Hi,

Longtime lurker, first time poster.

I've only flown international a few times and will be on my first to Asia soon. I booked two separate round trip flights, (ATL-NRT, and NRT-PEK), since I'm spending about a week at each destination. On the flight back from PEK to NRT I have 1.5hrs before my flight to back to ATL.

I read on previous threads on the NW boards that 1.5hrs is not a problem for the connecting flight back. Has anyone flown back from NRT experienced any increased security delay in the past month?

Also, since I booked 2 separate round trip tickets, will it be an issue to check my bags through to ATL from PEK? I'm hoping I won't have to pick up my bags from NRT and go through security again. I would just call up Delta on this question, but I have more faith in the responses here

Thanks!

I consider one hour to be realistically sufficient for NW to NW connections at NRT, especially since an on time departure of the TPAC and longer intra-Asian flights usually means than they arrive into NRT about an hour early. Passengers with tight connections are usually herded into shorter security lines at NRT. However, the gate layout could be confusing to a first-time traveler.

You should have no trouble checking your luggage through so that you don't need to see it at NRT but be sure to check that the bag is property tagged before it goes away. Try to do OLCI for both flights before going to the airport and be sure to bring paper copies of the details of both tickets with you.

It might be worth calling NW before the start of your trip to have them cross-reference the tickets in both records. If you do this, be sure that you are talking with a NW agent, not DL. Hang up and call back if needed.

In late December, the added security at NRT occurred at the gate (in particular, in the jetway), but flights did not appear to begin to board early.

The risk with the two separate tickets is that if one flght is late and you miss the other, NW is technically not responsible as they would be if it were a single ticket, but since it's the same carrier, I would expect that they would nevertheless find another flight for you, probably the following day.

An hour is a moon's age.... no problem whatsoever! I arrived at Narita by car an hour before my flight once, got hit by a DHL truck in the parking lot. Called the ambulance (for the DHL driver), the insurance company, the towing company, BMW for the repair, gave a statement to the cops and still made my flight.

I once bought a cheese and pickle sandwich & a cup of coffee for $0.49 and played Boogie Wonderland on my cassette player while enjoying them

First off, Welcome to FT, meadow!

Make sure to have NW link your two records in their system before you go. You will have plenty of time to connect. In the case that there is a problem with connecting, it is likely that there is another NRT-USA NW flight later as there are NW flights to DTW, MSP, ATL, SEA, LAX, PDX, and JFK.... all depends upon your timing.

Have a great trip.

thanks guys.

I called and the CS told me I could only link the flights at PEK for the return flight home. Guess I'll call again and see if I get a different response.

Hey meadow.. this may sound obvious but do make sure you have a printed copy of all your itineraries when you are heading home. You'll need it to have your bags checked through and you may also be asked to show it at customs in China.