Nervous about traveling

[AliciaD496]

I've asked this over at the ifly forums but my post doesn't seem to show up, so I thought I'd see what people here have to say. I'm flying home tomorrow so I don't have a lot of time to wait either.

I'm flying home to Seattle from studying abroad in Grenada. I'm making a connection in Miami and Dallas on the way home.

American Airlines in its infinite wisdom has given me a little over 90 minutes to clear customs, security and recheck my bags in Miami. My flight arrives at 12:23 pm and my connection to Dallas leaves at 2:00 pm. According to them it's a legal connection. From what I've heard MIA is a bit like Mos Eisley and it's a crap shoot how long it will really take to get through customs on any given day and if you do need assistance or miss your connection the agents on site aren't going to be much help.

I've traveled alone abroad before but I've always had plenty of time to clear customs or I've had a direct flight back to SEA. What happens if you do miss your connections? My Dad says rather than wait in line at the counter it's best to call reservations on the phone, is that true?

I know there are at least two other options to get Seattle including a direct from MIA to SEA that leave much later than the DFW flight, so as long as there are seats I don't think I'll be stuck in Miami.

Thanks for any advice you can give me!

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

It couldn't hurt to give them a call. That's the best option I can think of. I usually fly United, but they've always been able to reaccommodate me. I'm sure American can help as well.


Although if you are at the airport and have already missed a connection, I'd try the customer service counter at that point.

 

[MacLeod]

It's always worth asking the question do you need to collect your case or will it be directly transferred to your next flight. Though when I flew with AA and had to transfer at O'Hare I had to collect my case and take it to the transfer location they had just outside customs. Though different airport so it might not be the same

 

[Kestra]

I've asked this over at the ifly forums but my post doesn't seem to show up, so I thought I'd see what people here have to say. I'm flying home tomorrow so I don't have a lot of time to wait either.

I'm flying home to Seattle from studying abroad in Grenada. I'm making a connection in Miami and Dallas on the way home.

American Airlines in its infinite wisdom has given me a little over 90 minutes to clear customs, security and recheck my bags in Miami. My flight arrives at 12:23 pm and my connection to Dallas leaves at 2:00 pm. According to them it's a legal connection. From what I've heard MIA is a bit like Mos Eisley and it's a crap shoot how long it will really take to get through customs on any given day and if you do need assistance or miss your connection the agents on site aren't going to be much help.

I've traveled alone abroad before but I've always had plenty of time to clear customs or I've had a direct flight back to SEA. What happens if you do miss your connections? My Dad says rather than wait in line at the counter it's best to call reservations on the phone, is that true?

I know there are at least two other options to get Seattle including a direct from MIA to SEA that leave much later than the DFW flight, so as long as there are seats I don't think I'll be stuck in Miami.

Thanks for any advice you can give me!

The first time I travelled internationally by myself ended up being a nightmare. I was an adult and it was still incredibly frustrating. I had a flight from Switzerland to France, then France to Chicago. The first flight was delayed so I got into France late. The customs line was ridiculous, and I knew I would miss my flight. I kept telling this to the officers and they kept saying it would be fine.

It wasn't. I got through immigration, and at the next security check someone took me more seriously and tried to rush me through. I still missed my flight. At that point, a woman with the airlines asked me to wait nearby. It was maybe 20 minutes before she said she could get me on a flight to Washington, and from there to Chicago. I didn't even know if she meant Washington the state or Washington D.C. but I figured I'd rather be in either than staying in France overnight, since it would be simpler. So I said yes, got on the flight (turned out to be D.C.)

Of course that flight was a little late and I had almost no time to make my connection. I once again had to go through customs, baggage claim, then recheck my bag. I remember there were a ton of us standing at the security check knowing we were probably going to miss our flights.

I got through security and just remember running up the stairs and through the terminal. It was legitimately like something out of a movie when I ran up to the gate (they had already boarded) and I was waving my ticket saying "Please wait! I need to get on that plane!"

They actually let me on and I think the most miraculous part is that my luggage actually arrived with me.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

If anyone here is skittish about booking trips that have too long a layover (to guard against missing a connection), and don't particularly relish the thought of spending several hours in places like O'Hare, I have a suggestion: Get a United Club pass. You'll be glad you did.

Makes even the worst airports bearable. And, considering what you get out of it - free food, free Internet, free drinks - let me just repeat that, FREE DRINKS - they're not too terribly expensive.

(American Airlines has their own version, they call it the Admirals Club. Delta's version is called SkyClub. Southwest doesn't have one.)

 

[MacLeod]

I've spend a few hours waiting for a connection at O'Hare. And as I can't sleep when travelling it was a long day from when I set off to when I finally arrived at my final destination.

 

[AliciaD496]

Good news! Everything went about smoothly as possible. I even beat the bags to the collection carousel. I'm waiting on my flight to DFW now, which just started boarding. Had a little trouble getting to the airport (the taxi I had arranged never showed). Thankfully a campus security guy took pity on the little person dragging 100 lbs of luggage and gave me a ride on his way to the main campus. Got me there with plenty of time.

 

[MacLeod]

Good to hear, safe flight.