Transit in Dallas Fort worth

[MrsFlyer]

Hi all,
This is my first question so I am new to this, so please forgive me in advance if I am doing this incorrectly but I need some assistance.

I have flights from LAX to DFW on AA with a 70 minute transit time in Dallas. We arrive in Dallas at 8.15pm and fly out to Santiago on AA at 9.25pm. In a perfect world this amount of time should be fairly reasonable, however if the arriving flight from LAX is late, does the Santiago bound flight wait or will we be stuck in Dallas for the night? The flight is part of a QF/AA ticket and Qantas say I should be OK but just worried if the flight is late.

Should I insist on an earlier flight out of LAX just in case? Any assistance and guidance is appreciated. Thank you

 

[coyote25]

To be safe I'd go for any earlier flight. It's doubtful they would hold an international flight unless there are a few people on the flight.

On the good side you AA should look after you re hotel if connection missed.


http://nathanburgessinsights.com/

 

[MrsFlyer]

Thanks for that Coyote25, I must admit I am starting to agree with you, so if my luggage is checked in at LAX for Santiago, does that mean my luggage could end up on the Santiago bound flight whilst I am running frantically to board the flight? What happens if my luggage goes through without me and ends up in Chile before me?

 

[RooFlyer]

If your bags make it onto the SCL flight and you don't, then they will (or should!!) off-load your bags at DFW.

Just to check again: LAX-DFW-SCL is on ONE ticket, isn't it? If it is, and you miss the flight because the LAX-DFW flight is late in, then AA should put you up for the night and re-book you, as it was their flight that was late. However, there is no guarantee that there will be seats on the next flight out! There are ways to check but if I were you I'd try for an earlier flight LAX-DFW. Better to have a few extra hours at DFW than be mega-stressed if your LAX-DFW flight is running late.

What's the flight number LAX-DFW? There are web sites where we can check the historical on-time performance of any flight, which is a guide, but any flight can be delayed for a number of reasons.

Oh, and welcome to AFF!

 

[BAM1748]

If your bags make it onto the SCL flight and you don't, then they will (or should!!) off-load your bags at DFW.

Just to check again: LAX-DFW-SCL is on ONE ticket, isn't it? If it is, and you miss the flight because the LAX-DFW flight is late in, then AA should put you up for the night and re-book you, as it was their flight that was late. However, there is no guarantee that there will be seats on the next flight out! There are ways to check but if I were you I'd try for an earlier flight LAX-DFW. Better to have a few extra hours at DFW than be mega-stressed if your LAX-DFW flight is running late.

What's the flight number LAX-DFW? There are web sites where we can check the historical on-time performance of any flight, which is a guide, but any flight can be delayed for a number of reasons.

Oh, and welcome to AFF!

You should be fine, I've transited there with 25 mins from a domestic to international flight, once off the LAX flight you'll likely head to a terminal that's about a 7 or 8 min walk, customs will do their stuff at the gate of the flight to Chile as you board.

I thought I had no hope but found on asking the AA crew and they told me all would be fine and all was fine. It was like a well oiled machine. Coming back into the US was of course a different story.

Matt

 

[MrsFlyer]

Thanks so much for all your help and your kind welcome

My flight number from LAX to DFW is 2433. Everything is on the one ticket from my starting flight from BNE-SYD-LAX-DFW-SCL and all booked by Qantas. I called Qantas before and they said we should be fine with the 70 minute transit time but I didn't mention to them what if the inbound LAX-DFW flight were even 30 mins late then I would be in trouble!! I would rather wait 5 hours at an airport for my next flight than running through the terminal like a crazy woman trying to make my next flight....can we check on-time performances??....that would be an idea...

 

[MrsFlyer]

Thanks Matt

 

[RooFlyer]

Hi

Go here: Flightradar24.com - Live flight tracker!

Type AA2433 into the search box on top left.

Recent on-time performance is variable - may be reflecting the severe disruptions elsewhere in the US network because of cold weather.

 

[MrsFlyer]

Thank you again for that.

