1 hour 45 minute lay over in Miami

DullGreyGuy

TELLIT01 said:

@DullGreyGuy I do know people who travel only with a backpack, so it is possible not to have checked baggage even when travelling to the USA.

Sorry didnt word it well, it needs to be read in context of being a reply to the other poster who said about an airlines responsibility around transfers going wrong and what the airline is liable for, one of the points they made was about your luggage not making it onto the connecting plane with you. My response was not really an airline transfer issue in the US as they dont transfer your luggage for you. 

Absolutely know its possible to not have checked luggage to the US as thats me 95% of the time I go to the US as its a work trip for a couple of days. 

eskbanker

Caz3121 said:

Cheslea2010 said:

I often travel business class with a 1hr 40min difference between flights. You virtually walk off one plane and onto the next. Not sure if flying eco might slow things down a bit as business provides express embark/disembarking and also quicker security.

to transit the US you need to go through immigration on arrival - this is what slows things down considerable

You don't need to go through immigration on arrival if you've pre-cleared in one of the 15 locations where this is available on departure (albeit none are in the UK), hence my asking OP earlier about their routing and whether it entails pre-clearance:

https://www.cbp.gov/travel/preclearance

Alan_Bowen

Miami can be one of the worst airports to transfer flights, being the main arrival point for passengers from South America. The airport is also very large and although I am a regular traveller, I wouldn't contemplate a transfer of less than 3 hours

Troytempest

We just flew Lima to Heathrow via Miami with British Airways.

Bags tagged through to Heathrow and immigration was very quick - about 45 minutes. Landed in Miami at about noon on a weekday and seemed fairly quiet. Probably very lucky!

jbrassy

I may be wrong, but I've always been put off transferring through the US as I think you need to pay for a transit visa. This usually meant the cost savings from booking a connecting flight were wiped out by having to pay for the visa.

eskbanker

jbrassy said:

I may be wrong, but I've always been put off transferring through the US as I think you need to pay for a transit visa. This usually meant the cost savings from booking a connecting flight were wiped out by having to pay for the visa.

Their visa waiver program allows visa-free entry or transit for two years via an ESTA for $21 for those eligible....

jimi_man

Miami can be tight tbh. Immigration in the summer isn’t great as it’s usually very busy and Miami gets a lot of pm thunderstorms etc which can cause delays to your arrival time. If you’re HBO you might be ok. 

kinger101

I'm my experience, it can take longer than 90 mins to clear immigration, baggage claim and customs in North America.  The bottleneck is usually baggage claim.  They should prioritize transit baggage but there's no guarantee.

I've queued for the best part of a hour in immigration to find the bags have still not been unloaded onto the carousel.


I'd want a longer connection time if I was taking checked luggage.

heatherw_01

Personally, I wouldn't do it. But that is if it was me.
Delays are common and you can be worried for the entire flight, worrying if you will make it. It is a very tight time.
There is immigration which can have very long queues, plus you often have to collect your bag then drop it off again for the next flight.

Mr_Blue52

Just before Christmas, I landed at JFK Airport & had to wait over 3 hours in the Immigration Hall to be seen by a Border Patrol agent. There must have been thousands of people in front of me. I also find the US Border Patrol agents are very slow, so it is difficult to tell how long you will have to wait.