[Idyllchat] RE: JFK, Alitalia, Delta
vkelber1 at comcast.net
vkelber1 at comcast.net
Thu Sep 27 19:58:07 EDT 2007
In your message is a very important point for travelers to remember. You usually have to go through customs (WITH your baggage) at the first airport you land at in the US, NOT your final destination. This usually requires that you claim your baggage, take it through customs, and then recheck it. The only place this has not happened to us was returning from Vancouver; very nicely, US customs is set up in the Vancouver airport and you go through immigration there.
Vickie
-------------- Original message ----------------------
From: "Shelby Ruch" <samruch at hotmail.com>
> In response to the query about connecting flights, our advice is: stay away
> from Delta and JFK. We usually drive to BWI or Dulles to get international
> flights, but we flew out of Pittsburgh last month to get flights at the
> times we wanted. Here's what happened to us on the return from a wonderful
> time on the Tuscany South Untour:
>
>
> Outbound, regional Continental Pittsburgh-Newark, Alitalia
> Newark-Milan/Malpensa, and Alitalia Milan-Florence were all satisfactory,
> and economy class seats/legroom on the Newark-Milan 767 was superior to any
> aircraft we've been on in years (and much better than BA's World Traveler
> Plus couple extra inches upgrade).
>
> Returning, Alitalia Florence-Rome and Alitalia Rome-New York JFK service was
> okay. Seat/legroom on the Rome-NY flight's 777, however, was way tighter
> than what we'd enjoyed on the 767 two weeks earlier.
>
> The trip's only horrors emerged at JFK and specifically with Delta. AZ got
> us into JFK about 5:20 p.m., nearly an hour and a half before our 7:05 Delta
> regional to PIT.
>
> However, while customs processing and luggage retrieval was quite efficient,
> nowhere in JFK's international arrivals Terminal 1 did we see monitors for
> connections with other airlines at other terminals. And only by accident did
> we find out that while our bags were checked through from Florence to PIT,
> we still had to recover them before finishing with JFK Customs, then give
> them to Delta when we got boarding passes for PIT (not issued by AZ even
> though Delta's one of its code-share partners). We might easily have left
> customs with our checked suitcases back there on te carrousel wearing PIT
> tags.
>
> We then learned, from a limo driver awaiting a passenger, that Delta uses
> Terminals 2 and 3 -- but after hiking next door to 2 discovered that its
> attractive lobby, nearly deserted and peaceful, is only for First and
> Business class check-ins, so it was off again, to Delta's Terminal 3 next
> door.
>
> When we entered this dingy and incredibly chaotic terminal we found several
> hundred harried, sweaty and anxious people in a single line before no more
> than 8 attendants checking bags and issuing boarding passes -- so many
> people that we could barely get in the door. On the plus side, a truly
> frazzled supervisor was trying to get those with tight connections -- and
> ours was suddenly looking impossible to make -- into a separate line. As
> several other hoping-to-be passengers for various flights noted, it seemed
> that each Delta staffer in this hell-hole offered different, confusing
> instructions.
>
> Our helpful supervisor did get us to another counter spot, where we were
> checked in quickly -- can you imagine what it was like to jump a line of
> hundreds of other very stressed people? -- and told to deposit our bags
> with "the nice gentlemen around the corner." This was a small semi-screened
> area where two attendants seemed as confused as we and first asked whether
> our two 21-inch suitcases were carry-ons before rather tentatively accepting
> them and sending them into an X-ray machine. At that point we assumed we
> wouldn't see those bags for days, if ever. We dashed around another corner
> to find another single line of perhaps 75-80 people, this one leading to
> Security.
>
> A couple hoping to make a 7 p.m. flight to Chicago let us jump into mid-line
> with them. Only two security stations were operating. After crawling through
> there, our next discovery was that our Gate 23 was yet another lengthy dash,
> through long corridors -- where not one but both of two moving walkways were
> out of commission -- into the adjacent Terminal 3, back there where Delta
> keeps Economy classsers out of the nice more convenient lobby.
>
> Nevertheless, we got to the gate at about 6:45, only to discover that an
> Indianapolis flight was still boarding there. Our own 7:05 flight began
> boarding at about 7:10 -- requiring yet another long walk, this one down
> stairs and across the tarmac -- and pulled away before 7:30.
