What’s the min layover you feel comfortable with when connecting with US to Europe

so I have a chance to save $300 or $150 pp , by switching to a flight from Jax to Dulles but gets in to Dulles at 4:07 pm and international flight leaves at 5:10.

First, I’m not familiar wit logistics of Dulles. Does anyone think it’s pushing it too close in danger of missing international flight with a 1 hr layover only?

Most international flights close off close to departure and you are skirting this very closely. I think you know the answer here - way too short! If your inbound flight is even 20 minutes, 30 minutes a late, you would not catch your connection. I don't know what airlines you are taking but there are minimum connections by law that you must make and you probably can't make it with what you have.

We would not risk that tight of a connection. Your first big risk is that your initial flight is later in the day. A basic rule is that the later the time of scheduled departure the greater the risk of a departure delay. You are really pushing up against the minimum connection time...and you also need to consider that some airlines have been known to close off boarding a few minutes before the scheduled departure time. But another question would be "what are your options if you miss the connection?" If your airline has a later flight then they would normally put you on that flight as long as there is space. Otherwise, you might find yourself spending a night at a nearby hotel/motel.

Hank

Thanks . I agree too tight .

The airline is United

United gave us very short connection times last month JAX to EWR to LHR but even with a terminal change it was doable. Return from Reyjavik had slightly longer time but you have to go through customs and then go to another terminal. Still we preferred it to Dulles which is huge and flights from JAX are often in some far corner of the airport (our daughter lived nearby). I would go earlier if you are going to Dulles or see if another routing would also work. We have also had a JAX flight later in the day cancelled altogether because of a mechanical problem that was unfixable that day and no replacement available. OTOH try to see if the JAX flight lands at the international terminal.

Probably doable if you flight is on time. But even a minor delay in the first flight could mean you miss the international flight. I try to leave at least 2-3 hours (but am ok with more!) when connecting to an international flight.

I won't do anything less than 2 hours, and I always shoot for 3 hours.

United gave us very short connection times last month JAX to EWR to LHR but even with a terminal change it was doable. Return from Reyjavik had slightly longer time but you have to go through customs and then go to another terminal. Still we preferred it to Dulles which is huge and flights from JAX are often in some far corner of the airport (our daughter lived nearby). I would go earlier if you are going to Dulles or see if another routing would also work. We have also had a JAX flight later in the day cancelled altogether because of a mechanical problem that was unfixable that day and no replacement available. OTOH try to see if the JAX flight lands at the international terminal.

Not sure why you're mentioning an EWR connection or international arrival at IAD, that'll just muddy the waters. Also IAD doesn't have an international terminal and flights are not scheduled into specific gates/concourses at IAD. On a regional jet/turboprop you could end up at the regional gates in the A concourse or any

I've used IAD countless times, including domestic-international connections on UA there that involve the concourse change from Concourse A to Concourse C/D. Personally I wouldn't be hugely worried about a 1hr connection if it's your only viable option. I've made connections that are shorter, where my inbound flight was delayed and I had to wait for a valet checked bag.

Whether or not I'd pick the connection depends on a few factors.

1) Where are you flying to on UA and where is your final destination? If you are flying to somewhere in Europe that only has one non-stop UA flight a day then you could be put on another UA/Star Alliance flight to a European hub and then put on a connecting flight to your final destination, for example.

2) What class of travel you're in and FF status/lounge memberships. If you're in Global First/Polaris Business/Star Alliance Gold/Priority Pass then you'll at least have a lounge to go to wait things out. Now the IAD lounges are pretty miserable for the most part if you're a UA flyer but taking an earlier flight and sitting in a lounge is potentially more relaxing than sitting around the airport bar or mostly lousy restaurants (California Tortilla anyone? Didn't think so!)

3) On time record of your flight to IAD. Now if the flight shows a 99% on time record and your flight is late that's of not much comfort but if it's in the teens then you've a got a decent idea what you're working with.

4) Other IAD hub connection options. Can you connect through EWR, IAH, ORD or DEN instead?

I won't do anything less than 2 hours, and I always shoot for 3 hours.

Same here, except when flying to and from Europe I might not have any good layover time otpions.

Sounds like you got your answer in one of the first posts.

Good luck with this.

In the end some of this comes down to the amount of stress you want to take and even your own experiences.

Glad you asked before you booked your flight. Too often people ask after the fact.

Keith