Originally Posted by
KeptiFI
Hey guys,
First post, long time reader...
I have a flight from Helsinki, Finland to JFK (Finnair) and then connection with AA to Miami from JFK.
There is 1 hour and 15 minutes between the flights. I do not believe this meets the MCT even? They are on the same ticket, though.
I wrote them on Twitter and they said it will be fine.
Do you think it's possible to make this connection? I believe I still have to go through immigration and also take my suitcase through customs, or?
Thanks!
You are right at the minimum connection time. It is 1 hour and 15 minutes (International to Domestic). Yes, you will clear customs, claim your bag and recheck it.
Right now it looks like you are on the last non-stop from JFK to MIA, leaving at 5:10pm. Should you run late, there is a connecting flight that leaves at 7 pm and arrives just after midnight. So you have an option, assuming it is available.
Looking at the flight for the past few weeks, the earliest it arrived was 3:34 and the latest 5:20. 10-15 minutes late seems to be the most common arrival time.
Without an expedited path such as Trusted Traveller, customs/Immigration at JFK can be hit or miss. While 30-40 minutes to clear, grab your bag and recheck is possible, unfortunately, so is 2 hours or more. Once you clear customs/immigration and grab your bag and redrop it, you will then need to go back through security. Again, without pre-check, the line can be long.
A few time savers:
- Do you have Trusted Traveller or other expedited program? If yes, your bags are the only real delay.
- Can you use ESTA / APC? This can save you a lot of time.
- Will you be getting off the plane quickly in business class or back of the bus in economy? Again, this could put you near the front of any line as the first one off or 100-200 people deep if you are the last.
- Can you not check a bag? This reduced another potential obstacle.
- Weather in New York? Expect a delay in your inbound. Could mean a delay in your flight to Miami, could not.
A few positives...
- Both Finnair and American use Terminal 8, so you will not have to switch terminals. That is a good thing.
- The MCT is 1 hour and 15 minutes. They would not give these flights this MCT if the vast majority of people could not make the connection.
Sorry to not be more helpful, but, it really depends on a lot of factors. In business class, with Trusted Traveller and no bags, you would make it without much issue on almost all days. Each barrier beyond that adds time and increases the likelihood of a misconnect. But, as I mentioned, there is a connecting flight at 7pm.
Hope this helps.