>
> As we taxied, it was announced that because this was the hour when evening
> international flights depart, 30 aircraft were in front of us and we would
> not take off for 1 or 2 hours. The plane stopped, engines shut down, just
> turbine running for lights and AC, smell of burning kerosene fumes sucked in
> from other aircraft. A couple of passengers -- about half the seats were
> emply and now we knew why -- said this was early-evening routine at JFK,
> stimulating conversations about why Delta schedules departures then rather
> than an hour or two later -- and whether this practice might constitute
> consumer fraud on Delta's part.
>
> Fortunately, our wait out on the line was only about 45 minutes, the flight
> itself was fine, and we arrived at PIT at about 9:20 -- and our bags came
> with us!
>
> It was a heck of a way to conclude the final leg of a lovely trip. Lesson
> learned: Stay away from JFK, and stay away from Delta, an airline that at
> least at JFK demonstrates incredible on-purpose mistreatment of its
> customers.
>
> John & Shelby Ruch
>
>
>
> >From: Sue and Eric <milliron at mindspring.com>
> >Reply-To: Sue and Eric <milliron at mindspring.com>
> >To: Jay Cloidt <jayclimbs at gmail.com>,Joan Herriges
> ><joanherriges at sbcglobal.net>
> >CC: Idyllchat new <idyllchat at lists.untours.com>
> >Subject: [Idyllchat] ?? connecting airport to Venice
> >Date: Mon, 10 Sep 2007 12:58:48 -0400 (EDT)
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >Hello everybody-we just booked our April 2008 Untour to Venice, and I am
> >already looking at flights-I found the recent thread about connections came
> >at just the right time, and hope I can get some feedback.
> >
> >We live in Richmond, Va. The flight options that we are considering, and
> >would book ourselves are :
> >
> >RT RIC to VCE via JFK on Delta. My concern is that we have always avoided
> >JFK, so are unfamiliar with the airport. Is it the zoo we have heard??
> >Our connection time would either be 1 1/2 hrs or 7hrs, depending on which
> >flight we took out of RIC. We would probably choose the longer time, just
> >to be on the safe side, but that sure does make for a long day.
> >
> >Our second option is to drive to Washington Dulles, which we have done
> >many times, and take United or Lufthansa to FRA, MUC, or ZUR, connecting
> >to VCE-however, in order to arrive in Venice at a reasonable time for the
> >escort to our apt, our connection time at either of these airports would be
> >minimal-from 50 minutes to 1 1/2 hrs. Would that be enough time to go
> >through customs and immigration and make our connecting flight?? Claiming
> >luggage is not a problem, as we always only travel with carry ons . We
> >have flown into and out of Zurich and Munich, but never connected at
> >either.
> >
> >would welcome responses from any of you familiar with these airports.
> >
> >Thanks in advance for what I know will be many helpful replies.
> >
> >Sue and Eric Millirons
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >-----Original Message-----
> >From: Jay Cloidt
> >Sent: Sep 9, 2007 10:04 PM
> >To: Joan Herriges
> >Cc: Idyllchat new
> >Subject: Re: [Idyllchat] It's Not Just the Destination, It's the
> >Connection-Munich
> >
> >Thanks for the article. Living in the NYC metro area, I can usually get a
> >direct flight to wherever I'm going. However, I've been looking into flying
> >into some smaller airports in Europe (especially, Italy) and this will be
> >great to keep in mind.
> >
> > - Jay
> >
> >
> >On 9/9/07, Joan Herriges <joanherriges at sbcglobal.net> wrote:
> >
> >
> >Good article--and confirms a recent string of Idyllchat posts regarding the
> >importance of connecting airports when traveling abroad. Munich has become
> >a favorite of our traveling friends departing from S.F. to all European
> >destinations. We chose to book our own travel with Idyl in 2006
> >(Castle/Austria), thus avoiding Heathrow and it was a good decision. On
> >the return trip we had to return our car rather early, but had a fabulous
> >time at the Munich airport. They have good restaurants--even a
> >Hofbrauhaus. Excellent shopping and comfortable lounges. Joan.
> >
> >----- Original Message -----
> >From: Barbara Roy
> >To: Idyllchat new
> >Cc: Idyll Untours Culture Chat
> >Sent: Sunday, September 09, 2007 8:52 AM
> >Subject: [Idyllchat] It's Not Just the Destination, It's the
> >Connection-Munich
> >
> >
> >Thought you might all like to see this article in today's travel section of
> >the NYTimes.
> >We recently returned to Switzerland, via Munich on a flight from Boston and
> >thought it
> >was great, as the article indicates. Happy travels.
> >
> >
> >Barbara Crowell Roy
> >Sachseln
> >Switzerlandhttp://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/09/travel/09headsup.html?8td&emc=td
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
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