Flights with a layover questions

[trpscooby]

Hey all, we’ve always flown direct from LGW to MCO but we’re considering having a layover to help with costs. Just wondering from any of you folks that have experience, in your opinion: What would you recommend as a minimum time for a layover? Any layover airlines (Iberia, Finnair, BA etc) and airports ‘better’ than others, Dallas or Atlanta for example?
Anything else I should be prepared for (I get the idea of packing essentials in carry on in case of lost hold luggage)?
Would love to hear about people’s experiences!
TIA

 

[SteveMouse]

Well, Dallas is 2.5 hour flight from Orlando and is west of Florida, so you’re adding quite a bit more flight time.

Another significant issue is clearing customs and immigration-you’d do that in the first airport you land in, unless your flight was cleared in the originating airport.

Safe travels!

 

[sheilafri]

There is a reason non-direct flights are cheaper—there is a greater chance of there being an interruption. Unfortunately, where I live I cannot avoid connecting flights. Airlines are pretty good about knowing how much time is required between flights and generally will not sell flights without adequate time to make the connection. i do find connections stressful as I tend to worry about making the second flight on time. We’ve only missed a handful of times but getting alternate flights can be a nightmare and always entails a delay.

Only you can know how much the piece of mind is worth. I must say, I enjoy not paying the sometimes outrageous cost of direct flights.

 

[sky13]

My experiences are from before COVID, but I've flown indirect to Orlando several times. Mostly with United, though on my last trip in 2019 I flew back Orlando-Miami-Heathrow-home with Orlando-Miami on American and Miami-Heathrow on BA (trip booked via BA). I've also flown several times with BA LGW-MCO and MCO-LGW. (I don't live in the UK but used to like flying BA as I get to stopover in London which I like visiting.)

Before COVID I would want at least 3 hours to connect on arrival into the USA, and at least 1-2 hours on departure. The 3 hours to connect on arrival is because in that time you need to clear immigration, collect bags, go through customs, do bag drop, transfer to another terminal (usually), go through security TSA screening, then go to gate. These days... I have no idea how long it takes, but if it's any indicator I have an upcoming trip with a SIX hour connection on arrival into the USA that I am fairly happy with...

Make sure the entire journey is booked on the same ticket and not on separate tickets, that way if anything happens to delay the first flight such that you miss your second flight the airline should hopefully rebook you onto the next available flight to get you to your destination.

 

[steve_rob]

Like above I can't comment on what things are like post-Covid, but I have certainly flown indirect to Orlando many times (probably more often than direct in fact) with my most common routes being via Washington with United and via Atlanta with Delta. Only once did we miss our connecting flight and that was caused by a big delay in London before we'd even taken off so we knew it was a lost cause long beforehand. We were about two hours late landing in the end but as there were plenty of other flights to Orlando from Atlanta that day, we weren't too worried and as it turned out we were put on the waitlist for the next one as a priority by Delta and amazingly ended up only arriving 45 minutes later at MCO than we'd originally planned - had to go pretty much straight to the gate; no wandering the shops or getting a bite to eat as we'd originally planned, but it all worked out!

I think as above three hours transfer time between flights on the way out and two on the way back will be the ideal amount - you can get away with less, but at that point you're always thinking about "will it be enough" in the back of your mind which isn't a great way to start your holiday. Sometimes you can get very lucky - I remember one time at Washington where the immigration queues were basically non-existent, our suitcases arrived almost immediately, our connecting flight was in the same terminal which meant we didn't have to go through TSA again and our gate was less than 5 minutes walk from where we came out. On that occasion we could have done the connection with 60 minutes, but you don't know that until you get there - there's every chance the exact same flights the next day would have needed three times longer.

However I don't like flying too far to make a connection - there's nothing wrong with it if the price is right I suppose, but the whole flying past your destination to have to fly back again just grates with me, so I've never made a connection (for Orlando anyway) in somewhere like Dallas or Chicago; always picked a much more eastern city. But that's a personal preference - as long as there are other flights later in the day that you know you can be put on if the scheduled one doesn't happen for some reason, then you should be fine.

