do all of this, or should we plan on spending the night and fly out the next morning?
Thanks! First time traveling like this with the kids and I want to avoid hiccups if possible!
Everything depends on whether Delta will check your luggage through to Gaberone. You need to get them to confirm that. [According to KVS, BW (Air Botswana) does have an interline agreement with DL - but, confusingly it says DL doesn't have one with BW! Either way, it doesn't mean they have to through-check luggage for separate tickets. Only Delta can give you the answer to that.]
If your luggage is checked through you should have plenty of time for the connection. If not, I wouldn't risk it. Arrival formalities may or may not take a long time but you will be leaving in the thick of the evening bank of flights to Europe and the lines at immigration can be horrible. At the very least it will be quite stressful and with kids in tow (probably grumpy and/or groggy after such a long flight) I would be inclined to stop over at the airport and spend the night adjusting to the new time zone in relative calm.
PS Don't forget the birth certificates!