The best place to connect when flying home to MIA

[bbtondo]

I have a Oceania cruise booked for next Spring.  Barcelona to Rome.  I'll be flying out of Miami.  I can get a non stop flight MIA to BCN.  When Flying home from Rome on an American Airlines flight, am I better of connecting in Philly then onto Miami?  Or Flying from Rome and connecting in Madrid or LHR?  My first thought was to fly to the US and connect there.  This is my first trip to Europe and trying to get the best flights I can.  Thanks for your help!

[Globaliser]

3 hours ago, bbtondo said:

My first thought was to fly to the US and connect there.

 

There are reasons not to do this. At the connecting point, you have to clear immigration, collect your bags, clear customs and then give the bags back to the airline. All of this takes a variable length of time, meaning that in addition to the hassle you have to allow a generous connection time if you don't want to risk missing your onward flight and having to deal with rebooking.

 

In contrast, if you connect at a European point, you're a straightforward direct airside transit, with the bags going straight through. At Miami, as soon as you clear immigration and customs, you're free to head home.

 

Neither LHR nor MAD are ideal for this, though, as they would both involve a terminal change (although I suspect that the T4/T4S terminal change at MAD is not quite the full monty - but I've never been there myself). At LHR you'd have to reclear security but that may be waived at MAD. If connecting at LHR, you'd clear outbound Schengen immigration at FCO; if connecting at MAD, you'd clear outbound immigration at MAD.

[bbtondo]

18 hours ago, Globaliser said:

 

There are reasons not to do this. At the connecting point, you have to clear immigration, collect your bags, clear customs and then give the bags back to the airline. All of this takes a variable length of time, meaning that in addition to the hassle you have to allow a generous connection time if you don't want to risk missing your onward flight and having to deal with rebooking.

 

In contrast, if you connect at a European point, you're a straightforward direct airside transit, with the bags going straight through. At Miami, as soon as you clear immigration and customs, you're free to head home.

 

Neither LHR nor MAD are ideal for this, though, as they would both involve a terminal change (although I suspect that the T4/T4S terminal change at MAD is not quite the full monty - but I've never been there myself). At LHR you'd have to reclear security but that may be waived at MAD. If connecting at LHR, you'd clear outbound Schengen immigration at FCO; if connecting at MAD, you'd clear outbound immigration at MAD.

Thank you so much for your advice!  I was thinking that if I miss my connection, I'd rather be in the US looking for an overnight hotel instead of being in a country where I don't know the language nor the area to find a hotel.  This is our first time going to Europe.

 

So what you're saying is, if I'm traveling from BCN to PHL to MIA, It would be more of a hassle with luggage, clearing immigration, security and possible terminal changes at PHL.  I assume I would need at least a 2-3 hr layover in PHL for this?  

 

A lot to think about for sure!  Thanks again, I really appreciate it.

 

 

[Hawaiidan]

2 hours ago, bbtondo said:

Thank you so much for your advice!  I was thinking that if I miss my connection, I'd rather be in the US looking for an overnight hotel instead of being in a country where I don't know the language nor the area to find a hotel.  This is our first time going to Europe.

 

So what you're saying is, if I'm traveling from BCN to PHL to MIA, It would be more of a hassle with luggage, clearing immigration, security and possible terminal changes at PHL.  I assume I would need at least a 2-3 hr layover in PHL for this?  

 

A lot to think about for sure!  Thanks again, I really appreciate it.

 

 

One thing to consider is jet lag.    Flying all in one series will get you whacked.   However, consider  a flight with a long long layover of 12+ hours   Get a hotel,  relax    and tour only dealing with  a partial change in hours.   But your  flying to the east coast so you are really only dealing with 5 or 6 hours     Me on the west coast 8-9  and in Hawaii 10-11 hour!

[bbtondo]

24 minutes ago, Hawaiidan said:

One thing to consider is jet lag.    Flying all in one series will get you whacked.   However, consider  a flight with a long long layover of 12+ hours   Get a hotel,  relax    and tour only dealing with  a partial change in hours.   But your  flying to the east coast so you are really only dealing with 5 or 6 hours     Me on the west coast 8-9  and in Hawaii 10-11 hour!