I just called Qantas and they offered earlier flight for points/fee, an alternate route via Lima for points/fee, but basically said I should be OK, and if the flight were delayed, then it would be up to AA at that time.

Fingers crossed if there is a small delay into DFW that its not too much of a delay but by looking at that link most are late by several minutes and a couple are actually early. There was one was more than an hour late ....so lets see how it all goes! I will be sure to share my experiences when back in Australia...

Thanks again for all your help!!!!

 

[RooFlyer]

Excellent; well done. Hope you can pop back and let us know what happens. Others can always benefit.

 

[Sprucegoose]

In my experience you will be fine.

weather is the worst thing in the states and if it goes bad it goes bad. Don't overplan and worry about things that may not eventuate.

you are on the one PNR in any case case and that's the best insurance

 

[drron]

You do not have to do any Immigration proceedures in DFW.That Is done on check in at LAX.
70 minutes is a very easy transit at DFW.It is well organised.

However looking at aa.com in November AA2433 was more than 30 minutes late 56% of the time.It may well be worthwhile checking in early and see if AA will put you on an earlier flight.The flight before AA2450 at 1430 was only late 21% of the time.

But November was a bad weather month for DFW with lots of delays.It really depends which month you intend to fly.

 

[MrsFlyer]

Thanks SpruceGoose!!....You are quite right.

 

[MrsFlyer]

Thank you... I will have several hours at LAX before the 3.15pm departure flight so will ask at the check in if they will permit this, if not then I will just see what happens.

I wasn't concerned with the Immigration processes too much because I knew that would all be done in LAX but it was more if the flight was delayed too much into DFW.
We are flying next month.

 

[drron]

This flight can give you the chance of delays but only 3 days out.
Airport Delays

 

[MrsFlyer]

Thanks for the link....what do you mean by "chance of delays but only 3 days out"?....

 

[legroom]

One more thing

Find out the arrival & the departure terminal to work out the most optimal way to get to it.

Plan for minimal carry on as the chance is you may have to run / walk very briskly.

Flat shoes would help there.

9:25pm departure means boarding some 30-35 min before that i.e. 8:50pm

In a perfect world, your plane would land at 8:15pm, however, landing is not the same as disembarkation: it took my plane 10 min to taxi to gate.

Were you to be seated in the economy back rows, there would be tons of carry ons to be unloaded from the rows in front before you could even stand up.

The FAs would not even consider allowing people with tight connections to leave early.

10 min before landing they will start reading out the connecting terminals eg SCL gate D15.

Pay attention to that so that you could aim for D15 the moment you leave the plane.

The inflight magazine has the terminal map layout so do look at that prior to landing.

I'd request an earlier flight to ease my mind esp considering it's winter in the USA.

 

[drron]

Thanks for the link....what do you mean by "chance of delays but only 3 days out"?....

Gives you the chances of delays at the airport for the next 3 days only.So no use looking at Feb yet.

 

[schomers87]

Been plenty of times where I have gone to the airport early and asked AA for an earlier flight. When explained the tight connection, they have always been happy to accommodate if there's a spare seat. Worth a shot.
Either way, I think you should be fine.

 

[moa999]

As with above, DFW is normally a pretty efficient airport, but obviously things can go wrong.

Unclear on whether you have status and lounge access, but this is what I would do.

Arrival in LAX.
- Go through the customs hall (this can take a while) and collect baggage
- Go do the AA Connecting/ Redeposit desk and see if you can change flights there (will depend on how quickly you have gotten through customs... If you have luggage this is the best place as it can be tagged correctly). Failing that ask to standby on earlier flights.
- Go into T4.
- If unsuccessful before, try again at lounge/ service desk.

At DFW take note of the announced terminals and boarding gates and look up the map in the AA magazine.
If switching terminals this is just a matter of taking escalator up to SkyTrain and riding it - every 3min or so, then back down
If the same terminal you might be in for a decent walk

Hope you have plenty of time in Santiago to recover from the four flights.