"Transit" through US Airports

[jimbeeler]

But on the return leg on that route, I take the AA flight from Curacao to Miami and have 2 hours and 35 minutes to connect to the return flight to London. It would be helpful if they allow me to book the luggage from Curacao to London.

This is exactly the situation I had, Curacao - Miami - DFW... The 2 1/2 hours in Miami was barely enough time to get through all the crap in Miami before boarding my flight to DFW. I think it also depends on how many other international flights are coming in at the same time and have to go through immigration/customs. My flights from Curacao - Miami - DFW were all on the same airline (American).

Good luck...

Jim

 

[sphyrnidus]

On the return trip: Why didn't you book: Curacao>Amsterdam> London. There are direct flights to Amsterdam almost every day and sometimes even from Bonaire..

 

[KeithG]

On the return trip: Why didn't you book: Curacao>Amsterdam> London. There are direct flights to Amsterdam almost every day and sometimes even from Bonaire..

Agreed! Avoid USA as a transit country if at all possible.

P.S. you may also encounter the dreaded "holding room" in Miami. One trip in the distant past we were not allowed to pass through customs, but instead were held in a transit room until our final flight to Toronto. Mot sure if they still do this. But for a 6 hour lay over it sucked.

 

[Roman_66]

Can you explain this a bit more please? BOTH the tight connections mentioned above are on the RETURN leg for that destination.
In the first case, I arrive from London to DFW, collect luggage on arrival, go through US entry formalities and spend overnight in Super 8 Grapevine near airport. I catch the flight to Los Cabos next afternoon and no tight connection problems there. It is on the return flight from Los Cabos to DFW that I have the 2-hour connection to Miami and so can I check the baggage through to MIA?
Likewise, after spending overnight in MIA Hotel, I fly from Miami to Curacao on AA (and onto Bonaire on Insel), which is straightforward with plenty of time. But on the return leg on that route, I take the AA flight from Curacao to Miami and have 2 hours and 35 minutes to connect to the return flight to London. It would be helpful if they allow me to book the luggage from Curacao to London.

Sorry, I didn't understand your itinerary at the first time. And, like other people already answered you, most likely you will need to take your luggage in connection point in US and pass it throw custom (around 200 ft) after you passed passport control. Two hours may be enough for those procedures, two and 1/2 better and three hours enough for sure.
It is very depends how many flights landed just before your flight and how fast you can run from gate to immigration control to be in front of people from your flight. Also depends how many of them US citizens (different line) and how many of remaining from "immigration friendly" countries like West Europe countries or Canada. For non-US and non-"immigration friendly" countries, passport control process much longer.
All above assuming that you don't have US passport, because if you have , line will move pretty fast and 2 hours connection should be enough.
Small tip : usually near the passport control/immigration line there is somebody who help (US/not citizens and other questions). If you will show to the person that you have less than one hour connection, in most airports (not around NY airports ) he/she will put you on the top of the line.

 

[Hintermann]

I'm afraid this is all getting a bit confusing. I'll try to explain my position again with a few more details.

- Ignoring the immaterial Curacao to Bonaire on Insel, all my flight connections through the USA in all directions will be on American Airlines.
- I am booking the tickets on-line as a "mutli-city" option. Therefore, all my AA flights will be on ONE ticket.
- Arriving from London, I would have passed through DFW with luggage, immigrations etc on the way to Los Cabos. No time problem on that leg.
- But returning from Los Cabos to DFW, I will have only 2 hours in DFW before continuing to Miami, still on AA. That is where a luggage book through from Los Cabos to Miami would help. If this is allowed, I will pick-up my luggage, do the US formalities and spend overnight in MIA.
- The next morning I am flying to Curacao and on to Bonaire. After a week in Bonaire, I return to Curacao on Insel and (with plenty of time) connect to an American Airlines flight to Miami. But following my arrival in Miami I will have 2 hours and 35 minutes in MIA to connect to the London flight and so need AA to allow me to book my luggage from Curacao to London.

So, both these tight connections are on return legs of those flights, the first time in DFW and then in MIA.

 

[KeithG]

the rules are simple. your luggage will be checked through to the final destination of each of your tickets (not flights, not itinerary). you will need to reclaim (not recheck) them during each border crossing that involves you going through customs and immigration.

determing the correlation between flights, ticket(s) and itinerary is not always obvious. especially when booking online not via a travel agent.

 

[gopbroek]

In DFW everyone entering the USA passes through immigration and customs in the ‘D’ terminal and all baggage goes onto the customs area carousel, regardless of connections. The exception is travelers from Canadian cities where you have pre-cleared immigration and customs, in Canada, and then the flight is treated as a domestic flight arrival, since (as far as the US goverment is concerned) you would have already entered the USA via the prescreening process at the Canadian airport. This means that only if you come in through Canada does the baggage get checked through, all other international passenger baggage, in DFW, must clear customs, no matter where else you are traveling onto.

The time consuming part is immigration but after the local DFW ICE personnel got busted for playing games and causing up to 5 hour delays (and a mini-riot one night), to protest the government budget fights last fall, they rolled out 30 unmanned automated Kiosks for streamlining the entry of US citizens. I have been through customs here about 15 times this year and it has greatly speeded up the process for both the citizen and non-citizen lines by freeing up ICE personnel.

After you pass through immigration you go down the escalator to the baggage carousels and grab your bags (takes about 20 minutes for the bags to transit from the plane to the carousel, I am usually waiting for my bag after immigration). After that you pass through customs which is pretty painless provided you have selected no to every question on the customs form. After you pass customs there is a baggage re-booking counter and you re-check your bags to MIA, if you are going to pick them up there or to your final destination. Then it’s up the escalator, go through TSA screening and on to your MIA flight, which could be leaving from any of three terminals. If you need to go to either the A or C terminal there is a tram on the secure side of screening that takes less than 10 minutes to get to either the A or C terminal.

Sounds really complicated but it is set up as a flow and it really goes pretty quick, 2 hours should be more than enough time, if not there are 2 more flights (7 & 8:25 PM) to MIA that AA could re-book you on.

 

[Hintermann]

Thanks gopbroek. To be on the safe side, I'll book the 7pm flight out of DFW; this gives me 3 hours and 10 minutes between flights and I reach MIA only 65 minutes later than the earlier flight. Since I'll be staying at the MIA Hotel overnight, it will not matter.

I passed through MIA this January but as I was staying in the US for a week, there was no question of booking the baggage through. But it did seem that the entry formalities went through more quickly than I expected (especially in comparison with Atlanta, the US airport I normally use for Caribbean destinations). As I have said above, in the next trip I have 2 hours and 35 minutes in MIA between the incoming AA flight from Curacao and the outgoing AA flight to London. If you think it is too tight, I can collect my luggage, complete formalities, stay overnight in Miami (perhaps the MIA again) and catch a London flight the following day.

 

[gopbroek]

I am not familiar with MIA’s procedures / time requirements (I work at DFW) but if anyone out there travels through regularly, please chime in

 

[Hintermann]

I work at DFW

Er....if I sent my flight details to you closer to the time I don't suppose you could help with speeding-up my passage through?