Transferring from LaGuardia to Newark Airport. Is 3.5 hours enough?
November 24, 2015 8:16 AM   Subscribe

Hi there, I think I have messed up with booking some holiday tickets for my family and would really appreciate some help asap!!!

I accidentally booked a multi-leg flight for my dad that involves an airport change with a tiny window. What should I do?

We have booked a flight from London to Nashville that flies inbound via Newark, then to Charlotte, then to Nashville. I booked a return for myself along the same route.

I accidentally booked a return for my dad that leaves from Nashville to LaGuardia, and then from Newark to London. The flight to LaGuardia lands at 3.05pm and the flight from Newark leaves at 6.35pm. and having called the airport shuttle service they say the shuttle bus will take between 60-90 minutes. Because of the airport change, baggage will have to be collected and checked in again at Newark, which means additional waiting time to collect the baggage, etc.

Caveat: my dad is an Indian national. Will checking in at Newark still involve an immigration check-in since he’s leaving the country?

I am worried this is not enough time to make the transfer, and I am also worried as he is travelling alone. Two questions:

1) Is this enough time to make the transfer, in your experience, and if so, what is the best way to arrange this?

2) If this isn’t enough time, what are my options? I have about 5 hours to contact the airlines who can change the ticket for a hefty £150~. After this, it will have been 24 hours since booking so additional fees would come into play. It seems that booking a separate earlier flight from Nashville to Newark/LaGuardia might well be cheaper, but I have read that once a multi-leg journey is planned, failing to attend one of them means it is all cancelled unless the airline agrees otherwise.

Any help would be much appreciated!
posted by lethologues to Travel & Transportation around New York, NY (8 answers total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
No, it's not, and that £150 is cheap compared to what a shuttle would cost and all that craziness with luggage, customs and needing 2 hours before an international flight.

Seriously, if that's all it is, suck it up and pay. What you are describing is nightmarish. It's doubly so if it's during the holiday.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 8:20 AM on November 24, 2015 [7 favorites]


That's not a transfer - it's a completely different airport in another state. Even without the immigration issues, 3.5 hours would be close to impossible unless every single thing went right -- baggage alone can add an extra hour, let alone traffic -- but I'd hate to bet on it. Add in that you've got him trying to get from NY to NJ during rush hour -- forget it.

You should absolutely change this while you still can.
posted by Mchelly at 8:22 AM on November 24, 2015 [4 favorites]


Definitely not do-able. Change while you can!
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 8:23 AM on November 24, 2015


Nthing that this is a "no way" situation. Really, the chances are pretty much 100% that it won't work. Change it.
posted by holborne at 8:24 AM on November 24, 2015


I've flown out of both LGA and EWR multiple times and just reading this question practically gave me an anxiety attack. Change it!
posted by showbiz_liz at 8:26 AM on November 24, 2015 [4 favorites]


Response by poster: Thanks everyone!! That'll teach me I guess. It's still about the price we were expecting to pay for the ticket but it would have been nice to have the saving.
posted by lethologues at 8:29 AM on November 24, 2015 [1 favorite]


Eh, I was about to say that everyone else was overreacting and that this is doable if you want to roll the dice, but... then I saw that the LGA flight lands at 3:05PM. That's a big NOPE. Traffic is a nightmare and getting to the Holland Tunnel from LGA could take an hour and a half.
posted by Automocar at 8:57 AM on November 24, 2015 [1 favorite]


I see you're past the 24 hour window now, but this may be useful for future readers:

The US Department of Transportation requires airlines to allow you to hold a flight for 24 hours without payment OR cancel your flight within 24 hours of booking WITHOUT PENALTY, provided the ticket was booked more than seven days in advance. This applies to any flight starting or ending in the US. Most US carriers allow cancellations and are generous about the 7 day part, American only offers a 24-hour hold, non-US carriers are all over the place and sometimes hard to pin down (Qatar Airways actually offers holds for flights from and refunds for flights to the US, go fig).

The catch is if your airline offered the 24-hour hold, but for £150, I'd still try arguing for the fees back. Depending on how obvious the option to hold was, I'd also consider filing a formal complaint with the airline or the DOT.
posted by yeahlikethat at 6:47 PM on November 24, 2015 [2 favorites]


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