Looking at travel to London on American Airlines (KC-DWF-LHR)

Found some good flights with a single connection thru DFW.

The layover is only 45 minutes. How dumb would it be to book this flight? It's later in the day when it seems weather delays might be more likely.

Can find the same price on a later flight to LHR but with a 2h30m layover.

it is very tight. But if you miss it you will automatically get booked on the next flight.

try to sit as close to the front of your first flight.

Are you sure about that? I know domestically I've had late connections and "get in line to rebook "

I suppose if we got there early enough we could try to standby on the earlier flight, but likely not be sitting together or stuck in the middle of a 4-person row.

I just hate sitting around or 2-1/2 hours in an airport.

Aa has connection minimums and for intl it is 45 mins.

JMac03 said:

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agracer said:

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I suppose if we got there early enough we could try to standby on the earlier flight, but likely not be sitting together or stuck in the middle of a 4-person row.

I just hate sitting around or 2-1/2 hours in an airport.

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My fear is with this your luggage wouldn't make it on your flight if you got on the earlier one.

For international please do 2.5 hours. DFW is huge and you often sit on the tarmac for a bit.

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no checked luggage....wife has learned to pack in a single carry on!

Now I see the flight coming back from DUB-CLT-KCI in only 1h35m...no way that's enough time to navigate customs and get to my next gate back to KC

Looking like Delta and United have better connections for about the same cost as AA. 2+ hours in Dulles going and O'Hare coming home (United) and ATL going and Boston coming home (Delta) I'm not for one Airline over another. I've had bad experiences with all of them at one time or another.

Only thing my wife said to change is to not get the non-refundable ticket (refund or at least a credit). The cheaper non-refundable tickets are only ~$350 cheaper (total both tickets).

Stumbled across this. You'd think when looking at airline tickets they'd mention this.

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/UnitedKingdom.html#:~:text=To%20enter%20the%20United%20Kingdom,on%20the%20purpose%20of%20travel.

Quote:

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TOURIST VISA REQUIRED:

Effective January 8, 2025, all U.S. citizens transiting through or traveling to the United Kingdom for tourism, family visits, business meetings, conferences, or short-term study for 6 months or less will require an Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) prior to travel. U.S. citizens can apply for ETAs beginning on November 27, 2024. Information on the new requirements and how to apply can be found on the UK Government website

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After you book, before you fly, all (well most) have a checklist or "get ready" section of what you need. This would be an example where they tell you this.

If its all carry on, no dilly dallying and you will be fine.

Found a better flight, and airplane/seats on Delta (AirBus A330 Neo) with the 2 seats at the side so we can sit together and not climb over anyone to get up and move around. Also, Delta had an AMEX deal where apply for a card, get $500 off first Delta purchase + 50,000 bonus miles if you purchase $3,000 in the first 6 months. I'll just put the whole trip on that and should be good to go.

With that + using 30,000 miles for partial credits two round trip tickets with good seat arrangements, and better boarding access b/c of the Delta AMEX, came out < $900. AA and United had similar promos, but not as good (less $$ credit) and I didn't have as many miles to burn. Also, most of the long flights were 3 x 3 x 3 which IMO would suck. Even the "Economy +" seats were 3 x 3 x 3.

I'll just cancel it before the annual $150 fee hits next April.

EDIT TO ADD: I'm sure everyone's heard of this web site, but just in case seatguru.com is great for picking seats/planes.

My last two layovers in DFW ended in missed flights. Slowest TSA I've seen. You need 1 1/2 hours minimum to get thru baggage claim, customs, and TSA in DFW.