timid_trnchcoat

Thanks!! ^

EWRTravelers

A follow up question We are looking to book the following:

JFK > GRU TAM Arriving 6:35 AM (Business Class)
GRU > FLN TAM Departing 8:00 AM

FLN > GRU TAM Departs 7:53PM / Arrives 9:05 PM
GRU > EWR United Departs 11 pm (Business)

It looks as though we have around 90 mins to connect on the inbound and 2 hours on the outbound. We are only in Brazil for a long weekend so ideally we will not be checking luggage. Are our connections too tight? If need be - would TAM check our luggage through JFK > GRU > FLN even though two seperate tickets?

SoCal

When you say "are booking," do you mean you are considering this itinerary or have already bought the tickets, in which case whether you have enough time seems a moot point. I would not book the inbound flight, and would have some hesitation on the outbound.

-When you arrive at GRU, you'll have to go through Immigration (lines could be short, or long), go through Customs (no need to fill out a form if you have nothing to declare, though you can get pulled aside for a random check), then go to the transit desk outside the secure zone, stand in line for TAM, get your boarding pass, then go upstairs and go through security and go to your flight. 90 mins. possible (assuming your inbound flight is on time), but tight.

-On the outbound, not quite as bad, but, even if all tickets are booked together, you need to exit the secure zone, go to the United check-in counter, show your passport, etc., then go to the gate to international flights, go through government passport control (and hand in the form you filled out upon arrival), then go through security, and go to your gate. Boarding should start over 30 mins. before departure. Again, doable if your arriving flight is on time, and IMHO not as tight as 90 mins. upon arrival, but a little tight.

Not having checked bags will save some time upon arrival (the wait for bags can be long), but not upon departure (your bags would be transferred to the United flight, even if you need to go to the UA counter to check-in).

You don't say what your other options might be.

EWRTravelers

Thanks SoCal - appreciate the feedback. The other option are 4-5+ layovers in GRU.

Deimos

Reading this thread has me a bit worried. I've been booked through GRU by our travel agent, and while my connection when coming to Brazil is quite long (3+ hours) the connection on the return is much tighter. My flights are the following:

Gol from GYN to GRU, arriving at 17:35 (terminal 1).
Lufthansa from GRU to FRA, departing at 18:40 (terminal 2).
In other words, my connection time is only 1 hour 5 minutes.

I'm assuming that it is a legal connection time since the travel agent made the reservation, but what from what I'm reading here it sounds like I'm basically not going to have any chance of making the connection in time. Is it correct that I'm screwed here, or is my connection possible?

neuromancer

It is possible, if there are no delays. If it is on one ticket, it's OK, as the airline will provide alternatives/ accommodation if you miss the flight. With separate tickets, I'd never do that.

Deimos

Thanks for the reply. Yes it is one ticket, so I'll make it home eventually even if I'm delayed. Good to know it is at least possible to make it though.

qfrodo

Since it is one ticket, then I would presume you can also check any luggage all the way through. That way you would not have to wait for it at GRU.

If your GYN flight arrives at the gate at 17:35, you need to realize it will take some time for the jetway to be mated, then passengers off loaded. I think even with one ticket you will still need to go to Lufthansa's check-in counters for a boarding pass. Either way, I believe you then will need to go through security and passport control. I do this when connecting from domestic TAM to United. On the positive side, you can move between the terminal fairly easily.

The point is that the 1 hour and 5 minutes can disappear quite rapidly. Not sure how many flights per day Lufthansa has, but you might want to research possible alternatives should you not make the connection.

Deimos

No later flights on LH, but TAM has a later flight that is a codeshare with LH and would be an option.

SoCal

Both points are true (at least in our experience, on 4 or 5 occasions involving both TAM and Gol and various non-Brazilian carriers). If one misses the connection, the second airline would be the one to talk to about options. Whether or not they'd put OP on a TAM flight I really don't know (even if seats available).

Jhensley1607

I've been through GRU several times, and my shortest time through passport control has been 15 minutes, with it usually closer to an hour. I try and have at least two hours between connections, and have barely made it most times.

Deimos

Is there any special service for passengers with short connections?

sonomawine

Interesting-- I am trying to get AA to ticket MIA-GRU-SCL with a 65 minute connection and they say the MCT in GRU is 75 minutes. Both flights are on Tam.

Deimos

Well they are correct, MCT for JJ-JJ international to international is 75 minutes so probably no way around that unless you want to split the ticket or something which would probably be quite risky.

SoCal

Of course, there would have to be available seats on the later fight.