Thanks for the advice!  Looks like I may have a choice of connecting through JFK, DFW or ORD.  Too early to book flights yet, but just getting my ducks in a row when the time comes.

 

Since I'm originally from Long Island I've flown out of JFK before and am comfortable there. Also, I have many friends that I can count on to either pick me up or stay with if I miss my connection at JFK, besides the many hotels there if needed. 

 

Flying to Europe is all new to DH and I. Not looking forward to jet lag.  We're going in a day ahead of time for our cruise to give us time in case of flight delays and to get some rest before the ship sails.   I'm also thinking that I may be better booking my own flights, vs using Oceania.

 

So many things to decide.  Learning lots from these boards!   

[Hawaiidan]

3 minutes ago, bbtondo said:

Thanks for the advice!  Looks like I may have a choice of connecting through JFK, DFW or ORD.  Too early to book flights yet, but just getting my ducks in a row when the time comes.

 

Since I'm originally from Long Island I've flown out of JFK before and am comfortable there. Also, I have many friends that I can count on to either pick me up or stay with if I miss my connection at JFK, besides the many hotels there if needed. 

 

Flying to Europe is all new to DH and I. Not looking forward to jet lag.  We're going in a day ahead of time for our cruise to give us time in case of flight delays and to get some rest before the ship sails.   I'm also thinking that I may be better booking my own flights, vs using Oceania.

 

So many things to decide.  Learning lots from these boards!   

YES...book your own    by the time you pay for all the extras it is not worth it    Plus you get to pick you flights, airlines, aircraft and get points.    By the way Marriott has a  special deal  get 100,000 points  if you get their new Bonvoy business card and spend 5000 in 60 days.  ( the charge for the cruise  air all sorts of stuff around the house gas, food, everything)

Start building a bank  that can be used for airlines, hotels....   be patient let it build

 

Now  if you fly  try for  a 787 or a a380 or a340    they have lower cabin pressure  and better humidity to avoid jet lag. Lufthansa changing in Munich  is better  or Zurich.    and UAL  are the only guys running those planes

[slidergirl]

Are you wedded to using American Airlines and it's alliance partners?    If not, I suggest you take a look over at matrix.itasoftware.com.   It is a long-standing site that does non-biased listings of flights.  It used to it's own company, but Google bought it and it's the basis for Google Flight.  Other systems for airlines and GDS systems used it before Google.  You can go straight to their site and see a plethora of flight choices, from non-stops to the very esoteric.  You just can't book through them, but they'll give you all the data you need.   Plug in some dates and see what all shows up.  You might not see your exact dates yet, but you'll get a good idea of the choices. 

[Flymia]

There are non-stop flights from Rome to Miami, just not on American. So you might want to look into google flights and see if multi airline travel makes any sense. 

 

If not, and you want to make sure you get a non-stop going to Europe, which is a good choice. Out of the choices you gave I would cross out DFW. You will be adding some flight time there. A connection in PHL or CLT would be best, JFK is fine as well. 

 

I agree with the other posters that it is usually easier to connect in Europe and make the final flight the Europe-Miami flight. Not only is that easier, it usually is less tiring. You will be connecting in an airport in Europe after a shorter regional flight in a time zone you are used to. So the connect won't be so bad. Then you'll have a long flight home across the ocean where on arrival you will be tired. I would rather be tired getting home then tired and needing to go catch another flight after going through immigration, customs and security and then after a 8-10 hour flight get on another 2-3 hour flight. 

 

Since you never flown to Europe before, the key to reduce jetlag is on the east to west flight to get as much sleep as possible and then stay awake that day of arrival until its time locally to sleep. Try to avoid a nap during the day. 

 

East to west is usually much easier time change. 

 

 

 

 

[Globaliser]

7 hours ago, bbtondo said:

Thank you so much for your advice!  I was thinking that if I miss my connection, I'd rather be in the US looking for an overnight hotel instead of being in a country where I don't know the language nor the area to find a hotel.

