fakemark

I'm trying to get from LAX to Rome or Paris and the best way to do it is to fly through Dublin. Ryan Air serves the Dublin airport, as well as Milan, Rome, and Paris. The flight that I am planning from LAX is scheduled to arrive in Dublin at 11:00am, and then the Ryan Air flight to Rome is scheduled to take off at 12:10.

Is this impossible? Can we clear customs in an hour and get on our next flight? Is the airport so big that we'd need 30 minutes to walk from our arrival terminal to Ryan Air's?

Thanks for any help!

P_M

If all goes exactly on schedule, it's possible you will make it but not a sure thing. When you arrive in Dublin you will have to get your bags, go through customs, then check in again w/Ryan Air. I have read on this board that Ryan Air is very strict about checking in on time, so if your LAX flight is delayed even slightly, you could miss check-in time with Ryan Air and lose that ticket. The only way you don't have to do all this is if you can check your bag all the way through to your final destination, but I doubt that any American based airlines have an agreement w/Ryan Air to check bags through. This would be a good question for the airline you're flying from LAX.

So to answer your question, "Am I crazy," well, no, not really. But this is not a good idea. Your entire plan is based on the idea that your flight from LAX will not be delayed, and everyone knows that overseas flights can be easily delayed. This is a risk that would be unacceptable to me. Is it really that much cheaper to do this, or can't you just buy one ticket for your final destination?

janis

Actually - I think even if things go exactly on schedule, it would be VERY difficult to make this connection.

Are you checking any bags? Even if you aren't, it will be tough to make the advance check in for the RyanAir flight.

Is there a later flight to Rome?

fakemark

Thanks for your replies. It would save me about $250 per ticket to do this.

Unfortunately, Ryanair doesn't have very many daily flights from Dublin to Rome, so this is the only option on the day that I would fly.

*sigh* I'll probably have to shell out the $1100 that the major carriers want.

P_M

Another option might be to arrive a day early and spend the night in Dublin, then fly to Rome the next day. For a savings of $250/ticket it would be both cost-effective and fun to have a night in Dublin. Just a thought.

janis

P_M - I was going to suggest the same thing but must have forgotten before I clocked "post". If it were me I'd take advantage of a day/night in Dublin.

Advantages: a LOT less jetlag when you finally get to Rome since you would have slept off the worst of it in Dublin. You'll have the best part of a day to see a lot of sites in Dublin. Are there 2 of you - if so one night in Dublin won't cost nearly $500 if you plan well. And if there are more than 2 of you you will see an even bigger savings.

pastyp

I would also check the baggage limit on Ryanair, if you are transfering from a long haul flight. Ryanair is not generous on their baggage limits and charge dearly for being over the limit, this is due to their business model. Your saving on the ticket could be lost on over baggage costs.

SiobhanP

I don't think you can check in 1/2 hour before a ryanair flight they are really sticklers. My other half missed check in by 5 minutes to Birmingham and they would not let him in even though they had plenty of time and they re-scheduled him on a flight 10 minutes later to leeds and he could check in with time to spare...I would not risk it. As well it can take ages to get your bags etc 1 hour is not enough.

Ardfert

Aer Lingus also serves the Dublin-Rome route.They are at www.aerlingus.com. Quite a lot of traffic between Europe and North America change flights in Dublin because American immigration can be cleared there.A similar faciity exists in Shannon.

Clifton

Dublin's a pretty small airport and if it were a "normal" single-ticket connection, I wouldn't have worried.

As said already though, I'm sure that I've read many times here that if you aren't checked in for the RyanAir flight on their terms, that they'll give you the boot, no refund. This from their T&C (and apparently, they mean it):

<i>Ryanair recommends that passengers check in two hours prior to scheduled departure. Check-in desks close strictly 40 minutes before scheduled departure. We reserve the right to cancel your reservation and deny you boarding if you do not comply with the Check-in Deadline.</i>

Personally, I wouldn't do it. Any chance your trans-con airline is an AerLingus partner? They've been angling in the budget market for awhile now and may be able to do something for you on the Rome portion.

P_M

Here is a thread about luggage limits on Ryan Air. Please look at this before booking.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessa...=4&amp;start=0