Quick transfer at ARN
 

Hello,

I have a C class ticket out of Stockholm to Chicago on an upcoming weekend morning, leaving at 10:15am. It's booked as as a United Airlines codeshare.

I'll be arriving back in Stockholm that morning from either Oslo on a flight arriving at 8:45 or from Copenhagen at 9:20. This morning flight back to Stockholm will be a discounted economy ticket booked under a separate PNR.

Assuming my bags can be checked through from either Oslo or Copenhagen, do I need to worry about the relatively short transfer time at ARN? I'm concerned since the connection won't be on the same record and I imagine that I wouldn't be protected should I arrive late from Oslo or Copenhagen.

Thanks,
jsl42

Aim for the OSL if at all possible. The flight from CPH sounds more tight than you would like for a flight to USA.
Make sure to check-in (for the 2nd PNR also) before you fly from either CPH or OSL as you need to be checked in 60 minutes before departure for US flights.

SAS are pretty friendly in case of irrops, so in spite of the different PNRs, presuming you take SAS from CPH or OSL as well, I think they will be likely to assist you with a re-booking considering you are in C should the first flight be delayed. Don't take Norwegian from CPH or OSL though :)

If you arrive from Oslo, you will arrive in the same terminal (the F pier) as the gate for the ORD flight, so you will not pass any passport (or security) check, expect for gate checks of course. Hence, the actual connection time once you hit the ground will only be a few minutes. This would give you a good margin if you take the Oslo flight.
The CPH flight however, will arrive at the "inside schengen" area, which will require about 10 minutes of walk and a passport check. The ORD flight usually starts to board around 9.30 so it is really tight.
As for tagging your baggage through, i do believe it require the same PNR. But if both flights are on SK metal, a knowledgeable CI agent should be able to fix it anyway, as said SAS are usually quite friendly on this. Your UA codeshare might mess things up, though.
If you need to pick up your bags and recheck them, things will be different, but it might work with the Oslo flight. Be sure to check in directly at gardemoen though.

If possible, I think you should check in on the Internet for both flights. I believe they will be more willing to check your bags through if you already hold the boarding card for the next flight.

Not true. Flights from OSL and CPH can arrive anywhere withing terminal 5, including the F pier and including gates as far away as 15C or 16C. From 15 or 16, it's at least a 10 minute walk to the Chicago gate, plus the passport control.

The Newark flight departs 20 minutes after the Chicago flight, and the Doha QR flight departs an hour or so later on some days of the week, so the lines for passport control will sometimes be quite long.

Ok if so, i gave wrong advice. I have flewn OSL-ARN a few times and have always arrived at the F pier. From CPH, I have always arrived at the old piers (1-21). But for capacity reasons or otherwise, i guess they can change this.

The thread starter mentioned that he's flying on a weekend morning. On those mornings, many gates in F and the old B are usually taken by charter flights. In my experience, most SK flights from CPH and OSL will arrive on the old A (gates 1-10) on these mornings, with a 7-8 minute walk to F (plus passport control).

Why would the OSL flight go to the inside-Shengen piers?

Because Norway is a Schengen area member.

I have done the transit from CPH a couple of times - and even asked a similar question here once. The trick being that on weekends this is the first flight from CPH. However - you are not the only one on the CPH flight going to ORD - so just follow the crowd.


I would adwise against that - when I have done this I have been able to check- in for the CPH-ARN leg, but denied online check-in for the ARN-ORD leg. And at CPH the check-in staff the standard answer is to do a transit check-in at ARN - "As you have already checked-in". This makes the ARN transit even more tight (and in my experience the transit desk at ARN is not a place with prompt customer service). Last I insisted on that they provided us with boarding passes at CPH for both flights - and after repeated requests the check-in agent finally gave in (but only after a supervisor came around :rolleyes:)

Indeed, i was pretty sure they werent but i checked it and they do participate in the passport-less area.
This means that technically, OSL flights does not have to arrive at the F pier as i previously thought.

Thanks, all, for the insights. I'm going with the Oslo flight. Guess it will be a crapshoot whether or not we disembark on the right pier to connect to Chicago!