 

In that direction, if you were to misconnect at any European point and you had to overnight there, the airline would be obliged to find you a hotel and pay for your meals and transfers. And airline staff at any likely European connecting point will speak good English. Even those in London. Indeed, if you were connecting in Amsterdam, you'd probably find a higher standard of spoken English than you would at Heathrow.

 

In any event, a misconnection at any of these points wouldn't necessarily mean an overnight. There would be other options. In many cases, it would just be a later flight on the same day.

 

7 hours ago, bbtondo said:

So what you're saying is, if I'm traveling from BCN to PHL to MIA, It would be more of a hassle with luggage, clearing immigration, security and possible terminal changes at PHL.  I assume I would need at least a 2-3 hr layover in PHL for this?

 

Yes, on both counts. And for some people, even a 3 hour stop at PHL for this might not be comfortable.

[Globaliser]

4 hours ago, Hawaiidan said:

One thing to consider is jet lag.    Flying all in one series will get you whacked.   However, consider  a flight with a long long layover of 12+ hours   Get a hotel,  relax    and tour only dealing with  a partial change in hours.   But your  flying to the east coast so you are really only dealing with 5 or 6 hours     Me on the west coast 8-9  and in Hawaii 10-11 hour!

 

Thus, the OP doesn't actually have any options on this. Most connection options would be 0-hour time change followed by a 6-hour time change, or vice versa. Some connection options might be a 5-hour time change followed by a 1-hour time change, or vice versa.

 

One non-stop flight from western Europe to the east coast really isn't going to leave you any more whacked than a non-stop flight from western Europe to the east coast plus a short-haul flight either before or after.

 

So minimising jet lag by choosing a connection really isn't relevant here.

[bbtondo]

Thanks everyone for the wonderful advice!  Checking out Matrix,.  Did a "dummy" booking and see there is a nonstop flight from MIA to BCN on AA which is great.  I also see a nonstop from rome to Miami coming home.  It says Delta flight operated by Alitalia.  If I book two one ways the price is high.  How would I book this as a multicity trip?  

 

I have a TA that can help me with this, I just like to research and learn about things to make a good choice.

[waterbug123]

21 hours ago, bbtondo said:

So what you're saying is, if I'm traveling from BCN to PHL to MIA, It would be more of a hassle with luggage, clearing immigration, security and possible terminal changes at PHL.  I assume I would need at least a 2-3 hr layover in PHL for this?  

 

It's not so much that's more of a hassle, but because you would still have a connecting flight afterward, you have to allow enough time to make that connection after doing the immigration/luggage/customs/security routine.  You'll do the same routine if you fly nonstop Europe-MIA but you wouldn't have to worry about making a connecting flight at that point.

 

13 hours ago, bbtondo said:

see there is a nonstop flight from MIA to BCN on AA which is great.  I also see a nonstop from rome to Miami coming home.  It says Delta flight operated by Alitalia.  If I book two one ways the price is high.  How would I book this as a multicity trip?  

 

 

You might not be able to, since it involves two separate airline alliances. 

[bbtondo]

I'm thinking I would have to book both nonstops as one ways which is above my budget.  I have plenty of time to think about all the above advice which I appreciate.

[Hawaiidan]

18 hours ago, Flymia said:

There are non-stop flights from Rome to Miami, just not on American. So you might want to look into google flights and see if multi airline travel makes any sense. 

 

If not, and you want to make sure you get a non-stop going to Europe, which is a good choice. Out of the choices you gave I would cross out DFW. You will be adding some flight time there. A connection in PHL or CLT would be best, JFK is fine as well. 

 

I agree with the other posters that it is usually easier to connect in Europe and make the final flight the Europe-Miami flight. Not only is that easier, it usually is less tiring. You will be connecting in an airport in Europe after a shorter regional flight in a time zone you are used to. So the connect won't be so bad. Then you'll have a long flight home across the ocean where on arrival you will be tired. I would rather be tired getting home then tired and needing to go catch another flight after going through immigration, customs and security and then after a 8-10 hour flight get on another 2-3 hour flight. 

