I would not worry about 2.5 hours, though I have not seen the immigration lines that early in the day. But I can't imagine them to be that bad, to make 2.5 hours impossible. If you are running very late and time is getting tight talk to the people guiding the lines, they will probably help you to the front of the line.

Thank you for the reply. The only reason the time has me a little worried is because I was in Seoul last November, and our plane arrived at 6 am. We encountered an absolutely horrendous jam at the immigration line. Took us about an hour and a half from the end of the line until we got cleared. I'm just a little paranoid from that experience, I guess.

U’ll b very fine. Chances are that your flight is the earliest few flights arriving into kix. In those cases i can gerenally go thru immigration and customs in 15 minutes, when i fly cx566.

Airport: NRT
Arriving on: TG676 @ 15:50 in F
Departing on: NH006 @17:00 IN F
Connection time: 1:10
All booked as a single ticket with UA miles

Hi everyone, I’m traveling BKK-NRT-LAX-SFO in December. A little nervous about the tight connection at Narita. Should I be worried or looking at another itinerary? Reason for double connect was to grab award space.

There is absolute no need to worry. 1h 10m is more than plenty in NRT for a single ticket connection. I would expect that you even have time for a quick lounge stop.
All you will need is a quick transit security, and you are on your way to the next flight. TG generally sends staff to assist F passengers with connections in NRT and HND.

I am flying out of Toronto on AC5 arriving at Tokyo Haneda Apt (HND) Mon Apr 16 at 15:35
I want to take a JAL Japan Explorer Pass flight straight to Osaka right after I land.

I am thinking of taking this connecting JAL flight:
17:30 Tokyo(HND)
18:35 Osaka(ITM)

Will the 115 mins be enough to pick up baggage, go through customs, drop off, shuttle to domestic?
I was advised by the JAL rep to take the one an hour later (18:30) which gives me 175 mins but I do want to get to Osaka ASAP.

Thanks!

EDIT - I misread the arrival airport in your post. Sorry.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bino3005 (Post 29540291) I am flying out of Toronto on AC5 arriving at Tokyo Haneda Apt (HND) Mon Apr 16 at 15:35 I want to take a JAL Japan Explorer Pass flight straight to Osaka right after I land. I am thinking of taking this connecting JAL flight: 17:30 Tokyo(HND) 18:35 Osaka(ITM) Will the 115 mins be enough to pick up baggage, go through customs, drop off, shuttle to domestic? I was advised by the JAL rep to take the one an hour later (18:30) which gives me 175 mins but I do want to get to Osaka ASAP. Thanks!

Welcome to FT bino
I would say that your transit with an airport change from NRT airport to HND airport is just about impossible in 115 minutes.

There are flights from NRT to Osaka. (Air Canada shares Terminal 1 with ANA, so that's your best connection to Osaka). Are you aware of all options to get to your destination? There are two airports in Osaka and another one in Kobe. Trains are also a good option. If you want to get to downtown Osaka, you could take the train. Journey time is 3.5 hours from NRT.

AC f light 5 does as OP state go to Haneda. Not to Narita. No change of airports.

That being said, I will agree with JAL that 115 minutes is very tight, and should not be recommended. If all goes well, it can be done, but the room for delay and error is more than just slim.. I would take the later option if it was me.

Ooops. Sorry. I wasn't paying attention.
If I had to make a 115 minute connection from HND International to HND T1 (JAL Terminal) I'd avoid checking luggage. Its doable. Domestic flights from HND allow check in up to 20 minutes before departure, I think. That said, I would probably opt for the ANA departure at 6pm.
Depending on where the OP actually wants to go, the train may be worth considering, although the cost is higher than a discounted flight. You can get to downtown Osaka within three hours and the departures from Shinagawa are extremely frequent - every six minutes or so - so you won't be hanging around waiting.

I've read other posts online that the transfer is relatively quick and some people say it's okay even in 90 mins?
What's the part that takes long? Customs? Baggage Transfer?

Thanks for the response!

I don't think that the JAL Explorer counts as a single ticket connection, i.e. you don't get the benefit of airline support in terms of delayed inbound, nor your connection being protected.

On an ideal arrival, I would say I am through Haneda from wheels down to waiting for the monorail in 30 minutes. That is based on using automated passport lanes and having JAL F tags on my bags. But if you land on a bad day at runway 05 you can add another 20 minutes of taxiing to that. The domestic check in counter in the International terminal accepts baggage until 45 minutes before departure.

​​​​​​As I wrote it can be done, in 115 minutes. If it was a single ticket connection with the benefits that provides, or if the explorer pass counts that way, I would do it. But if you carry the risk of the connection my recommendation would be leave some extra time. The JAL Explorer Pass tickets are not flexible
​​​​​​

Thanks for the reply!

So I have 2 big luggages so that's why I think it's more convenient to fly vs trying to go to different stations and taking bullet train? Unless I am wrong.
How much time does having luggages add to the 115min window?

Would it have made a difference if I took ANA Explorer Pass instead of JAL? Is ANA easier to get to?

Like this flight, is this better?

ANA

To Itami 18:00-19:10

Nonstop 1h25m