Originally Posted by
Gig103
I don't know FLL airport in particular but when I do separate tickets (Intl)-LAX-PHX I try to plan at least 3 hours for baggage reclaim, recheck, and potential inbound delays. That's with Global Entry & TSAPre, also.
FLL is relatively small in the scheme of airports, but I'd probably be okay at 3 hours as well to save $250 but I wouldn't really do anything tighter. Mostly that's for risk tolerance, but if everything goes swimmingly, take those savings and pay for entry to the SkyClub!
While it's a fairly short walk from the B6 terminal (T3) to the DL terminal (T2), I think an inbound international will come into T4, which is probably a 10 minute walk (or 5-7 minute shuttle bus plus waiting time). I've never done an international arrival at FLL so I don't know how the lines can be. There aren't tons of flights, but if they only have 3 agents on duty (like at the cruise terminal often
) it could still take a while. I'd definitely try to sit toward the front of the B6 flight.
Then, TSA lines can be bad on Saturday/Sunday mornings when the bulk of the cruise traffic is departing, though PreCheck would definitely help. Weekdays should be much lighter.
I'd also want to get a sense of what alternatives there are if you do misconnect -- are there later options on DL? They may put you standby for free. And I'd maybe look at pricing on other same-day routings. If you misconnect and DL isn't helpful, that opens the field and maybe there's a cheap last-minute fare on a connection on another airline. You may not need to break the bank.