SFO Connection
Dec 9, 2002 | 1:21 am
#4
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: From and of Boston.
Posts: 4,973
It's about a 10-minute walk from the AA gates at SFO to the CX check-in counter in the international terminal. Add to that the time it takes to exit from the plane (in first, less than 2 minutes; in the back of the plane, 10-15 minutes). CX closes check-in in SFO about 30-35 mins before departure, and you are required to be at the gate 20 mins before departure time.
Checked luggage is, obviously, another story. If you have a legal connection, then your luggage is supposed to make it.
So, if your JFK-SFO flight is on-time, and if there is little or no delay in accessing the gate (for example, not having to wait 10-15 mins while another plane closes up and gets pushed back), you'll be fine. OTOH, if there's weather in JFK (in January) that slows down traffic (for example, if you need de-icing), or if the weather limits runway usage or departure gaps (you'd be leaving JFK around 6pm, the very busiest time of day), you can spend the day fretting.
Then again, it might be a fine day in New York, your flight lands in SFO just when it's supposed to, and you get the fateful announcement that the gate is occupied and "it'll be just a few minutes while they close up the outgoing aircraft and push it back."
Overall, it is true that you'll make the connection many more times than not. It's up to you whether the uncertainty is worth the time saved (compared to taking an earlier flight).
Checked luggage is, obviously, another story. If you have a legal connection, then your luggage is supposed to make it.
So, if your JFK-SFO flight is on-time, and if there is little or no delay in accessing the gate (for example, not having to wait 10-15 mins while another plane closes up and gets pushed back), you'll be fine. OTOH, if there's weather in JFK (in January) that slows down traffic (for example, if you need de-icing), or if the weather limits runway usage or departure gaps (you'd be leaving JFK around 6pm, the very busiest time of day), you can spend the day fretting.
Then again, it might be a fine day in New York, your flight lands in SFO just when it's supposed to, and you get the fateful announcement that the gate is occupied and "it'll be just a few minutes while they close up the outgoing aircraft and push it back."
Overall, it is true that you'll make the connection many more times than not. It's up to you whether the uncertainty is worth the time saved (compared to taking an earlier flight).