I'm looking at flights from China (Beijing) to Atlanta. Right now, Continental is running a special, which means entering the States at Newark, and then making a connecting flight to ATL. Problem is, the flight schedule only gives me 75 minutes to arrive, get through immigration and customs, and make my domestic flight.
The continental.com site is letting me choose these flight options, but I'm not convinced I can do it. I've never flown through Newark before, so I'm not familiar with the airport at all.
I'm a US citizen, so I'm thinking immigration won't take that long, but the delay at my other usual port of entry (Detroit) is luggage and customs, which can take forever.
Any travelers out there have an idea if I can make it or not? The flight is much cheaper than the next option, but if I miss my connection, then I'm forced to wait in Newark overnight until the next flight on to ATL.
Thanks for the help!
You cannot make it in 75 minutes. You would have to wait for your luggage, pick it up, clear customs and immigration, and get to your next gate. Time to go through immigration depends on how many people there are in line, if several flights land at about the same time it can take long.
It does sound tight, but if it's an itinerary that Continental is proposing, they must think it's manageable. If you miss your connection, it's their responsibility to get you on another flight. Newark is a big hub for Continental, and they've got 8 or so daily flights from there to Atlanta.
Take the flight. If they book you through and you miss the connection, they have to put you up at one of Newark's plush hotels. You can sneak intoi NY and party all night if you want to.
#3 is correct,if they allow you the option then they will either hold the flight if it is not for a long period of time,put you on the next flight to Atl,or on a later flt that same day,Remember that compensation is due if they cannot get you to your destination in a timely manor,hotel+food costs,transfer to hotel,and monetary compensation will be due to you if you are forced to overnight .
careful
5 star hotels for business or first class passengers ONLY if space if available at their corporate rate
defiantely NONplush for economy
AND you'll be waiting on the airline shuttle to pick up and deliver - which means waiting.......
75 minutes is AN IMPOSSIBILITY - you won't make it
newark over detroit airport?
what are you thinking?
i'd never do it...
i just read your post again
newark is HELL compared to detroit (but then again i hate NJ/NY)
If your flight is no time, 75 minutes will be enough. Tell the check in agent at Beijing that you have a short connection and he/she should mark your bags with the "Priority" tag, and you'll be at your Atlanta gate well in time. As other posters have pointed out, if you do miss your flight, Continental will put you on the next one anyway.
For the record, last Saturday I was home (upper west side) an hour and 10 minutes after my international flight landed at Newark.
call the airline and ask what their guarantee is for this specific case. I've have plenty of airlines with flight delays refuse responsibility for connections. They do not have to put you up in luxury, nor is it fun to be taken off to a hotel and then have to return at 4 a.m.
Newark leads the country in flight delays, so be wary:
www.gothamist.com/2007/01/27/nyc_had_the_wor.php</a><BR><BR><a href="http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-01-25-record-air-delays_x.htm">USA Today: "Airline delays set record in 2006"
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