Where can I get help planning my plane trip?

Question

I was recently planning my trip from Poland to Las Vegas and since the online flight planners didn't suggest me anything interesting, I decided to do the research on my own. I found the following connection from Warsaw to Las Vegas via New York:

1. Warsaw (WAW) - New York (JFK), LOT, 6 Aug, 13:00 – 16:25
2. New York (JFK) - Warsaw (WAW), LOT, 11 Aug, 22:55 – 13:00

Details here: http://goo.gl/zMFnGv [full link here]

1. New York (JFK) - Las Vegas (LAS), Jet Blue, 6 Aug 18:59 – 21:45
2. Las Vegas (LAS) - New York (JFK), Jet Blue, 11 Aug, 11:55 – 20:06

Details here: http://goo.gl/eUBAXL [full link here]

I could see both the flights separately in four online flight planners, but none of them suggested me to use them together, which got me worried. Instead, it suggested to come back via Chicago with 9 hours of waiting at the airport, which sounds much less convenient to me. Is there some timezone overlap that I missed, or does that just happen to flight planners to miss some of the flight? Where can I get help planning my flights which involve multiple airlines and timezones? I was thinking of e-mailing the airlines, but somehow that didn't sound like the best idea.

Answer 1

See Is there a flight search engine that combines flights from different airlines? for a list of tools that can help in general.

Potential reasons why a given connection does not show up in search results:

• The two airlines have no partnership that would allow booking two flights together as one ticket.
• The available fares do not permit it (or the fares that would permit it are much more expensive so that the connection is discarded by search engines).
• The layover is too short.

None of these seem to apply here but for some reason, it seems connections between JetBlue and LOT at JFK are restricted to East Coast destinations (see the press release and what happens on jetblue.com if you select Warsaw as departure point). You can always try to contact LOT or JetBlue by phone to see if this journey can be booked nonetheless but it does not seem to be the case.

Now, if you can't book this as a single ticket through either airlines but decide to buy two separate tickets, the time to change planes at JFK becomes very short. You will need to pick up your luggage (US regulations), clear customs and immigrations and check-in for the next flight. If there is any delay on your incoming flight and since you would be traveling on two separate tickets, you should not expect any help from the airline (i.e. no rerouting or assistance, if you miss your flight, you will need to purchase whatever ticket is available or pay expensive change fees, you might also lose the return leg LAS-JFK as well).

Answer 2

The connection time westbound is a bit on the very short time. You have to get through immigration, get your baggage, and then tramp to the Jet Blue terminal (the last one is not such a big issue, as the AirTrain is very quick, and operates frequently at that time.

However, you still only have 2.5 hours available, and if JetBlue has a latest check-in time of 90 minutes (I am not sure; check that on their website), you may get in serious trouble. One thing you might do, if you can see that your flight leaves kind of in time in Warsaw, is to do an internet check-in from there; but it can still be risky.

A suggestion is to contact LOT, and ask them what they do recommend as transfer time in JFK to a flight with no interlining agreement (you may even reveal the airline); also do the same with JetBlue, stating that you come in from Europe.

I don't know whether it exists, but if you could get a connection leaving Warsaw between 09:00 and 10:30, you would be better off (maybe see what the Star Alliance website can offer). A connection via FRA or MUC or ZRH (if you are with LOT/Star Alliance) would be possible; aiming to get on a 10 o'clock transatlantic flight.

For the flight back, things are also tight, but not as bad, because you won't spend much waiting time when arriving in JFK. Again, you might check in for the transatlantic flight when you leave (this time in Las Vegas). But again, get some confirmation from the airlines, and also ask what you would have to do when you miss the connection. 22:55 is one of the last flight of the transatlantic bundle, and when you miss it, you will be stuck in New York for a day. So, it might be worthwhile looking for earlier connections leaving Las Vegas, or even aim for an overnight flight.