Originally Posted by
etiene
Christmas Eve is actually a really quiet day to fly...?
I usually fly on or about Christmas Eve or day and find it pretty quiet. This week it might be more busy because the holiday is midweek and business travelers could try to rush it till the last minute, but I'd think that it should be fairly calm. Most of the int'l traffic to LatAm will likely have cleared out days ago.
Originally Posted by
etiene
We have time to apply for GE though, and another arrival in the US to do the enrollment before Christmas - so does that make it more feasible?
Of course, GE definitely helps things - no doubt. Personally, my specific impetus for getting GE was one wait (as U.S. citizen) in the MIA passport control line...never again...
Originally Posted by
etiene
if we did miss the connection, the later flight would be highly likely to be full...?
No way to know, other than to keep checking loads on ExpertFlyer or such. My gut tells me it would either be completely full or totally empty, and not anywhere in between - just don't know which.
Originally Posted by
etiene
Any other advice also welcomed!
Overall, your connection time is tight but doable (or they wouldn't sell it), especially with GE and hand baggage. But plenty that can go wrong, of course. MIA isn't the most well-oiled of machines.
Have you thought about flying the LHR-MIA leg on BA metal? Looks like it gets in at 1410 so you would have an extra 90 min for your connection. Pricing doesn't look materially different and your profile notes you have BAEC membership...do you want to stick with AA metal for a specific reason (you noted MCE)?