Originally Posted by EJS464

My parents who live in Los Angeles booked business class award tickets to EZE with the return EZE - JFK and now find themselves needing to purchase a separate ticket from JFK to LAX. I have looked at changing the award tickets so that they include a return all the way to LAX but the saver award to any US gateway is no longer available around their planned travel dates and they do not have enough miles to make the change to a standard award ticket.

They do not have GE (and are not planning on getting it) or any status with AA and they will be checking bags. I have one single personal experience on NZ who connected two separate reservations at check in (ADL-AKL to AKL-LAX) so that the bags were checked through to the final destination with boarding passes issued for all flights. Although I am hopeful that AA might be able to do that during the check-in at EZE, I am not counting on that so worst case scenario is immigration, get bags, customs, check in for JFK - LAX, security, to the gate.

EZE-JFK arrives at 7:33 AM and I can find JFK-LAX options at 10:00 AM or noon. The almost 2h 30m connection to the 10:00 AM flight is reasonably above the 1h 45m MCT but I have no sense of JFK immigration, customs, and security lines since I have never traveled through JFK that way. Looking for some feedback from regular JFK travelers as to the relative risk of booking the 10:00 AM flight in this scenario versus having a planned 4h 30m connection by booking the noon flight. Traveling in March and arriving JFK on a Thursday morning if that has any relevance to an answer.

Thanks in advance for any insight.

Originally Posted by EJS464

My parents who live in Los Angeles booked business class award tickets to EZE with the return EZE - JFK and now find themselves needing to purchase a separate ticket from JFK to LAX. I have looked at changing the award tickets so that they include a return all the way to LAX but the saver award to any US gateway is no longer available around their planned travel dates and they do not have enough miles to make the change to a standard award ticket.

They do not have GE (and are not planning on getting it) or any status with AA and they will be checking bags. I have one single personal experience on NZ who connected two separate reservations at check in (ADL-AKL to AKL-LAX) so that the bags were checked through to the final destination with boarding passes issued for all flights. Although I am hopeful that AA might be able to do that during the check-in at EZE, I am not counting on that so worst case scenario is immigration, get bags, customs, check in for JFK - LAX, security, to the gate.

EZE-JFK arrives at 7:33 AM and I can find JFK-LAX options at 10:00 AM or noon. The almost 2h 30m connection to the 10:00 AM flight is reasonably above the 1h 45m MCT but I have no sense of JFK immigration, customs, and security lines since I have never traveled through JFK that way. Looking for some feedback from regular JFK travelers as to the relative risk of booking the 10:00 AM flight in this scenario versus having a planned 4h 30m connection by booking the noon flight. Traveling in March and arriving JFK on a Thursday morning if that has any relevance to an answer.

Thanks in advance for any insight.

Originally Posted by EJS464

My parents who live in Los Angeles booked business class award tickets to EZE with the return EZE - JFK and now find themselves needing to purchase a separate ticket from JFK to LAX. I have looked at changing the award tickets so that they include a return all the way to LAX but the saver award to any US gateway is no longer available around their planned travel dates and they do not have enough miles to make the change to a standard award ticket.

They do not have GE (and are not planning on getting it) or any status with AA and they will be checking bags. I have one single personal experience on NZ who connected two separate reservations at check in (ADL-AKL to AKL-LAX) so that the bags were checked through to the final destination with boarding passes issued for all flights. Although I am hopeful that AA might be able to do that during the check-in at EZE, I am not counting on that so worst case scenario is immigration, get bags, customs, check in for JFK - LAX, security, to the gate.

EZE-JFK arrives at 7:33 AM and I can find JFK-LAX options at 10:00 AM or noon. The almost 2h 30m connection to the 10:00 AM flight is reasonably above the 1h 45m MCT but I have no sense of JFK immigration, customs, and security lines since I have never traveled through JFK that way. Looking for some feedback from regular JFK travelers as to the relative risk of booking the 10:00 AM flight in this scenario versus having a planned 4h 30m connection by booking the noon flight. Traveling in March and arriving JFK on a Thursday morning if that has any relevance to an answer.

Thanks in advance for any insight.

Originally Posted by gq_dq

On a Sunday in Feb, arriving into JFK on Caribbean Airlines scheduled at 1:20 PM. Does it make sense for me to book a SEPARATE domestic ticket on AA dep JFK 3:40 PM? That will give me 2:20 to make the change. Haven't done border entry into JFK for a while so don't know how long it might take. It will be easy to have checked in online for the AA flight so will have BP and go straight to gate. I believe I arrive into T4 and the AA flight departs from T8.

Originally Posted by gq_dq

Only that one from JFK that day to CVG.

I have ticketed the LGA-CVG at 8:10 PM using BA Avios because there are only a 2:24 PM from LGA to CVG and a 3:10 PM to DAY both of which I will obviously not make.

I suppose I could book the JFK-CVG and cancel the 8:10 PM I am booked on.

Originally Posted by TravellingSalesman

​​​​​​Obviously that safety net would cost 7.5k avios but depending on your balance that may be worth it.

Originally Posted by gq_dq

7,500 Avios is not a big issue. But just as an aside since this is the completely wrong forum for this, if I actually make it on the JFK flight, what's the cancellation policy for BA Avios anyway? Anytime before flight departure? That way I might just get back my 7,500 for the LGA flight. If it's like Delta which is 48 hours before, then I'll just forget the 7.5k.

Originally Posted by Global321

Flying tomorrow on separate ITN...

CLT-JFK (AA) - booked via AA
JFK-DOH (QR) - booked via AY, separate ITN.

We are checked in/pre-check to JFK. 5-hour layover in JFK. Plan to hang at the new FC lounge.

"Checked in" to DOH, but do not have BPs. Printout says to go to check-in counters no later than 2 hours before scheduled departure. We have no plans to exit security just to pick up BPs.

Can AA at FCL do check-in for QR? Anyone have experience here?

(Did a search in this thread and did not find an answer.)

Originally Posted by flyerCO

You can get it at the gate. You only need to check at least 2 hours if you're needing to go to the ticketing desk. The QR contracted staff leave to go work the flight at a certain point. Thus there no one to check you in. I just did this a week ago. Came in on AA from LAX with 1.5hr layover before QR flight. Gate simply issued BPS and checked me in no issues.

BTW Which QR flight are you on? The evening flight departs from T8. However the morning flight departs from T7. Thus if the morning you do need to check in at the front counter to get BP.

Originally Posted by Global321

Thank you.

We are on the evening flight tonight, sitting in the FCL now. Called QR before seeing your response and received the same response - ignore the "two-hour" requirement, do NOT go back out past security (their advice ) and go to the gate a little early to pick up boarding passes.