Indirect Flights

MrsTigger

<font color=green>DLRP board....guaranteed to make
Joined
Sep 7, 2008
Hi,
We are looking for flights for September next year. Direct flights seem silly money at the moment so considering Virgin/ Delta indirect on the way out via Atlanta and on the way back via NY. We have always gone direct in the past.
We will have a 3yr old and a fair amount of luggage as we are getting married in Florida. Are we mad?

How does is work flying via these destinations, do we have move are luggage ourselves? Do we do pre clearance before we get to Orlando? Is an 1hr 1/2 between flights long enough?
Just interested generally to hear people's experience to help us make up our minds.
TIA
 
We flew indirect in August this year with a 5 and a 2 year old, 3 suitcases, 2 car seats, 4 pieces of hand luggage and a double buggy!

You have to pick up your luggage in your first landing point in the US, clear customs and immigration and then there was a connection lane where we dropped our luggage again and cleared security to go to the gate to our next flight.

We did it in about and hour and ten but this was at Philadelphia but I’d do it again without hesitation, in fact next years flights are indirect too!
 
Hi,
We are looking for flights for September next year. Direct flights seem silly money at the moment so considering Virgin/ Delta indirect on the way out via Atlanta and on the way back via NY. We have always gone direct in the past.
We will have a 3yr old and a fair amount of luggage as we are getting married in Florida. Are we mad?

How does is work flying via these destinations, do we have move are luggage ourselves? Do we do pre clearance before we get to Orlando? Is an 1hr 1/2 between flights long enough?
Just interested generally to hear people's experience to help us make up our minds.
TIA
We’ve booked that exact route for Easter next year. Hoping it works out for us ok!
 
Ive no advice for you but wanted to say Hello Mrs Tigger and Congratulations :flower1:
 


We've flown the Atlanta route many times and it's straightforward. The plane train will take you between terminals and it's very easy to navigate. We always leave three hours between flights just to be on the safe side. We really like landing in Orlando and not having to deal with immigration.
 
I'm very much someone who plays on the safe side with lay overs and will always have a minimum of 3 hours. We had a 3 and a half hour lay over at Los Angeles on our honeymoon and only just made our flight due to a 1 hour delay at Heathrow, 1 hour delay on the tarmac at lax due to dodgy parking of the plane then clearing immigration and changing terminals! Nightmare!!! Just make sure you have enough time in case of unexpected delays
 
Try flying from Dublin to the USA
Not only is it cheaper than the UK start point (get a separate Ryanair/easyJet/BMI flight)
You go through US Customs and Boarder at Dublin (also Shannon) so yiu don’t see your bags until Orlando.
It men’s you also arrive into the USA as a local flught and no custom as queue. At Orlando, yiu puck up your bags, off to car hire and away
 


We’ve done it countless times. We’ve always gone through Canada, which means you don’t have to collect your bags, but you pass through US customs in Canada. So, best of both worlds!
 
as everyone has stated, when you get to atlanta, you'll have to go through immigration, then pick up your luggage and take it through customs, then drop it off at the baggage drop for connecting passengers, then more than likely go through security again, then head for your gate.

I would suggest you have more than 1.5 hours to do all of the above. I never enter the US with a plane change of that nature without at least 3 hours layover.
We always go indirect, and sometimes we speed through the process, but other times it's nightmarishly long. Not to mention the chance of delays leaving the UK.

so for your peace of mind, i suggest more time for the plane change on the way into the US.

On the way back home, you don't have to do anything other than change planes. You'll check your luggage in orlando all the way through to the UK and you never touch it again until you reach the UK.
By the way, when you check in to your flight in the UK, you'll also check your luggage all the way to orlando, but you'll still have to pick it up in atlanta to go through customs and then drop it back at the connecting desk (right outside customs).

if the difference in airfare is significant, then i wouldn't hesitate to fly indirect.
but to be honest, we don't have the option where we live. If we did, i think i'd be willing to pay a major premium to be able to fly non-stop.
Our last plane change experiences (in the summer at JFK), were pretty hideous!!

.
 

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