 

Since you never flown to Europe before, the key to reduce jetlag is on the east to west flight to get as much sleep as possible and then stay awake that day of arrival until its time locally to sleep. Try to avoid a nap during the day. 

 

East to west is usually much easier time change. 

 

 

 

 

It is always nice  to get a non stop...  However,  airlines are charging much higher fares, many times 100%-200% more for a non stop in prime time    To get a FF , even non saver, on a nonstop is today a miracle .     This is the dawn of demand pricing   fares  from LAX to MIA  in business/first   , when I checked,  from a  low of $563 to $2450   on the same day !!!

[Hawaiidan]

3 hours ago, waterbug123 said:

 

It's not so much that's more of a hassle, but because you would still have a connecting flight afterward, you have to allow enough time to make that connection after doing the immigration/luggage/customs/security routine.  You'll do the same routine if you fly nonstop Europe-MIA but you wouldn't have to worry about making a connecting flight at that point.

 

 

You might not be able to, since it involves two separate airline alliances. 

Altiala is nasty..its business class seats were  not lie flat   just very old tired semi recliners..    use seat grue . to check out seating and  look up pictures..  ALL business class seats are NOT alike

...   You might consider taking the train from Rome to Zurich and  grabbing  a SWISS  Or a Lufthansa     Too  look at  Orlando  its much cheaper than Miami for many flights

[bbtondo]

I have heard Altiala is nasty from other people.  I would be getting prem econ, not business when I fly. I checked Travelocity, and there is no airport other than MIA in Florida (Jacksonville is much too far) that has both non stops to BCN and FCO.  The only flight non stop from FCO to MIA is that Altiala flight. 

 

I am not attached to AA, but they have a nonstop  MIA to BCN  with nice prem econ from my research.  That's why I figured if I can't get a non stop on any airline and have to connect coming home FCO to MIA I'd use AA.  Booking multi city on AA.com I was trying to figure out the best connection. The cost of these flights on prem econ both ways is also in my budget.

 

 

[waterbug123]

19 hours ago, bbtondo said:

I have heard Altiala is nasty from other people.  I would be getting prem econ, not business when I fly. I checked Travelocity, and there is no airport other than MIA in Florida (Jacksonville is much too far) that has both non stops to BCN and FCO.  The only flight non stop from FCO to MIA is that Altiala flight. 

 

I am not attached to AA, but they have a nonstop  MIA to BCN  with nice prem econ from my research.  That's why I figured if I can't get a non stop on any airline and have to connect coming home FCO to MIA I'd use AA.  Booking multi city on AA.com I was trying to figure out the best connection. The cost of these flights on prem econ both ways is also in my budget.

 

 

 

The only airline hub city in Florida is Miami, so that is why you're finding more nonstops to/from Europe in and out of Miami than anywhere else.  Are you absolutely opposed to taking a connecting flight on the way over?  It would open up your options a lot more.

[bbtondo]

Waterbug:  I can get a nonstop MIA to BCN on AA no problem.  It is the only nonstop to BCN on any airline at this point. This is the flight I would choose going to the cruise.  I don't have to take a connecting flight to the cruise.

 

The issue is coming home FCO to MIA.   Unfortunately  the only non stop home, MIA,  is on AItiala  , which for various reasons is not my choice.  The only other choice at this point are all connecting flights on the way home.   That is why I was looking at AA coming home and the various connection options that currently exist.

 

When the flight schedules open for my cruise dates, maybe I'll get lucky and there will be a nonstop coming home.  I'm doubting that since if I was flying tomorrow, May, it doesn't exist on any airline except that Altiala flight.

 

Thanks again!

 

 

 

 

 

[Globaliser]

4 hours ago, waterbug123 said:

Are you absolutely opposed to taking a connecting flight on the way over?  It would open up your options a lot more.

 

2 hours ago, bbtondo said:

I can get a nonstop MIA to BCN on AA no problem.  It is the only nonstop to BCN on any airline at this point. This is the flight I would choose going to the cruise.  I don't have to take a connecting flight to the cruise.

 

The issue is coming home FCO to MIA.   Unfortunately  the only non stop home, MIA,  is on AItiala  , which for various reasons is not my choice.  The only other choice at this point are all connecting flights on the way home.

