HELP ! 2 Hours between flights @ JFK ?

I%26#39;m about to book flights with Delta from Manchester UK to Seattle. We fly to JFK first then on to Seattle but we only have 2 hours between the flights

Do you think this is sufficient time to clear immigration etc ?? I would be arriving about 14.30 leaving again at 16.30 on a Saturday afternoon

Cheers

HELP ! 2 Hours between flights @ JFK ?

Hard call - do you have any choices? Is there a later flight?

If your flight from Manchester arrives on time, its very likely. Saturday is probably a lighter day at Immigration than a Sunday or Monday would be - but it all depends on how many planes arrive at the same time - and many/most? of the flights from Europe/UK come in about that time of day.

A key thing to make sure of is that the airlines (if you%26#39;re not on same one all the way to Seattle) have a ticketing agreement so that your bag can be tagged to Seattle when you check in at Manchester. You still have to collect your bag at JFK and go through customs, but you can probably recheck it right at customs and proceed to the gate for the next flight (after probably going through security again). I%26#39;m pretty sure all airlines allowed to fly into the US have ticketing agreements with one another.

HELP ! 2 Hours between flights @ JFK ?

No, I don%26#39;t think it%26#39;s enough time but others will disagree. I%26#39;ve been reading that one of the reasons airlines sell flights with tight connections is they say they have to because so many people will buy tickets based on how long the trip will supposedly take. If you don%26#39;t make the connection, the trip will take even longer. On time arrivals are not typical at any of the NY airports. You should find the website that tracks arrival performance.

This website with tips on avoiding delays

http://hffo.cuna.org/1243T3/article/1439/html

says:

Get in the habit of looking at different hubs before you buy tickets. For example, check out www.avoiddelays.com, a Web site from the National Air Traffic Controllers, Washington, D.C. It recently reported that Philadelphia International Airport, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, and JFK International Airport in New York were among the country%26#39;s worst for delays, having about 40% of flights running behind.

The most important part of the decision to book or not is what happens if you miss the connection? Is there another JFK to Seattle flight that day? Is it on the same airline? Are you buying the tickets all from Delta on one itinerary or from a 3rd party website.

Should you miss the connection due to weather or other delays from the first flight, you need to know what responsibiltiy the airline has. Will you be forced to buy a new ticket? That could get pricey.

Looking on kayak.com I see many other flight options that seem cheaper than Delta so not sure why you picked that one. Many of the other options involve transfer in Chicago. Not sure whether that%26#39;s better or worse than JFK, but it somehow makes more sense to me.

If everything lines up correctly than 2 hours works. BUT if there is one snafu anyplace you could be in trouble. I would look for a bigger layover.

For me I would write it off as airport time. Buy some magazines, eat some food. I don%26#39;t think that amount of time betwen flights will give you any visitation time outside of the airport without risk of being late for your flight.

Thanks for your help guys

Had a rethink and its fours hour in Philly now

Thanks again

When I booked tickets that involved a transfer in JFK, 2 hour transfer times kept coming up. The travel agent was quite happy to encourage me to take them - despite the fact they were both late afternoon departures from JFK, so to miss would probably have meant an overnight stop. I am not confident that DCA would have put us up in a hotel.

When I read your mail, I was so glad that I pushed for a 4 hour gap. My family may well grumble if we are not delayed, but I am a bit anal when it comes to travelling times.

The 2 hour between flights is typical, but why do travel agents encourage it when it is so chancey?

Not just the travel agents - the airlines themselves. I%26#39;m looking at a few Central America trips now that involve connections and the airlines%26#39; sites keep coming back with 1 hour 30 through Houston, where you always need a minimum of 3 hours.