70 minutes enough connection time at Washinton Dulles

[Leeds Utd Fan]

I am flying into Washington from London to connect to MCO with United, both United and the ticket agent said that is enough time, but I am not sure? [70 minutes] arr 11.35am depart 12.45pm

Although I flew 5 times into the US on business last year I had at least 2.5 hours for connections. This is the the first time I am bringing my family on non direct flights to Orlando, I would like to prepare them just in case we miss it.

If we do miss it do we have to wait for the next United or do we go out on the next available flight [delta]? The next United flight is 4-5 hours later!! I did ask UA but all they replied was we will get you there!!

Yes we are Brits so we have to clear immigration at IAD

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks

Chris

 

[CaliforniaDreaming]

I would assume you'd have enough time. If you miss your connection, they will put you on the next flight into Orlando. Since you'll be on United the entire way, the Orlando flight would possibly even wait for you in the event of a delay, depending how many people are making connections. I've been delayed before with reasoning to accommodate connecting passengers.

A couple weeks ago I connected thru Charlotte on US Airways (it was all domestic), and with delays only had 10 minutes to catch the next flight, which was at the entire other end of the airport. They held the plane for us (there were 5 people connecting from my flight to the other flight), and we only left the gate a few minutes late (but then sat on the ground for a while due to traffic).

 

[hocksocmom]

You will be FINE! I used to live near Dulles. It is an efficient and well laid out airport. Just follow the signs.

 

[izzy]

70 minutes isn't all that long, especially since you'll be coming in on an international flight and then connecting on a domestic. If I remember correctly, you'll need to go to the main terminal to clear customs, then you'll have to take their funky transport-bus-thingy over to the domestic flights terminal. Hopefully they'll let connecting international passengers through a customs line just for those connecting rather than if Dulles was your final destination.

Don't count on United (or any other airline) holding a flight for you. My past 2 flights I've missed connections (all domestic with about an hour layover - one was Delta and one was USAirways) for various reasons - weather, pilot didn't show up one time, etc. They absolutely will not hold a flight for you, unless they're waiting on a lot of people, or of course you are some sort of VIP - LOL!! I've noticed a really nasty trend in flying the past year in the US. All of the flights are absolutely packed and if you aren't there to catch your flight, there is someone else in line to take your place. I've never seen so many people flying standby as I have in the past year.

I had a missed connection at the Atlanta airport on a Friday evening last fall due to bad weather, and they kept telling me that everything (all airlines, not just Delta) were booked all weekend to Orlando and I might not get there until Monday! There were 74 people on the standby list. I was ready to get a rental car and drive. Finally they said they had some extra seats on a flight to Tampa and would bus us to Orlando and we'd get there about 2 in the morning. We really lucked out and somehow got on another flight to Orlando about 5 hours after we missed our connection. Still late getting into Orlando, but at least we didn't have to bus from Tampa to Orlando.

Also, United will not put you on the next flight to Orlando if that flight is already fully booked. They will put you on the next *available* flight, which might not be for hours. USAirways actually found seats for us on an American flight to Florida, but we had to make a slight detour (she said sarcastically!) to Chicago. I don't think USAirways would have done that for us except for the fact that their pilot didn't show up for our flight out of Virginia so it was their fault that we missed our connection in Charlotte. Delta told us that since weather messed up the flight I talked about the previous paragraph, that they didn't really have to do anything for us other than get us on the next available Delta flight. They weren't even willing to put us up in a hotel for the night. (And these airline people wonder why we are getting so frustrated with air travel these days!)

I don't want to concern you, because most of the time things work out just fine. I just know in the past year I've seen a huge difference in missing connections, oversold flights, etc. I had *never* missed a connection in over 15 years of air travel until last year. Maybe it was just a bad year and the law of averages was catching up with me - LOL!!

The other thing you might want to do is to see what other United flights will be taking off after your Dulles-Orlando flight and monitor the number of available seats. I do this through Travelocity all the time, just to let me know if I miss a connection that there will be available seats on a later flight.

My fingers are crossed for you!! Although I have to say that I might go ahead and risk a 70 minute layover rather than stay at the Dulles airport for 5 hours. Yuck! It's a really boring airport.

 

[Straughn]

I have to agree with Izzy regarding the 70 minute connection time. If you were connecting domestic flight to domestic flght, it would not be a problem. The unpredictable factor is clearing customs. The positive side is that your flight is scheduled to arrive before noon. The majority of the international flights arrive mid to late afternoon, so the back-up for you shouldn't be too bad.

 

[mslangen]

Hello,

I allready have flown United three times out of Amsterdam to Washington Dulles to make a connection to Orlando or LA.

Washington Dulles is a very convenience airport for internatiional travelers when they fly with United and have a connecting flight at Dulles. Your international flight will arrive in Dulles at one of the C gates. This is the midway terminal which covers the C and D gates. After exiting the plane the passangers who have a connecting flight will be separated from the travelers with Dulles as their finall destination. Follow juist the signs Arrivals or Transfers.
The travelers who have to connect another flight will go through Immigrations and Customs downstairs at the C concourse. The passingers with Dulles as their finall destination will board a bus and go through immigration and customs in the main terminal.
After going to immigration, (count a 15 - 30 minute wait), you have to look for your bagage. All the times I were there my bagage was there allready on the ground. Because of the wait for immigrations. So there will be no wait for your bagage.
The customs process will not take much time, in case they don't search your bagage, which happens most times. After that you put your bagage on the belt and after security check you go upstairs and will be in concourse C. Your connecting flight will leave from the C gates, or the D gates all in the same concourse.
For the whole process count a 30 to 45 minutes. Count a 15 minute walk to your gate and you can do it within an hour.

Its important to fill out the green immigration form and the white customs form completely. Any mistake with the forms cam get upi a delay at immigration. And thats of course not what you want.

I think at Washington Dulles you can make it, but at another big airport like Chicago O hare or JFK I don't want to have a connection within 70 minutes.
A drawback for this is also your bagage. So if its possible you can catch your plane in time, does your bagage catch? You never know.

Hope this helps you.

Marcel.

Originally posted by izzy
70 minutes isn't all that long, especially since you'll be coming in on an international flight and then connecting on a domestic. If I remember correctly, you'll need to go to the main terminal to clear customs, then you'll have to take their funky transport-bus-thingy over to the domestic flights terminal. Hopefully they'll let connecting international passengers through a customs line just for those connecting rather than if Dulles was your final destination.