Anyone familiar with connecting through DFW to Cozumel?

[jd950]

I am flying to Coz on American Airlines, connecting through Dallas. This is not how I have gotten to Cozumel before and I have only been in the Dallas airport once before, although that was just last week.

I will have to switch terminals in Dallas and I am not sure which terminals will be involved. My usual practice on dive trips to allow at least 2 hours and often more like 3 hours for switching planes at various airports, to minimize the risk of losing my bag full of dive gear.

I was able to schedule 2 hours for the plane switch in Dallas but I just got notified by the airline of a flight change and now will have only an hour between my scheduled arrival in Dallas and my scheduled departure.

I have serious doubts about my bag making the flight from Dallas with me and am considering trying to change my flight so I get in the evening before and spend the night near the airport. There is no better same-day connection and American only flies to Cozumel once per day. If my bag doesn't go with me it would not arrive until at least the following afternoon.

So anyone here with DFW airport or even with using American going through DFW to Cozumel? Should I change and pay for a motel is an hour enough to make the plane switch in Dallas? (If it were Miami, my bag would almost certainly not make the flight)

Thanks.

Edit: I didn't think to search the topic before posting, and have now found a very similar thread from 2009. Sorry for the repeat question, but for all I know things are different there now.

 

[ggunn]

I am flying to Coz on American Airlines, connecting through Dallas. This is not how I have gotten to Cozumel before and I have only been in the Dallas airport once before, although that was just last week.

I will have to switch terminals in Dallas and I am not sure which terminals will be involved. My usual practice on dive trips to allow at least 2 hours and often more like 3 hours for switching planes at various airports, to minimize the risk of losing my bag full of dive gear.

I was able to schedule 2 hours for the plane switch in Dallas but I just got notified by the airline of a flight change and now will have only an hour between my scheduled arrival in Dallas and my scheduled departure.

I have serious doubts about my bag making the flight from Dallas with me and am considering trying to change my flight so I get in the evening before and spend the night near the airport. There is no better same-day connection and American only flies to Cozumel once per day. If my bag doesn't go with me it would not arrive until at least the following afternoon.

FWIW, when I was connecting in Houston a couple of years ago, my flight from Austin was delayed and it was only through a mad dash through the airport, changing terminals, that I barely made the HOU-CZM flight. It was nearly completely boarded when I pounded up to the counter to check in. I voiced my concern to the agent that my bags wouldn't make the transfer, but she told me that my bags had a much better chance of making the flight than I did. She was right.

By the time you finally get off the plane, your bags are already unloaded and on their way to the connection, and they go a lot more directly to the gate than you can. I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[Mike]

I have booked the same flight for June, I was not worried about it, an hour seemed to me to be plenty of time for them to get your bags on the next flight, barring anything out of the ordinary.

We always pack a swim suit, toiletries, ect in the carry on just in case.

 

[Brules]

Someone correct me if I am wrong, but DFW segments their Intl flights to one terminal at one end of the airport seperate from the rest. DFW is H U G E, but luckliy has good transportation from terminal to terminal.

Check this link out for a terminal map:

http://www.dfwairport.com/pv_obj_ca...298CF7A732B75472CC0A00/filename/p1_030463.pdf

It looks like they have a new transportation system called "Skylink" that it says pick up every 2 minutes and is 5m between terminals?

http://www.dfwairport.com/skylink/index.php

Good luck, I do not envy you changing terminals at DFW with just 1 hour.....!

Edit: It looks like Terminal D is the International flights hub, all inbound and outbound come through there. Being in the middle, you should be able to get to it pretty easy with the Skylink thing.

 

[ajtoady]

You should be fine with the time frame you stated. Most airlines try to make sure you have your bags on landing due to the problems with tracking you down in a different country. I made a ton of trips thru DFW and Houston to points in Mexico with shorter connections and never had an incident. To be on the safe side insure your items for realistic values and if nothing else have a little peace of mind. Most airline today can't afford the negative press. Enjoy your trip!!!

 

[njones259]

I have done the same flight many times and have only lost bags one time when flight was delayed at BWI.They arrived the next afternoon at around 2:00 pm at villablanca. An hour is usually plenty of time to make connection even if there is a change of terminals.

 

[azscubadude]

FWIW, when I was connecting in Houston a couple of years ago, my flight from Austin was delayed and it was only through a mad dash through the airport, changing terminals, that I barely made the HOU-CZM flight. It was nearly completely boarded when I pounded up to the counter to check in.

I have had the same thing happen in the past.. different airports and even a couple overseas trips where I have had to literally do a dead run (and I mean run) to get to the plane just as they were closing the door. I never in my wildest dreams thought my bags would get to my destination but to my amazement they were there, save and sound. And if I remember correctly this was way before bar code tags were used by the airlines, which speeds things up tremendously.

Good luck, but I'm sure you will be okay.

 

[cxg31s]

I used to live in Dallas, now live in Seattle and connect through DFW all the time. International flights go out of Terminal D so you will get off your plane, find Skylink and hop on. You may luck out, as I have in the past, and your flight will come in at Terminal D, it just depends on time of day and # of gates being used. Thanks to Skylink, it's much quicker to get between terminals than it used to be. There are 2 trains, each run 1/2 of the terminal circuit so they are constantly going back and forth. Just make sure you get on the right one, read the signs.

As for your luggage, I agree with Gordon that your bags will probably make it to the next flight before you do. If you are truly concerned about the time frame, maybe you should contact the airline and discuss your options with them. If you do decide to change your flight and stay overnight, I have some recommendations for cheap hotels with airport shuttles. But if it were me, I wouldn't change, you should be fine. Good luck!

 

[sharky60]

if everything goes competely smooth, you should make it, you will probably come in terminal A or C and will need to go to the international terminal, D.

There are shuttles that run approx. every 15 min. that run between terminals.

weather could be and issue, if you are delayed coming into Dallas, you could have a problem.

 

[kmurray719]

I've made connections in Dallas in much less time than that. The skylink runs between all terminals and comes every few minutes. The Dallas airport is set up really well and easy to navigate. I think it's taken me about 15-20 mins on average to get off the plane in terminal C and transfer to terminal D where the international flights leave from. I wouldn't worry too much about the bag not making it because of your connection time. They're pretty good about getting them off the flight and transferred quickly. You may want to check into flights to CUN and familiarize yourself with the bus/ferry process if it would make you feel better to have a back up plan.

I once had a flight come in to DFW from Coz over an hour late, leaving us with an hour to go through immigration, pick up our bags, go through customs, re-check bags, change terminals, and go through security.....we made it with enough time to grab a fast food dinner. I wouldn't recommend it, but it's possible!