Minimum connection time at Madrid?
 

Looking for some advice from regulars connecting through Madrid. I'm looking at a 45-minute connection between an arriving American Airlines flight and a connection on Iberia Express/Air Nostrum. I wouldn't have any checked luggage. I fear that's too short , but the next connection is 5 hours later ... so I wanted to confirm before committing to that. Any advice?

If hand baggage only, and the flight is on time, you should be able to make it. That said, you'll need to keep moving quickly and have almost no contingency for delays. You have to clear immigration in T4S, transfer to T4 via a people mover, and then potentially have a long walk in T4 to reach your outbound gate, particularly if departing on a Nostrum regional jet. Gates for the latter are located at the very end of the T4 terminal, via apron walkway, not airbridge.

From Iberia:
[...] the entire process requires a time of between 20 and 30 minutes, so we recommend you don’t linger in the transit area. [...]

http://www.iberia.com/us/fly-with-ib...d/?language=en

What's your appetite for risk, and what's your back-up plan if your inbound is late?

Apparently they changed MCT to make that a technically legal connection, it's still very risky.

One thing I would say is that after arriving the AA flight, move very quickly (run if you have to) to passport control. Then take the lift down to the transit rather than the escalators. 30 seconds slower can be the difference of waiting an extra 5 minutes or so for the next transit to T4 Main.

All of that said a slight delay will make any effort you make meaningless.

In my experience with similar connections, boarding for AirNostrum in Madrid starts usually later than mainline flights (relative to departure time) - even if they still manage to depart mostly on-time. The bad part is that the gates that AirNostrum uses are at the edge of T4, so it takes quite a while to get there compared to normal Iberia flights departing from gates in the middle of T4.

I have ran many times from T4S to T4 K98 with that kind of short connection, and most of the times I have had to wait several minutes for the boarding to start.

If the flights are on the same ticket, then you'd be protected in the event of a mis-connect. So by all means aim for the short connection.

If you are planning on separate tickets, I would suggest that the risk is too high. Of course a short connection can be done, but if you miss it, you will probably have to buy another ticket onwards.

Seems too short, even without luggage. If you are arriving on a International flight, you could be looking at a 20 minutes walk to the Air Nostrum gate.
Check with Iberia to confirm but last time I had a flight possibility through MAD of 1H15 layover they wouldn't let me do it.

The minimum connection time is officially 45-55mins. They sell many connections of that length, with varying success of making them.

Hi all,

I also have an option of a 55 minute connection, Iberia from JFK to MAD, to Air Nostrum MAD to TLS. It would be on a single ticket, no luggage.

Has anyone done this in the last 18 months, or have any advice to one who might?

Thanks!

Joe

Ooops - I see another thread on the same topic, below.

Should be fine, arrivals immigration isn't too bad and there are plenty of flights to TLS should you miss yours.

I'll just jump on this thread rather than create a new one..

I'm Flying LHR-MAD-OPO and return in June. I've just noticed that the flight times have changed and the booking page is asking me to review/accept the new times. O/B trip is as follows:

IB3175 LHR-MAD arr. 14:05
IB3094 MAD-OPO dep. 15:40

As you can see I have 95 minutes. I THINK both flights are T4, I don't see T4S mentioned. Is this doable? It's all on one booking but I just wanted to make sure.

Definitely doable - by a huge margin. Yes, both flights should be in T4 (there's a chance you could arrive into / depart from T4S, but it's quite small and you have more than enough time for that anyway).

T4-T4 would involve a quick immigration control roughly as you enter the terminal, and a walk along to your next gate. That's it.

Marvellous. Thank you kindly!

First of all, I want to say hello and thanks to all the info here. I'm an occasional poster on BA flyer talk but don't think I've ever posted here on Iberia.

I have a flight from Madrid to Munich that is due to land at 2155 tonight. I would love to be able to get the 2230 from MAD to ALC but it was not available to purchase as a single ticket.

My question is this: If the plane lands on time, is there anything to stop me buying an avios flight as we're taxiing to the gate (if they are still available) and hopping on to the Alicante flight? Currently there is avios availability.

I mean, would there be any issue with conformance, or something similar? Or if I buy the ticket, check in and download the pass to my phone in time to get to the gate 20 minutes before the flight, would I be good to go.

I know there are a lot of ifs in there :)

Well, It would be quite a walk from MUC to MAD so you might have some issues there :D

I'll take it you mean from Munich to Madrid, though. And I do think the big issue would be if there is a technical problem with the IB app which is more than a fleeting possibility. Though I honestly don't know if they'd sell a flight past minimum check-in time.

It's nice to see a post based on realistic expectations. Let us know how it goes...

Of course, some people might not mind simply paying the 4,500 Avios + tax in advance and taking their chances. One of the things about IB is that they have padded schedules in order to claim good on-time performance, so on-time or early is something that you can gamble on with some confidence...

Thanks LupineChemist, and of course you're right. It's MUC-MAD tonight...

Yes, I was wondering about minimum check-in time.

And craigthemif, I'm almost with you on taking the gamble... I had been looking on BA and they only had availability in business, but I've just checked on iberia and they have economy. It's still 6,750 avios plus 32 euros, mind, so I still have a little pause for thought...

I might wait until we're boarded at MUC and press the button if it all still looks good. Agree that the usual padding in the schedules should make it very do-able.

Thanks again

I doubt you would be able to check in with under an hour to go before departure - that's the deadline mentioned on iberia.com

Thanks, BA6501!
Looks like I'll have to take the gamble at the Munich departure stage...

