Australia flight layover time

[ajw28]

We are going on the Australia ABD in the summer. We just got contacted by Qantas that our flight home has changed times. We are flying from Sydney to Newark with a stopover in Dallas. The stopover in Dallas changed from 3 hr and 30 minutes to 1 hour and 25 minutes. Qantas said this is enough time. They also said that when we land in Dallas, we have to go get the luggage, then go through customs and go through security again.

Does anyone know how this works? What happens when we get off the plane in Dallas? We are nervous that we don't have enough time and will miss our connection.

Any help is appreciated.

 

[carpenta]

I have never been to Dallas but flew back into the U.S. a large number of times mostly through the eastern U.S.. You exit your plane and go to the baggage area and get your bags. Then you go wait in lines to go through customs. After customs you get back in line to be re-screened to get into the domestic airline terminal. In my opinion you need at least 2 1/2 hours to 3 hours to get through customs and get to your domestic gate. I always plan for worse case scenario and would be real nervous about 1 hour 25 minutes for you never know how busy customs will be and how many agents are at the gate. Hopefully someone who has flown through Dallas can tell you in more detail about that specific airport. Good Luck.

 

[Bobo912]

If you plan to travel out of the country occasionally in the future it might be worth it for you to look into the Global Entry program. Since getting Global Entry I have gotten through customs in 5-10 minutes every time I've returned to the US, even when there were a lot of international flights arriving at the same time. If enrollment increases, I suppose it could take longer on occasion, but it's still well worth it to by-pass the long lines. And you will get TSA precheck status when checking in at US airports.

 

[sayhello]

If you plan to travel out of the country occasionally in the future it might be worth it for you to look into the Global Entry program. Since getting Global Entry I have gotten through customs in 5-10 minutes every time I've returned to the US, even when there were a lot of international flights arriving at the same time. If enrollment increases, I suppose it could take longer on occasion, but it's still well worth it to by-pass the long lines. And you will get TSA precheck status when checking in at US airports.

I totally agree with this! Global Entry is a wonderful time-saver.

However, nothing will help if it takes them forever to get your luggage to you. I was on a flight where that happened. We stood for 45 minutes waiting for our luggage to come out. Luckily, I had a plenty long layover, so I was OK, but several others around me did not, and missed their connections. I would talk to Quantas and tell them you do not think it's a long enough layover, and ask them to re-book you on a later flight out of Dallas. I'd take a look and have some specific options to propose to them. An hour and a half just really isn't enough time.

Sayhello

 

[tink1970]

I agree with all PPs. We just returned New Years Eve from Europe at ATL, and while Global Entry helped us bypass the customs line, there was still quite a wait for the luggage, as well as dropping off the luggage AND the re-screening did not allow a fast track for TSA pre check. So fortunately we were able to (barely) make our connection with a 2 hour layover. Granted this is a worst case scenario but I'm not sure how comfortable I'd be with 1 hr 25 min at DFW...it is a large airport and in my opinion not as well laid out for quick navigation as ATL.

 

[Cousin Orville]

I'd definitely do global entry.
1.5 hrs at DFW? Hard to say. I would feel more comfortable with a longer layover. There are several terminals connected past security by an elevated train. But then on such a long flight from Sydney you may get in early.

I flew that flight going out to Sydney. The A380? Was the longest flight in the world. At the time they wouldn't fly back to Dallas.

 

[ajw28]

Thank you everyone for your replies. The only problem is that we did accept the change, but will call Qantas back to complain. What happened was Qantas said that American Airlines canceled the flight that we were on, although it seems to still be available online. I guess they switched us to an earlier one instead of a later flight.

There are several later flights from Dallas to Newark that would work. When we called yesterday, we said we didn't think it was enough time, but Qantas insisted it was. They said to call American Airlines to check and they also said it was enough time. We have always flown back directly to Newark and didn't realize that we had to get our luggage and go through customs. I assumed that we would go through customs in Newark.

We will also look at Global Entry.

We do have the same 1 hour and 25 minutes layover in Dallas on the way to Sydney. This should be fine, as we don't have to go through security or customs. Right?

Thanks for all the help.

 

[Cousin Orville]

Definitely better without the additional passport control and picking up bags. I'm still not a big fan of 1.5hr layovers in most airports when changing terminals on the way to a vacation, but it's a personal call. As always, as long as these flights are all under the same ticket so if a flight were missed it's their responsibility to get you on another flight. I would prefer a 2 hr layover, but you'll probably be fine. It would be helpful for you to find out what terminal you'll fly into from Newark so you can research how to get to the international terminal. I suspect you will fly into one of the domestic terminals and you will exit the plane, find signs for the elevated train, go up the escalators to the train and ride it to the international terminal. I believe the international terminal has two stops. If you can figure out exactly the gate the qantas flight boards from, you can be a bit smarter about which international train stop you get off at. Even if you get off early, you're just walking farther. No biggie.

Yes, when you fly into America you always have to get your checked luggage and go through security again to catch your domestic flight. It's unique to America (and Canada I think).

 

[abdgeek]

Thank you everyone for your replies. The only problem is that we did accept the change, but will call Qantas back to complain. What happened was Qantas said that American Airlines canceled the flight that we were on, although it seems to still be available online. I guess they switched us to an earlier one instead of a later flight.

There are several later flights from Dallas to Newark that would work. When we called yesterday, we said we didn't think it was enough time, but Qantas insisted it was. They said to call American Airlines to check and they also said it was enough time. We have always flown back directly to Newark and didn't realize that we had to get our luggage and go through customs. I assumed that we would go through customs in Newark.

We will also look at Global Entry.

We do have the same 1 hour and 25 minutes layover in Dallas on the way to Sydney. This should be fine, as we don't have to go through security or customs. Right?

Thanks for all the help.

I understand your concern. Like OP, I also try to ensure that I have at least 3 hour layovers for my international flights when I re-enter the U.S. That being said, I've had a flight cancelled by the airline before that left me with less than 2 hours to make my next flight. I don't remember where I was coming from, but everything worked out. Yes, I was a nervous wreck but more airports are now saying those times are legal connection times. If you haven't done so already, try to see if AA will allow you to change your flight without penalty. If not, you'll have to go with it. I usually fly through Atlanta, so I don't know what the customs set up is for Dallas. However, a lot of the large airports now have the kiosks where you type in your information and then you go to the customs agent. Usually, it will take your baggage more time to get to you than going through customs. But the whole process is cumbersome. Some airlines will make announcements when the plane lands to let passengers who have connecting flights deplane first. Good luck.