 

[trpscooby]

Thank you all for your insights and experiences. I was thinking at least 3 hours outbound but some are 2.5 and not sure to risk it! Yes, you never known how long getting through security and luggage claim will take.

Picking an Eastern city makes sense! As does getting the same tickets for the entire journey.
Thanks again!

 

[McCrae]

Hey all, we’ve always flown direct from LGW to MCO but we’re considering having a layover to help with costs. Just wondering from any of you folks that have experience, in your opinion: What would you recommend as a minimum time for a layover? Any layover airlines (Iberia, Finnair, BA etc) and airports ‘better’ than others, Dallas or Atlanta for example?
Anything else I should be prepared for (I get the idea of packing essentials in carry on in case of lost hold luggage)?
Would love to hear about people’s experiences!
TIA

How about flying to Dublin? You can clear US immigration in Dublin.

 

[Plague]

Picking an Eastern city makes sense!

Don't discount Chicago. Because planes fly (approximately) great circle routes it's not as far out as you'd think just looking at a map. (Basically they fly up to the north over Scotland and curve down over east Canada.) Chicago adds less than an hour to the flight, compared to JFK for example, but once you factor layover times in it's insignificant and might be cheaper.
Chicago to Orlando is 44 miles further than from JFK - meh!

 

[Ronaldo17]

Just be aware that at the moment there is a real possibility of you never seeing your luggage again with a connecting flight unless you are personally collecting your luggage and checking it in again at your connecting airport.
Thousands of suitcases are sitting in huge warehouses at airports all over the world just now due to the shortage of airport, ground staff and baggage handlers.

 

[marcais]

We've never flown direct, mainly to cut costs, although the first time was deliberate as we wanted to spend a few days in New York.

The most common airport we've had our connection in on our way to MCO is Washington (IAD). I've never had any issues with connection times, as the airlines are pretty savvy at knowing how long they need to allow. So sometimes the connection time seems a touch on the small side to me, but we've never had a mad rush to make our connection.

But I have the advantage of flying out of Dublin, so the immigration stuff is done before boarding in Dublin, so we get treated as domestic passengers when we land in our first airport, and that cuts off a chunk of the time it would take us on landing.

If you have only one connection in the US then you will have to collect your bags, go through customs, and then drop your bags off again. That should hopefully minimise the chance of your bags not making the connection.

 

[trpscooby]

I never knew that you could get US preclearance at Dublin airport! Learn something new every day!
I was just speaking to my daughter about whether we could get away with cabin luggage only, to minimise the chances of losing our hold luggage. We always have a washer/dryer but then we always buy stuff when we’re out there!
Thanks so much for all the info!

 

[theMoreDisneytheBetter]

Just be aware that at the moment there is a real possibility of you never seeing your luggage again with a connecting flight unless you are personally collecting your luggage and checking it in again at your connecting airport.
Thousands of suitcases are sitting in huge warehouses at airports all over the world just now due to the shortage of airport, ground staff and baggage handlers.

In Newark everyone that clears customs has to collect and recheck their bags. It was announced every few minutes at baggage, there were signs, and we were reminded on the flight b

 

[theMoreDisneytheBetter]

I never knew that you could get US preclearance at Dublin airport! Learn something new every day!
I was just speaking to my daughter about whether we could get away with cabin luggage only, to minimise the chances of losing our hold luggage. We always have a washer/dryer but then we always buy stuff when we’re out there!
Thanks so much for all the info!

Is there anywhere in the US you have always wanted to visit? If so that might be a good excuse to fly there for a few days and then fly on to Florida.

 

[trpscooby]

Not this time around. I’ve got family in California but it’s just too much of a trek to go there there Florida. Plus I’ll be eating away at my precious Disney time!

Is there anywhere in the US you have always wanted to visit? If so that might be a good excuse to fly there for a few days and then fly on to Florida.

 

[theMoreDisneytheBetter]

Not this time around. I’ve got family in California but it’s just too much of a trek to go there there Florida. Plus I’ll be eating away at my precious Disney time!

True enough! For me, the more Disney the better (obviously) but depending on how flexible your plans are you could get a 2 for 1 vacation out if it.