Just to update: this turned out to be an absolute breeze.

I waited until boarding was complete at MUC, saw we were ahead of schedule, booked the MAD-ALC flight on avios and checked in.

We ended up arriving at Madrid a few minutes early and I even had time for a brief stop in the lounge before heading all the way off to K92 (if memory serves) for the late flight to the coast.

Thanks again for the advice.

My flight from SVQ to MAD is 09:20-10:30 Terminal 4
MAD-PVG 1205-07:50+1 Terminal 4S
These are two separate tickets wit two different booking reference numbers.
Iberia won't through check bag on a separate ticket.
On time rate of flight SVQ to MAD is 86%
I have 95 minutes between two flights. Is it enough to claim bag and re-check in?
Official website suggests 55 minutes is minimum required. I wonder is it doable?
I can also do hand bag only if it would be safer to connect my flight to PVG.
Any suggestions? Thanks

Go hand luggage only.

This is very tight with luggage. Ground handling at MAD is certainly a weak point. Hand luggage only and then just get straight on the train to T4S and it should be enough assuming no delays.

HBO for sure.

I am always amazed that people are willing to risk no-showing expensive long-haul flights like this...

My choices are very limited. I have booked the earliest flight from SVQ to MAD on my departure day. There is no AVE train from Seville to Madrid Atocha station on my departure date, even the day before if I want to stay overnight. Is Mar. 5th and 6th any special holiday in Spain? There is a 06:45 flight from XRY (Jerez) to MAD. But is it worthwhile to get a taxi from Seville Santa Justa station all the way down to XRY to catch a flight?

I wasn't targetting your itinerary in particular. I would stay the night before in MAD if I couldn't put the connecting flight on the same ticket, but I get that other people might have other plans and can't be so cautious.

P.S. The problem isn't that there are no trains - it's that Renfe often doesn't release AVE seats for sale very far in advance. Right now I think only up until 3 March is for sale... Check the schedule for an earlier date to know if a train would work better.

Hi folks,

Looking at a flight that is JFK-Madrid-Barcelona. The connection is 1:15, and we will have checked bags.

I understand there are tons of flights between Madrid and Barcelona, so missing the connection should be an issue right?

Yes, if it's all on the same reservation you should definitely book the shortest one (unless, for instance, you wanted to take a shower in MAD), there are tons of flights to be rebooked on if there is a delay.

Great, thanks.

Now Im trying to figure out if theres a baggage fee?

The booking comes up as a Finnair flight operated by Iberia. Economy class fare type O. I am getting conflicting information if there is a charge or not.

I've got AGP-MAD-MAN booked for May connecting IB8809 to IB3692 and just received notification that IB8809 has been rescheduled so the connection time is now just 35 minutes (arrives 15.10, connection departs 15.45). I can't remember if MAD-MAN leaves from 4S (and I'm assuming there's no hope if it does) and I'm currently sat at the very back of the bus, so wondering if it's worth trying to find another routing?

MAN leaves from T4 main and it's doable if everything goes right. But regardless it's now under MCT so you can see if you can get an earlier flight to MAD or go with BA through LHR.

It's under MCT, you will probably be rebooked automatically in a few days when the system catches up. I'd probably call up and ask for exactly what you want, though.

Hey all,

Itinerary is as followed for me

ATL - MAD on DL
MAD - TFS on IB

I have a three hour layover between the two flights and they are on two separate tickets. If everything is on time should this be feasible? I do not carry OneWorld status and do not have expedited check-in abilities. Have never been to MAD or flown on IB before so wanted to make sure.

It should be okay if all is on time and no checked luggage.

With luggage it might be tight.

You will have to take a bus to change terminals.

Will be very tight if you check luggage and any serious delay kills your chances.

As long as you don't waste your time... and your DL flight is on time, it's doable. You only need to change terminal, to T4. There's a shuttle bus service (free) between terminals.

IB check-in time for domestic flights closes 45 min prior to departure.

Doable?
 

There’s biz award availability on Iberia’s IAD-MAD flight that arrives at 10:15am but no award availability on the Air Nostrum noon MAD-GRX. The next MAD-GRX flight is at 4:20pm. If I don’t check a bag, how doable is connecting to the noon flight on separate tickets? I’ve been to Madrid but not the airport. Thanks!

With no mobility issues and no checked bags, you'd have a decent chance of making it. You will have to clear passport control and security again.

Most importantly, just have a Plan B in case you miss the noon MAD-GRX, and book it as a one-way so no further travel is impacted by a missed flight.

If your flight lands and on-time, it's doable even with luggage.

I've recently self-connected arriving with BA at 9:55, cleared passport, T4S to T4, collected baggage and checked in for a domestic departure at 11:45. I still had 25 min to spare. I had a plan B, just in case.

With HBO it's perfectly doable. You have to clear immigration and security regardless (connecting or separate tickets).

If your IAD plane is late, then you may need a plan B.

You should not need to clear security coming from the UK, Ireland or the US. IB flights that arrive in the non-Schengen area of the T4 do not clear security when arriving (after passport control you are in the main T4 area) and my understanding is that in T4S flights from these countries if you follow connections they put you on the departures area of the T4S (and there you can clear immigration and go to the T4 if needed).

IB and IBS non-Shengen arrivals in T4 don't have to clear security.

But if you land from a non-Shengen origin in T4S and have a T4 or T4S connection, you have to go through security - there's no alternative option. (There's a small security channel next to the IB booth before immigration, for T4S connections, and there's a rather large security channel when you arrive with the train in T4, on your way up to the departure floors).