Originally Posted by
The Man in Seat 9A
JX's web site says their bag cutoff time is 2 hrs. That leaves you 60 minutes to deboard, get your bags, get to Terminal A from Terminal 3, and stand in line at JX. I think I could make it to Terminal A after picking up UA domestic bags within an hour of landing at SFO about 50% of the time.
And that's if the inbound is on time. Google flights lists an IAD-SFO flight in Mid-July that arrives at 9pm as "Frequently delayed 30 minutes or longer" You can check the on time performance of your actual flight.
I sure wouldn't take that risk.
While I agree that OP’s parents should probably take the earlier flight, I don’t see anything on JX’s website that says that bags have to be checked in two hours prior to departure, which would be borderline outrageous. They say that the check-in counter at SFO closes one hour prior to departure, which is much more reasonable.