How long should I leave between flights?

Megan S asked:


I’m planning to fly from San Antonio to Chicago on American Airlines, then take Chicago to London on Virgin Atlantic. How long of a time should I leave between my Chicago flight and my London flight? Right now I’m booked for 1 hour & 10 min. between flights, but is this long enough?

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3 Responses to “How long should I leave between flights?”

1. jen Says:
   January 14th, 2009 at 6:52 pm

   That should be enough, especially if the airlines booked it that close. I’ve never been to Europe, but I’ve gone through customs a few times when I’ve flown to Mexico. Almost every time the layover was only about an hour. Yes, we felt rushed (couldn’t stop for something to eat, but just got something on the plane)…but we made it.

   Keep in mind that many on the same flight as you may be going on your connecting flight.

2. Melissa Says:
   January 17th, 2009 at 11:35 pm

   Yes, it should be plenty of time. Also, most flights that take off on time land a few minutes early; we’ve flown many times in the the past year and have been as much as 40 minutes early and were never late. That’s not always the case, but it’s becoming common - they schedule it that way on purpose.

   If everything goes normally, you will have enough time to get to your plane. If you do happen to be late, the flight attendants can help. They have a list of connecting flights anyway, and will sometimes call the airport to see about holding close connections. You can also talk to the agent who meets your plane at the gate, and they can sometimes get a plane held for you if necessary. But it rarely comes to that.

3. grumpy geezer Says:
   January 21st, 2009 at 8:13 am

   1:10 in Chicago is gonna be real tight if everthing is on time. American and Virgin are in different terminals. You’ll have to go throught the whole check in/boarding pass routine and security BS at the international terminal again.

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