 

I think that the point here is this: If you want a reasonably-priced ticket, it will have to be on the same airline (or set of airline partners) in both directions. If you tie yourself to AA on the way over, simply because of the non-stop in that direction, you will seriously limit what options you have in the other. You may only be able to get your first choice in both directions by buying two one-way tickets, which is (on long-haul) inevitably very expensive. That's why it might be worth your while looking at other alternatives, just to see what else is there even though it might involve connecting in both directions.

 

2 hours ago, bbtondo said:

When the flight schedules open for my cruise dates, maybe I'll get lucky and there will be a nonstop coming home.  I'm doubting that since if I was flying tomorrow, May, it doesn't exist on any airline except that Altiala flight.

 

As soon as you can see schedules for the week beginning Sunday 29 March 2020, you will have a reasonable idea of what will be available throughout the northern summer season that ends on Saturday 24 October 2020.

[3rdCoastFan]

I would probably aim to transfer via MAD. 

 

But another option is to fly non-stop from Milan to Miami on American - provided you don't mind getting yourself to Milan. It looks like a 4hr train ride from Termini to MXP (with one connection in Milan itself). Adding a train ride like this is risky for a couple of reasons - primarily if your train is late, the airline has no obligation to assist you with re-booking. That said, you could really lean into the inter-modal aspect of your trip - adding a high-speed train to your air/boat trip could be fun! First-class/business seats are relatively affordable, too. 

[waterbug123]

20 hours ago, bbtondo said:

The issue is coming home FCO to MIA.   Unfortunately  the only non stop home, MIA,  is on AItiala  , which for various reasons is not my choice.  The only other choice at this point are all connecting flights on the way home.   That is why I was looking at AA coming home and the various connection options that currently exist.

 

 

 

I get that.  I guess my question is more about the flight over.  If you're willing to consider a connection in that direction as well, you wouldn't be limited to just AA for your round trip ticket.

[bbtondo]

Thanks again everyone!  My priority is to not connect anywhere.  Why would I take a connecting flight both ways when I can get one of those flights nonstops?  The only reason I would fly on AA is that it is the ONLY NONSTOP flight offered coming and going from MIA.  I am not limiting myself to anything.  If a nonstop from FCO to Florida doesn't exist, it doesn't exist.

[waterbug123]

18 hours ago, bbtondo said:

Thanks again everyone!  My priority is to not connect anywhere.  Why would I take a connecting flight both ways when I can get one of those flights nonstops? 

 

Because maybe you can get a better departure time.

Because maybe you can pay a lower price.

Because maybe you can fly on a preferred airline, or avoid one you don't like.

Because maybe you get better options for departure and/or arrival airport.

 

I understand the appeal of a nonstop flight, but it can limit your options, often significantly.

[bbtondo]

Waterbug123:  I really appreciate your advice on this.  The nonstop flight to my cruise out of BCN on AA MIA to BCN is a great departure time.  It is at a great price, it is on a airline and plane that I like, and it is nonstop. It's a win win for me!

 

I am looking at all connecting flights home from FCO to MIA using all of your points above.  Starting with price, I've found that if I stick with AA I get the best price and the plane I like. Just thinking of where I want to connect.  I am not taking the only nonstop FCO - MIA because of the airline, the plane and the price.  Hence I will connect on the way home.

 

I've learned a lot from everyone's advice and plan to use it when the flight schedules come out.

[slidergirl]

On 4/29/2019 at 5:11 AM, waterbug123 said:

 

It's not so much that's more of a hassle, but because you would still have a connecting flight afterward, you have to allow enough time to make that connection after doing the immigration/luggage/customs/security routine.  You'll do the same routine if you fly nonstop Europe-MIA but you wouldn't have to worry about making a connecting flight at that point.

 

 

You might not be able to, since it involves two separate airline alliances. 

 

The OP would have to go the route of booking through an OTA, like Expedia.  I've had to do that before when I had to do a mix of Delta and United flights to get to/from where I needed...  

 

Edited May 2, 2019 by slidergirl