minimum time between flights
I'm looking at flying from Seattle to Florence in the summer. We want only 1 stop as we don't like flying. The best fares seem to have only 1.5 hours between connecting flights. This would likely be CDG or London. Is this too short for being "relatively" sure of making our flight? Also can anyone give me a ball park figure of what it would cost to go through a travel agent to book flights. I'm getting too old for the stress!
Mary
Seattle, Washington 11/1/09
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You can also one stop throuh Frankfurt as well via Lufthansa.
Right now fares to Florence for next summer are about $1400 round trip. Fares should drop sometime about 90 days before you travel. Use a web site like yapta.com or farecast.com to watch fares and then buy as soon as they drop.
90 minutes is plenty of time to change planes in either gateway city. You will usually arrive in the early morning. And there will be several flights that day to Florence if you happen to be late arriving.
I don't think 90 minutes is "plenty of time" in either CDG or Heathrow. It may be enough time, just, if your flight arrives on time, etc., etc., but it would call for some hustle bustle on your part.
I'm with Norma. Depending on where your incoming and outgoing gates are located, you might have to really move to get to your next flight, particularly if you have to reclaim and recheck your bag. I had about that space of time connecting in Miami, and by the time we reclaimed our bags, rechecked (even though it was at a special area on our way), and walked what seemed like miles to our next gate, we barely made it in 90 minutes.
If you have checked bags, you will need to retrieve them first before clearing customs and immigration, and only then will the bags be re-checked to your final destination. You can save a lot of time by traveling with carry-on only.
I use a travel agent when I travel for work, and often use her for personal travel, too, especially if I am trying to do something unusual like book a later connecting flight when I think the transit time is too little; or taking an overnight in the transit city before moving on, etc. 25 to 50 dollars a ticket is pretty standard, I think. To me it's worth it to have someone who can run interference for you if things go wrong.
Jer, that would be correct on a domestic flight within France or within UK for their respective airports.
That would only apply to flights to Florence if they are changing planes in Rome.
Bags do not have to be retrieved and rechecked if transiting to another international flight at either airport.
All passengers will go through passport control, however at their transiting airport.
If you are booked on one ticket, your bags will be checked through to Florence. If your first flight is late, causing you to miss your connection, the airline will be responsible for getting you on the next available flight to Florence.
I wouldn't fly through Heathrow with anything less than a 2 hour window. There are too many potential choke-points, from landing, to being transported to your terminal (Heathrow uses a slow, ineffecient bus system) to the long security check point everyone has to go through before transiting.
We made a one-hour connection in Frankfurt this summer, but just barely. We had to go through 2 security checks and ride a train to another terminal. We were traveling with our 2 small kids, which slowed us down on one hand, but we did get ushered through to the short line in security since we had a kid in a stroller. You won't have to get your bags when you connect in Europe, so don't worry about that.
That being said, it is awfully early to be booking flights for next summer. When it's getting around springtime and the best fares still have the short connection, then grab them. But there's lots that can happen with the fares between now and then.
In my opinion, 2 hours is the minimum time to change planes in Heathrow or CDG. I really would like 3. I have been in two security checks at both airports and that can eat up time really fast.
When I started using my electric scooter, I opt for 4 hours or more. It has taken me as long as 2 hours to just get through security in CDG. The French do not like electric scooters going to the plane door.