How long to connect flights at Logan International?

February 18, 2017 11:45 AM

On the return leg of our American incursion, we'll be flying in from Florida and connect to our international flight with Delta. Currently JetBlue arriving 3 1/2 hours before our international flight departs is looking like the best option. Is that enough time to get our luggage in Jetblue (Terminal C) and then get through to Delta (Terminal A) check in and clear security?
posted by PenDevil to Travel & Transportation around Boston, MA (13 answers total)

Best answer: I'd vote yes. Logan isn't that big an airport; you can walk between terminals in pretty short order. Security lines can be long, but I'd say the longest I ever spent in a security line was still less than an hour.
posted by TwoStride at 11:52 AM on February 18, 2017 [2 favorites]

Best answer: Yup, plenty of time, even if there's a minor delay. I would book that without hesitation. Logan is my home airport.
posted by chocotaco at 11:53 AM on February 18, 2017 [1 favorite]

Domestic to international you shouldn't have to clear security again. (At least in most US airports that's true. It's going international to domestic that you need to go through customs and immigration and then security again.)
posted by cruelfood at 11:54 AM on February 18, 2017 [1 favorite]

At Logan, you will absolutely clear security again between terminals C and A.
posted by bowbeacon at 12:25 PM on February 18, 2017 [4 favorites]

Yep. It really isn't that big an airport, and as long as the dogs aren't sniffing bags even the TSA there is pretty quick.
posted by Nanukthedog at 12:27 PM on February 18, 2017

Yes, almost definitely. Logan is very small compared to most of the heavily trafficked international airports in the US.
posted by pazazygeek at 1:03 PM on February 18, 2017

Domestic to international you shouldn't have to clear security again.

That's not the case at Logan, where you will physically leave one terminal to go to the other, so you will have to go through Security again.

Look at the interactive Massport map; it looks like you need to shuttle from Terminal A to Terminal C. The shuttle will only take a few minutes -- I'm not even sure you can walk from A to C or at the very least you need to walk through the gigantic parking garage in the middle of all the terminals. You will absolutely have to go through security again because you'll be physically leaving one terminal to go to another one.

3.5 hours will be plenty of time.
posted by yes I said yes I will Yes at 1:31 PM on February 18, 2017

Are you sure that your international flight leaves from Terminal A? Many (including Delta) leave from Terminal E. I don't pretend to know all the flight schedules, so I could be wrong, but please doublecheck! Whether A or E, I would agree with others that the connection is doable.
posted by Tandem Affinity at 1:36 PM on February 18, 2017 [4 favorites]

I fly about weekly. This should be absolutely fine unless you have a major delay arriving. If everything is on time, you should have enough time to get a meal. Logan is a major airport but it's well set up and easy to get between terminals, unlike, say, LaGuardia.
posted by bile and syntax at 6:02 PM on February 18, 2017

What time of year is this trip happening? I try to avoid changing flights in snow zones, when at all possible.
posted by chiefthe at 6:53 PM on February 18, 2017

Logan handles weather really well and with the current balmy forecast and time of year it's really unlikely for a shutdown again this season. (the full on blizzard last week did close it for a few hours)
posted by sammyo at 9:03 PM on February 18, 2017

Tandem - most Delta international departures leave from A - the planes are in fact towed back from E to A for that purpose. The only departures from E are the airlines that do not fly elsewhere in the US from Boston (e.g. British Airways etc), and even then there are exceptions (Aer Lingus and Emirates depart from C due to their partnership with JetBlue).
posted by scolbath at 2:53 PM on February 19, 2017 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thanks all, we'll probably go with Jetblue and amazing-race it to Delta.
posted by PenDevil at 2:11 AM on February 20, 2017