AlicorporateUK

First of all, welcome to the AZ board, UVAhoo06.

50 minutes with the current layout at FCO could be a tricky affair however, if you're willing to share a few extra details such as flight numbers and, needless to say, whether or not you're booked under one reservation, then I will be more than happy to assist further.

G

UVAhoo06

Thanks for the welcome!

Here's my proposed itinerary, and it's all under one DL ticket/PNR.

1. AMM-CDG: Delta 8429 (operated by AF)
Dep: 1:25AM Arr: 5:30AM
Layover in CDG 1h 45m
2. CDG-FCO: Delta 8664 (operated by AF)
Dep: 7:15AM Arr: 9:20AM
Layover in FCO 50m
3. FCO-LAX: Delta 6658
Dep: 10:10AM Arr: 2:15PM (operated by AZ)

Unfortunately, I don't have the AF or AZ flight numbers because these are all marketed as DL-flights. That said, I'd appreciate whatever insight you could give. Thanks a ton!

KLouis

Assuming i) your incoming flight is on time; ii) you will not be bussed; iii) there is no huge line at immigration (leaving Schengen); and iv) you can walk airside, the answer is you'll just about make it! Unless there is a later ST alternative to LAX leaving after the one you're booked on, be prepared for a nice day in Rome.

UVAhoo06

Do I need to clear immigration even though I'm transiting? And would I clear in CDG instead of FCO? I know that there's usually additional screening for US-bound flights.

If I misconnect, will AZ put me on other ST flights? Or, would I be put on their next AZ flight the following day. For what it's worth, I'll be in Premium Economy, and I'm a STE+.

AlicorporateUK

Initially, thanks for providing the extra info. There are a couple of points which head towards your peace-of-mind's direction and a couple of others which are worth considering and that could potentially affect your night-sleep. I'll start by saying that you are booked under one PNR and that, if any inconvenience occurs, alternative flight arrangements will be made for you in order to get you to LAX; I will also add that, in the unfortunate event of whatever disruption once in FCO, you would be easily re-booked on to either a via JFK service or, in the worst case scenario, you could even be re-routed via AMS/CDG on one of the several daily AF-KL-AZ shuttle services from FCO. That said and coming to the less-positive sides of the above itinerary: your 321 (could be 320 at times) will most certainly dock on to a jet-bridge in FCO and that's still a positive, simply because you will avoid wasting a good extra 20 minutes between stepping from the plane to the bus, waiting for other passengers to do exactly the same and then, adding to misery, a further 10 minutes' journey to the main terminal building. So: once you get off the plane straight on to T1 (normally, a B gate), you will have to head to T3 which, especially at that time of the day and with several (LAX is a summer service so I'm expecting a very busy airport at that time) other passengers connecting from the countless domestic services arriving at that time plus taking into consideration the current layout of the airport post-fire, you're up for fun: even assuming that your CDG flight arrives perfectly on time, you should add at least an extra 20 minutes (if you're lucky) between passports (gates B29-30) and bus shuttle to T3-G (AZ620 departs from satellite G), meaning that your flight will have already started boarding and this is assuming that everything goes smoothly as planned. It is also worth remembering that, even if you are entitled to Sky Priority services, you will not be able to speed things up as there are no dedicated lanes on that particular transfer from T1 to T3.

I'm sorry about the long-winded nature of the above instructions but I thought to give you plenty of information just to allow you to plan your trip in the best way possible.

Any doubts, please shout.

G

AlicorporateUK

I can't see how, though, unless they will re-open that part of the terminal which was seriously damaged during the fire. Anyway, I think I said even too much in my response so the OP will be able to make up their mind accordingly.

G

UVAhoo06

THANK YOU to you and everyone else for all this helpful info! I really, really appreciate it. I will definitely reconsider this itinerary and see if there's any way to extend my connection time in FCO.

On another note, I'm thinking about flying from CMN to VCE via FCO. Would you say that anything under 60 mins for this connection is too little? I wish AZ would publish MCTs that are actually feasible!

AlicorporateUK

That could be a different story because you will be connecting on to a domestic flight (I often see passengers appearing 10 minutes before engines' start-up) and, in case of a significant delay affecting your onward connection, chances are that you will be escorted to your next gate by an AZ agent. In a nutshell, I'd go for that even with 40 minutes between flights.

G

UVAhoo06

Ah! Interesting! Maybe I'll do that, then. FCO -- fascinating place to transit

AlicorporateUK

@UVAhoo06 - Note that there is a 7AM flight (operated by AZ) arriving FCO at 9AM, you could perhaps try to see whether DL will sell you the above mentioned itinerary with that particular service out of CDG instead of the AF flight. The only (yet potentially crucial) issue is that you will very likely be arriving at a remote stand (i.e. bus to the terminal), meaning basically that you will step in to T1 while the AF 320/1 will have already got its cargo doors open.

G

KLouis

Well, I wrote "Assuming......you can walk airside": You never know with Italian scheduling of public (and private) works; I am an optimistic person!

Though in this particular case, I guess that the best solution is, Delta permitting, to skip FCO and to fly CDG-LAX.

AlicorporateUK

Indeed

G

nldogbert

Hi,

Anyone know if I will be able to make a 45 min connection @ FCO for the LIN flight is doable?

Currently I have a flight (from the HKT special price) where I have nearly 2 hours layover, and I want to get the earlier flight to LIN since I am now booked on the last flight out of FCO and arriving close to midnight @ LIN.

If possible, I will try and change it already when I am in MAD.

Cheers!

AlicorporateUK

Am I correct in understanding that you will be arriving from MAD?

G

nldogbert

Yes, will be arriving around 20.20 and I saw that the next flight to LIN leaves at 21.00.

Cheers!