What happens in this scenario

StuieUK34

Hey all,

Am going to Vegas in May, heres how i did our booking:

I booked a flight with KLM from Bristol to Amsterdam (6:15am flight, land at 08:30am)..

I then booked a Flight+Hotel deal with Expedia from Amsterdam to Vegas, carrier being US Airways.
Flight is at 10:50am, then does its connection in Philly....
I will have holiday insurance as per normal

But.......................
What would i do if this happened:
Say KLM delay my Bristol - Amsterdam flight, which makes us miss our US Airways flight.......
This in theory kills our holiday..... I know KLM fly to Vegas from Amsterdam, but my flight booking aint with them anyway!
Could i argue that because they made us miss our flight, they should fly us to Vegas ?!
Or does it work in a different kind of way ?
anybody been in a similar situation ?

**Post in 2 sections, as un-sure of where to post, as possible comp/insurance question**

richardw

Perhaps go to AMS the night before.

StuieUK34

ok....
Options are night before (if KLM allow me to change flights)
or..........
Fingers crossed, everything runs smoothly!!!!

RockPaperScissors

I personally think your best bet is to swap for the night before.

I have rarely ever left on time, and I think your margin of error between the two flights is too short. If it was 5-6 hours apart then I may be saying "yeah go for it" but yours are only 2hr20 apart.

Dodgy ground...

StuieUK34

Last time i was super late for a flight was back in 2005....
Was flying Virgin to Newark.....
I remember it being a Sunday flight, pretty sure flight was around 7 or 7:30pm....
Long story short, got caught in traffic, got to the check-in desk with 35 min's remaining, lady said desk had just closed (closed 40 mins before flight), explained my situation, they gave me this stamp which enabled me to go through a no-queue path in security (Heathrow), and then run through the terminal to get to the gate and straight onto the plane, and yes, i was the last person, but plane was still inside is departure window

Ok, so that was a mega close call......

I booked these flights on the basis that, the KLM flight has a good rep for getting there on time or a few min's after...
As its within the EU and so on, i was hoping that we would be picking up bags and out into the main airport within 15 mins of landing.......
Then to the bag drop (i'll check-in online with US Airways), maybe queue for 20-25 mins if busy ? to drop bags off......

My other guess would be that similar to a holiday plane..... if US Airways operate just that flight (they share with United for later flights), then my thoughts were that the check-in desks used would be like 2 or 3 desks, so if everyone else gets there 3 or 2 hours before hand, i'd be joining them at some point in that queue ?!

I know, dodgy as some say, and risky, but, i guess all is possible, just carries the risk factor if my Bristol flight is delayed, or there is a massive queue to get out of the baggage area ?!!

jpsartre

StuieUK34 wrote: »

As its within the EU and so on, i was hoping that we would be picking up bags and out into the main airport within 15 mins of landing.......

At AMS I'd say that's pretty unlikely. Depending on where you land, taxiing can easily take 5-10 minutes, then you need to be bussed to the terminal, and finally you have to wait for your luggage/clear passport control.

keystone

jpsartre wrote: »

At AMS I'd say that's pretty unlikely. Depending on where you land, taxiing can easily take 5-10 minutes, then you need to be bussed to the terminal, and finally you have to wait for your luggage/clear passport control.

and if its the Polderbaan you land on it will take an awful lot longer.

Cheers

StuieUK34

whats the polderbaan ?!!!
Plane we fly on from Bristol to AMS is a Fokker 70, guessing this plane wont have an airwalk!!!
I'll check-in online for the US Airways flight, so hoping i drop our bags off with at least 1hr remaining (which i guess gives us 1hr from land to get bags and get to main terminal, so can come back into the airport!

hmmmmmmmmmmmm, knew i should have waited to book a deal!

keystone

StuieUK34 wrote: »

whats the polderbaan ?!!!

The new(ish) 36L/18R runway at AMS which is physically closer to Haarlem than Amsterdam. Its the one on the far left. CLICKY. Its a good 20 minute taxi to the gate but only with a following wind, a good wellie of speed and an empty taxiway.

Cheers

jpsartre

Realistically, if your flight arrives at AMS on schedule you should be alright but there's not much of a buffer for delays. And yeah, on the Cityhopper, you'll be taken to the terminal by bus.

StuieUK34

If i do a flight search from Bristol to Las Vegas, it comes up with the exact flights i am doing..... (on expedia), but i guess the difference there is, if i had booked that flight with Expedia, my bags would have gone from Bristol to Vegas, without me having to collect them in AMS, and then checking them back in ?

Guess i should have put that option in last week when i booked, instead of doing it seperate! doh !!!